Fashion Flowers For Autumn
The New Collection: Folk Design

Lily >

Lilies are one of the UK's top 3 favourite flowers, and no wonder - they are so versatile they are used to celebrate births, marriages, funerals and weddings. If the spicy scent is too much for you, try the Asiatic varieties, which are the most colourful and have no scent. You can get Asiatic lilies in yellow, red and orange, and you can get Oriental, Longiflorum and Asiatic lilies in pink, white, lemon and cream. They’ll last up to 3 weeks and look great with or without other flowers.

< Callistephus

These cheerful, sunny flowers come in a range of colours – pink, red, yellow, salmon, blue, purple and white. They originate in China, so are also known as ‘Chinese Aster’. They come in different types which may have a prominent yellow centre like a daisy, or a double-layer of petals, making the flower look like a teddy bear’s face! They like to be kept in shallow, very clean water, with lots of their leaves removed from the stem, so that they can last up to 2 weeks for you.

Echinops >

Also known as Globe Thistle, ‘Echinops’ means ‘Sea Urchin’, and comes in shades of bluey-green to deep blue. It can look both soft and cottage-garden like and rugged and earthly, so is perfect for this trend. It is a terrific laster, so long as all its foliage is removed that would sit under the water level of your arrangements. It is used in Ethiopian herbal medicine to treat various diseases and illness such as migraine, diarrhea, heart pain, and different forms of infections – so is another vital ingredient to our own history and folklore.

< Carthamus

Also known as Safflower, the beautiful yellow colour of the flower gradually turns a deep orange and was formerly used in red and orange dyes for clothing. The seeds produce safflower oil used in margarines and oils, so the plant yields more than simply beauty for this trend. It has its very own history and folklore! It is very long lasting and will dry in the vase rather than die, so can become a great keepsake from a very special bunch of flowers.

Gladiolus >

This is another bulb flower, originating from South Africa. Like many bulb flowers, they are very thirsty, so make sure the water is well-topped up and they will last for as long as 2 weeks. To encourage lower buds to open, snip out the top three buds. Don’t worry; you won’t lose the dramatic sword-like shape, as the flowers will then bloom right to the top. They come in a huge range of colours, and instantly add length to any design.

< Scabious

These delicate flowers also have their own folklore, formerly being reputable for curing skin diseases. They come in soft pastel blue, creamy white and lilac, purple-black and deep red, and add hints of cottage-garden sophistication to an arrangement. For such a tissue-soft flower they are fairly robust, and should last up to a week in clean water. With their pretty, papery petals, they look very ethereal and you can imagine them being the star of a fairytale.