These floral arrangements are not merely spring bouquets with different flowers dropped in. The season has its own palette, and the flowers that belong to it tend to echo that. Summer has a way of making flowers and their colours generous. The season runs long, the light stays warm and the range of what is available at any given time is wider than at any other point in the year. Regardless of whether you are cutting from a garden, shopping at a farmers' market, or working wit

High summer means flower growers across the UK are in full production. Su Whale guides you through the best UK-grown flowers available now.

Love your houseplants? Need to know what’s trending? Chelsea Flower Show’s popular Houseplant Studios were the place to head for everything new and innovative in the world of indoor gardening. Now a permanent feature at the event, the plants are displayed in attractive wooden summer houses in a leafy corner of the showground. The six studios are practically gardens in their own right, as they take over not just the interior but the exterior too, allowing visitors to get the f

Su Whale offers you cultivated solutions to the wildflower challenge.

These tropical houseplants will provide welcome shade and give a jungle vibe to conservatories or courtyards.

If this year’s Chelsea in Bloom was anything to go by, then the flower of the moment is without a doubt Gypsophila. There were hundreds, possibly even thousands of stems of this versatile, tiny white flower spotted in installations from Sloane Square right down the King’s Road and beyond. Why is Gypsophila so popular? It’s a great value for money flower as a little goes a long way, it also takes spray paint, dye and glitter easily. And despite its fragile appearance, it is m

Su Whale looks at popular umbels enjoying a fashionable moment in floristry.

Any florist who currently takes wedding bookings would be hard pushed to ignore the change in styles that is evident this year, and only set to take a stronger hold over the next two years. The days of loose, wispy wildflower bouquets is waning and in its place are structured cascading bouquets with a modern twist, bridesmaid’s bouquets are smaller, ultra-modern and a few varieties of flowers are featuring over and over again in images coming over from the USA and Australia.

Su Whale offers advice on how to create wedding cake flowers and what to avoid.

Tough, dependable, versatile; there are lots of good things to say about heather, or ling, as it is sometimes known. A low growing, evergreen shrub, with tiny, bell-shaped flowers, heather is typically associated with moors and heathland. A popular rockery and garden plant, it is also sold as a cut flower and foliage. Calluna and Erica are the two most well-known genera of heather. They flower at different times of the year, extending the overall flowering period. Erica flo

There's a fig houseplant for every situation. Su Whale shares her top picks.

One of the joys of spring, Ranunculus are an absolute delight. Su Whale explains how to make the most of them.

This spring favourite needs careful handling and conditioning, as Su Whale explains.

Cut from the ground, but nowhere near finished, tulips have an amazing habit of continuing to grow long after they have left the farm or garden. Here is what is really happening inside that stem. Even after they have been carefully cut and arranged, tulips never seem to stop growing. Give them a day or two in a vase, and suddenly they are noticeably taller, curvier, and leaning toward the light as if they have found a second life. It can all feel almost wilful. And in a way,

As we approach peak growing season, growers across the UK are rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into a full-on season of beautiful British blooms. During May there are still some delicate, late spring, early summer gems to enjoy before blousy, colourful summer flowers arrive to dominate the market. Polygonatum multiflorum Common Name: Solomon’s seal An unusual flowering perennial and a charming cut flower which prefers damp, shady conditions. Hardy, it will gr