Our Sunday flower school - How to make snowdrops sing in a pot-et-fleur
An easy force of nature piece to make this first weekend of Spring.
Well, thank Brigid for bringing her February month as already mornings are brighter & glimmers seem to be in abundance this first weekend of Spring.
Today, in our Sunday Flower School, I am going to show you how to make what is called a “pot-et-fleur” … this Victorian trend where plants & flowers combine in the same vessel is enjoying a revival. The Victorians loved nothing more than to show off newly discovered plants matched with exotic flowers and fruit to create extravagant table centres/conversation pieces.
I suppose this is a form of showing off but really, this display idea is one of the ways in how I get through the winter. I think that the 500 year old tradition of forcing bulbs to bloom is a way to make joy at home whilst you wait less time for flowers to appear and those that do, then offer a hope and brightness whilst we wait for the days to lighten.
And then, it is always nice to jazz up a bulb display from it’s sometimes minimalist stance - why not add froth with green plants, a casual curation of stems from baby bunches to twiggery we can find everywhere around us now in the Storm Éoywn aftermath.
This week I have focused on snowdrops for very simple reasons.
I love them
They are starting to appear all around us
Their petite demure prettiness is worth forcing a bit early to bring some petite joy at home
It’s International Snowdrop Month/Mí Plúiriní Sneachta. I thought let us celebrate snowdrops & be one with the Galanthophile tribe.
No, I don’t have drifts planted sa gháirdín because our beagle, Ella likes to bring every bulb I bury to the surface each season. No, I didn’t plant bulbs in pots and mind them in November because the festive season overtook and this year was the first I was kind to myself by not buying a tonne of bulbs I was bedazzled by & then sit planting guilt-racked as I ran out of time to plant them. I actually bought a few already potted snowdrops. The galanthophiles amongst you might gasp What! but to be honest I am delighted with my stash. Now, I simply am waiting any day now for my indoor versions to pop any & my porch pots have been filled to the brim so that soon the snowdrops will meet me at my door with a bashful hi.
And what is a galanthophile you say? Well I wrote a piece about these snowdrop collectors in my Substack last year - I have copied and pasted all of it below for any of you lovely folk who have joined Bláthanna stories recently.
I ‘borrowed’ a fern from our garden - we are changing a few things around so I thought my fern might like some indoor hanging out after all the storms & subzero days & nights. And then, I spotted jasmine in our siopa and thought that it’s prettiness would add a pop. Still craving May sunlight where lanes of lime greens and whites dance with frothy flowers, I bought myself a bunch of prunus (a winter blossom which every year I say I will plant…) and some guelder viburnum. It’s bouncy snowballs were going to offer cow parsley in my head and then I added some magnolia from fallen branches at home.
OK, here’s how to make this magically easy piece. I hope that you enjoy.
RuthX
AN IMBOLC INSPIRED POT-ET-FLEUR
The Ingredients
Snowdrops
- I used the Elwesii variety, the easiest to find, as I am not a galanthus collector yet.
A Fern Plant
- you could use hellebores, cyclamen, calatheas…
Jasmine
- some strands of ivy would also look dandy
Moss
- very useful to ‘finish’ the display.
Prunus
- a winter blossom - you could use any shrubbery you find
Guelder
- you could use cut skimmia/hellebores from your plants
Magnolia
- again, any twiggery will add a nice feature & support structure
The Equipment you will need
A favourite vessel. The Victorian used punch bowls/soup tureens but I chose one of our Bergspotter shallow pots & a Fermoyle Pottery vessel to create both of my displays in. You could also use a lovely bowl, basket or metal box. The most important thing is that your choice is watertight so no water will damage the surface your stunning piece will sit on.
Small posy vases - I used bottles from our Tray of Blooms because they have a thin neck and sizewise they suited the vessels they were intended for.
I had moss at home to dress Christmas pieces - I simply wet it to revive it’s green carpet.
I found it handy to use brown paper to place around the base of the pot to stabilize everything - I tend to keep paper from packages received so used that.
I added a few pebbles I always have for projects, you might have broken pot pieces etc, this will help with drainage because of course, you will water your pot-et-fleur as it needs…won’t you?
An old newspaper. I always place one on the counter as it makes the clean-up so much quicker and concise.
THE HOW TO
THE FERN & SNOWDROPS
- As our home is warm, I decided to wrap the base of each plant in moss and wire in kokodama style as a way to keep their root structures in place & to keep as much moisture as possible in the base of the plants. I then put the fern at the ‘back’ of the pot & the snowdrops in front. I want the snowdrops to be the heroes of this herald of Spring hence leaving space for their flowers to grow.
