Notes On Easter
For many, Easter is an eagerly anticipated celebration, due largely in part to the abundance of chocolate eggs that seem to swarm the house as swiftly as they exit it. For those with less of a sweet tooth, Easter means the arrival of the budding hyacinths, blooming magnolia trees and cheerful daffodils that enliven our parks, street corners, window boxes and flower beds.
The gardeners among us will have noted the Spring Equinox in our calendars; a moment of perfect equilibrium between day and night and the oh-so-welcome marking of a new season. As clocks go forward, longer and warmer days mean we can spend more time in our gardens and by now, many of us are relishing in the satisfaction that comes when the vegetable patch is prepared and the second early spuds are sown.
“Easter always reminds me of a time at home when the vegetable garden is prepared and the early spuds are sown. Depending on how early Easter falls, we would prepare the ground to sow the early potatoes after they have been chitted along with onions, shallots and scallions. It’s back aching work preparing the ground - adding manure and turning the soil - but the rewards are endless”.
Mark Grehan, Founder of The Garden
All of this new growth makes us think about how we can bring Spring into the house. If you’re feeling creative, try building your own wreath for an Easter tablescape, using willow, birch and moss. Decorate it with some quail eggshells, place a candle in the centre or use it as a decorative surround for serving plates.
A simple solution comes in the form of our hand-tied bouquets. With the change in seasons, we’ve introduced brighter colours such as purple and lilac (symbolising wealth and melancholy), yellow (symbolising rebirth and the sun), orange and pink (symbolising purity) and a wider variety of blooms from poppies, tulips and ranunculus to hyacinthus, lilac and forsythia. Alternatively, indoor houseplants offer instant Springtime gratification; try the perennial zamioculcas, the sculptural sansevieria, a climbing philodendron, or a flowering anthurium (also known as a Venus fly trap).
For a longer lasting ode to Spring in the home, our wreaths with foam free bases of bog myrtle, willow, hazel and birch branches are the answer. We bring them to life with decorative foliage such as eucalyptus, magnolia, prunus cherry blossom and late flowering spring heather. You'll also find dried flowers including statice, limonium, wheat grass, stipa grass and panicum. Lastly, as a nod to Easter, we add little seasonal touches with quail egg shells and decorative moss. Our wreaths dry beautifully and will last you well into Summer.
Photography by Doreen Kilfeather