An arrangement with sweet peas, cerinthe, Salvia Viridis 'Blue Monday'

Midsummer

An Arrangement with Sweet Peas, Cerinthe, Salvia Viridis 'Blue Monday'

I usually find myself making enormous arrangements, but this time I'm going to show you how to make a range of different-sized displays using pin holders, which are great for creating elegant, airy arrangements.

To Prepare Your Vase

To prep your vase for your arrangement, break up some stems and add them to the bottom. This will create a natural grid that will hold your flower stems in place. Next, add your water.

For this arrangement, I will be using:

• Sweet pea 'Emilia Fox'
• Cerinthe
• Ammi majus
• Salvia viridis 'Blue Monday'

How to Build Your Arrangement

1. First, arrange your sweet pea stems so they are flowing outwards from the vase. Remember to remove any leaves that will sit below the water line, otherwise, they will rot.

1. Next, put three bunches of sweet peas into your grid, so they look like larger blooms.

1. Dot in your phlox stems in bunches.

1. Next, add in some stray sprigs of ammi and remember, you're not aiming for symmetry here, you want your arrangement to look natural.

1. Add in your cerinthe stems now. These have been seared in boiling water and will add height to your display.

Arranging Using the Frog Pins

For this arrangement, you'll need a small pudding bowl with a stem. Using one of the frog pins, I'm going to create an arrangement inspired by Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging.

You'll need to secure your frog pin to the bottom of the bowl with some waterproof florist's tack. Once you've left the tack to set for a few minutes, you can add some water to your bowl and now you're ready to start building your arrangement.

Remember, less is more when you are using frog pins.

• You want to maintain an airy look with your stems, so don't pack them in too tight.
• This is a great way to arrange if you only have a few stems, especially in the winter months when blooms might be in short supply.
• There are no rigid rules with this style of arranging, but remember to consider shape as well as colour.
• Adding podded peas with their pods split open can add a touch of glamour to your small vases too.
• Consider grouping lots of little vases as a contemporary table setting or arranging them along a mantelpiece.

The Finishing Touches

When you have finished arranging your vases, bring the display down onto the table surface by scattering some podded peas and pea stems in between and in front of your vases.

Take inspiration from harvest festival displays when arranging these vases along your table too.