Winter Table Scape

Did you know that only 17% of cut flowers bought in the UK are actually grown here? And no… they don’t include red roses at valentines day! However, it does include some fantastic garden roses in summer. They might not last 2 weeks in a vase but actually smell divine, as opposed to their imported counterpart!

Flowers are seasonal, just like the vegetables we grow in the walled garden. And that is exactly what we celebrate at Keythorpe Hall! Flowers are an integral part of a guest stay with us – not only do we decorate every room with blooms from the garden, we change table scapes for nearly every meal. Often, guests are surprised by the variety we can grow in the UK and don’t even believe some flowers are real (looking at you Icelandic Poppies!).

But how do you grow flowers in the winter months, I hear you ask? We don’t. I mean, we probably could grow some if we heat the greenhouses and put some artificial lights up. That is not a sustainable use of energy! We choose to celebrate what we have, regardless of the time of year. And in January that means tree branches, millions of snowdrops, winter aconites and the odd hellebore. We also prepare for Winter throughout the year –  in Spring, we sow pumpkins which can be harvested in Autumn and will last throughout the winter (to then end up in the kitchen!), in Summer we dry flowers in the cellar to use for dried arrangements or Christmas decorations. And every Autumn we pot up bulbs in small terracotta pots, which we take inside the house about two weeks before we want them to flower, giving us a continues supply from January until March.

Add to all this winter beauty some dried moss - sustainably harvested while cleaning the roof of our stables, and you get a woodland walk on the dining table. The lovely Isobel from Pickleberry Flowers taught me years ago to play with different heights to create a more interesting tablescape – some upside down pots covered with moss did the job in this instance but you can easily use any Tupperware or recycled takeaway container for this too. She suggested the use of pillar candles rather than our classic candelabras, which adds to the enchanted forest look.

So next time you are hosting a dinner party, or simply crave some flower joy on the kitchen table I encourage you to open your eyes to what nature has to offer. And for Valentines day… I’ll ask Giles for a bunch of catkin branches rather than red roses.