![Festive flourishes](https://cdn.magzter.com/1422872219/1701366222/articles/zxLbVgSWl1701433187927/FESTIVE-FLOURISHES.jpg)
Is there anything so peaceful as a deep winter's day? There's a crispness that clears the senses. The land breathes; there is rest above and deep rumblings of unseen preparation below. Winter begins like a dark, ancient womb that nourishes and protects, encouraging a different pace; to slow right down, allowing one act to end and, behind the big velvet curtain of November, for a scene change to take place.
With the limitations and scarcity of flowers at this time in the year, I notice that a deeper kind of seeing kicks in. To keep making and creating arrangements, we rely on more than the obvious showy blooms of the other more fruitful seasons. I love shy winter for choosing ingredients that would usually be overlooked or overshadowed by the more dominant, obvious flowers. Subtle hues in blues and greys of spruce, juniper and cedar. Mosses and pine cones, rose hips, crab apples and ligustrum berries all bring punches of colour, and then there's the tenacious little flowers that grow among the harshest conditions, like hellebores and snowdrops.
The arrangements I've demonstrated here vary from simple, using just a few choice blooms and stems, to grander displays. Some use plants that are not necessarily seasonal, but UK-grown flowers should be available from florists in December. There's also the option at this time of year to cut out flowers completely and just replicate nature and what's happening outside by using foliage and seedheads with interesting hues and textures, gnarly lichen-covered branches and vibrant berries, mixed with a few late winter or early spring blooms, such as hellebores and anemones. There are plenty of inventive ways to bring wintered nature into the heart of the home for the festive season.
Hanging hedgerow cloud
This story is from the December 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![STEPS TO SUCCESS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/IsLR0Aa0H1716465027220/STEPS-TO-SUCCESS.jpg)
STEPS TO SUCCESS
Enclosed within a rustic barn conversion, this courtyard garden contrasts riotous Mediterranean-inspired gravel planting with clean lines and a reflective pool
![ANNIE GUILFOYLE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/e2EIxi9Wj1716464833724/ANNIE-GUILFOYLE.jpg)
ANNIE GUILFOYLE
The garden polymath on the pleasures of passing on knowledge, the rewards of close observation and the circuitous route towards grounding her itchy feet
![HEAVEN SCENT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/kveapN1yW1716464473452/HEAVEN-SCENT.jpg)
HEAVEN SCENT
As summer adds a new dimension to his garden, Nigel Slater reflects on the rewards of planting for perfume
![Colour therapy](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/tjbvnk40D1716463776224/COLOUR-THERAPY.jpg)
Colour therapy
Ann-Maree Winter's joyful Australian garden became a place of solace and nurture in hard times
![30 plants with interest all year](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/AbqLT7bnP1716462312763/30-PLANTS-WITH-INTEREST-ALL-YEAR.jpg)
30 plants with interest all year
These hard-working plants provide several seasons of interest in your garden through flowers, fruit, foliage, bark and even spring shoots
![PERFECT HARMONY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/U87XcfuW01716461552401/PERFECT-HARMONY.jpg)
PERFECT HARMONY
Rosarian Michael Marriott and TV producer Rosie Irving have very different ideas on gardening, but they have discovered the secret to sharing a single plot amicably
![SUMMERFLOWERING ALLIUMS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/NFbOe9y0R1716460759401/SUMMERFLOWERING-ALLIUMS.jpg)
SUMMERFLOWERING ALLIUMS
Loved for their showy spheres, alliums have long been stalwarts of late spring, but now new introductions are extending the party through summer
![Faith in the future](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/zmA9_B7WZ1716460391082/FAITH-IN-THE-FUTURE.jpg)
Faith in the future
Marian Boswall's contemporary design for the garden of a former chapel respects the property's history while looking to the future
![Summertime at Sissinghurst](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/TydprowFz1716459419577/SUMMERTIME-AT-SISSINGHURST.jpg)
Summertime at Sissinghurst
Ensuring Sissinghurst’s famous roses look fabulous throughout the season is one of the many tasks keeping head gardener Troy Scott Smith and his team busy right now
![FRESH APPROACH](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/w2UqFuBc61716459099296/FRESH-APPROACH.jpg)
FRESH APPROACH
Colm Joseph’s design for this new garden, which surrounds a modern house within a heritage setting, uses clever planting to give a historic site a contemporary feel