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THOUGHT THAT COUNTS
W hen winter drags on, is it any wonder we need a little frisson of excitement in February? Valentine’s Day comes along at just the right time, but with few plants flowering in UK gardens right now, it can be a depressing feast of flower deliveries flown in from overseas. While we still consider the rose to be the quintessential bloom of love, there’s not a single rose in the UK that naturally flowers during February. You might not want to know where they come from, but be certain that a bunch of long-stem roses is not saying ‘I love you’ in the way you meant. Consider the distance travelled, chemicals used (usually banned in the UK and EU) and worker conditions. Even worse, scent is bred out of them to survive the transporting. Yes, roses with no scent! Thankfully, there are sustainable alternatives. That’s why, this year, I’m inspired to fully lean into Valentine’s Day, spreading a message of love and appreciation to family, neighbours and friends as well as my partner. I’ll be sending flowers from The Flower Project on Mill Road, where florist Clare uses plants that naturally flower in late winter, so you can be assured of beautiful and regenerative British blooms. Give her enough notice, and she’ll be getting in the most exquisite – and most importantly, scented – narcissus from Cornwall, iris, tulips, anemones, alstroemeria and even dried dahlias. Buying British flowers is a significant but underrated way to help our farmers diversify their income streams, support Nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like a sustainable Valentine’s bouquet. Flower farmer Anna Taylor explains how British- grown blooms can show you love the planet too
MAIN IMAGE © ANNA TAYLOR PORTRAIT © CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS
biodiversity and soil health with climate- resilient shrubs, perennials and bulb crops. There are true February flowers, but you need to get out and look harder for them. Fields and hedgerows aren’t as abundant as in summer months. That’s why I’ll be meeting friends at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden and National Trust’s Anglesey Abbey for a Galentine’s lunch, fragrant winter walk and plant buys to remind me of this month’s delights. In fact, some of our prettiest plants flower in the middle of winter, their blooms diminutive but highly scented. With fewer insects about at this time of year, these have evolved to have bright colours and a strong, sweet scent: think narcissus, winter honeysuckle, clematis and witch hazel. A posy of these flowers is a thoughtful way to let someone know you’re thinking of them. I’ll also send cards from Cambridge Imprint with packets of flower seeds from
my plots, Chiltern Seeds for flowers or Vital Seeds for vegetables. I’ve ordered bare root roses for family members from David Austin, Norfolk’s Peter Beales and local Hertfordshire supplier Harkness Roses. Bare root plants are cheap and easy to post, and quick to establish, so an ideal present to order from your armchair. Rose breeders are a sentimental lot, and give their plants great names like ‘For Your Eyes Only’, ‘You Are My Sunshine’ and ‘Unconditional Love’; a message to delight, woo or amuse your recipient for years. Does it get any more romantic than that? Anna is a gardens and cut flowers writer, educator and designer. She works from her studio in the centre of plots in Saffron Walden. See her Substack blog, Floral Notes, for more garden writing
Bare root plants are cheap and easy to post , and quick to establish, so an ideal present to order from your armchair
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK FEBRUARY 2025 79
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