My year-round cut flower guide
January Indoor bulbs planted in October come into their own. This is the time to enjoy narcissi, hyacinths, cymbidium orchids and amaryllis.
February Flowering cherries, sweet box, daphne, helebores and mahonia are fragrant additions to the home. Pussy willow, hazel and birch twigs add interesting structure to any vase.
March I snip branches of pear before the buds burst: the warmth of the house brings them into leaf and bud.
April Time for tulips. I like to display them in a row of little glass bottles or bunched together in a crate.
May One of my favourite plants, auriculas, flower now. They can be brought indoors and displayed on a windowsill out of direct sunlight.
June Sweetpeas flower in abundance this month. I keep picking to ensure there are plenty of blooms.
July Lavender is at its headiest now. Once bees have finished with the flowers, I clip off the stems and put them in a big basket.
August Succulents are at their best in August. I put pots of sempervivums and sedums on the kitchen table.
September Now is the time to forage hedgerows for berries to display. A few sloe branches and some rosehips add extra colour.
October I grow pumpkins for decoration, then pile them high in the porch and festoon them with Virginia creeper.
November I press the heart-shaped leaves of cercis between sheets of paper; and dry seedheads and flowers for festive decorations.
December I take cardoon heads and little pumpkins and turn them into nightlight holders.