- We took photos of snowdrops in the park near us so that your imaginations will know what I meant to achieve with my non-flowering dudes.
THE JASMINE
- Firstly, I unravelled the plant from it’s frame which gave me several fragrant f
ronds to work with. I removed the excess soil, mossed around the base of the plant, then popped it behind the fern leaving the trails waiting until I had the flowers organised to shine.
THE FLOWERS
- It is easier to first place the bottles into the pot fixing their position amidst the small bunches of paper. Make sure you have water in them too for the blooms to drink.
- As I wanted to create a more naturalistic feel, I used the prunus twigs as a loose structure and then dropped in the guelder to bob around in front.
- Take off any unnecessary leaves from the guelder or any flower stem as they tend to flop and waste valuable water from the bloom head you really want to see in all it’s beauty.
- As you see, there is room left for the snowdrops to grow.
THE JASMINE
Once you are happy with the positioning of the plants & flowers, then wrap the unfurled jasmine stems around the pot for some extra flounce and fancy.
ENJOY - Place your pot-et-fleur in your favourite gazing spot. Take time to enjoy what you have made, make sure you take a shot of it and what wonderful mindfulness you made in making your Spring flowers sing this February start.
THE MINDING OF YOUR MASTERPIECE
Make sure you water the plants so that the soil and moss don’t dry out. A slim watering can with a long narrow spout for small spaces is ideal for these displays, but misting is an excellent way to maintain the humidity around plant leaves.
The flowers need fresh water every 2 days. Cut the base of the stems each time to lengthen their life too.
You can extend the life of this pretty piece by placing it in a cooler room at night.
And don’t forget, that you can use the snowdrop flowers by cutting their stems and popping them in your favourite posy vase. I can’t wait to have some sitting pretty at my desk.
WHAT IS A GALANTHOPHILE? (from our Substack this time last year)
Ok, what is a Galanthophile you say? ... Well, these snowdrop lovers pursue annual snowdrop garden shows and track bulb growers to find and trade the most unusual bulbs. Their collective name comes from the Snowdrop Scientific Name : Galanthus.
Due to a recent explosion of interest in snowdrops, there has been a recent expansion of the galanthophile population . This community growth is now compared to the tulip mania that hit the Netherlands in the 17th century, when rare tulip bulbs cost more than a small house.
What?! ... say us who are not galanthophiles? Well the current vogue is partly due to Joe Sharman of Monksilver Nursery, Cambridgeshire, England who spotted the early potential of selling rare snowdrops on eBay. In 1997, he started an annual ‘Galanthus Gala’ that helped to kick start the market of these fragile & resilient bulbs. Galanthomania reaches fever pitch each February since as specialist nurseries and private individuals chase sought-after specimens .In 2011 his first yellow snowdrop Galanthus plicatus 'Golden Fleece' fetched a (then) record of £747. However, Joe subsequently broke his own record by selling another yellow snowdrop for £1850 in 2022. He is known to galanthophiles the world over as the snowdrop grower with the Midas touch!
He explains that the high prices reflect the time these new cultivars take to develop. “I was the first person to breed specific cultivars. I aimed to develop a yellow snowdrop but it takes over 18 years from the first seed to having enough stock to sell" (Gardens Illustrated)
These bulbs has reached such trading notoriety that nurseries and gardens with Snowdrop festivals need to have extra security to prevent plant theft & illegal trading. Who knew that such a delicate bulb would become the source for a new floral movement sensation in Spring.
Notes on The Snowdrop
In floriography, they are symbols of hope and consolation, they are the birth flowers of anyone January born & brilliantly galantamine, an active ingredient within the flower is used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. It was the monks who originally brought them here from Rome & England and they were traditionally planted around monasteries. Adored by pollinators such as bees and butterflies, it's hardened leaves have a sharp pointed tip, allowing them to effectively break through the frozen ground in late winter.
"Snowdrop collecting in Ireland derived from naturally occurring hybrids found in gardens around the country. Once nurtured and bulked up, the snowdrops were shared among passionate gardeners and it is only recently that many of these snowdrops have become available commercially. Cicely Hall, who had a snowdrop named after her, amassed a noted collection that is now maintained by her son Robin at Primrose Hill Garden in Lucan, Co Dublin, while at Altamont Gardens, Co Carlow, Corona North enriched her snowdrop collection with snowdrop hybrids she collected from abandoned demesnes." - Sylvia Thompson, The Irish Times
WHERE TO FIND SNOWDROPS FABULOSITY THIS FEBRUARY :
And here’s some gorgeous gardens where you can experience the exhilaration of snowdrop drifts - I can’t wait to visit them myself once the Day of Love is done and dusted!
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