An Easter table
If you can eat outside, I implore you to do so. A picnic on a bank holiday walk. A long, lazy lunch under some trees in the garden. Even an Easter egg sitting in the sunshine on the back step. There is something different about food eaten under an open sky.
If there is anything resembling a table, then of course I am going to suggest you put flowers on it. I have tried to put flowers on a picnic blanket but, as with champagne flutes, there is no practical way of doing this and the end result is often spillage and a wet seat.
As usual in bulb season, I am mixing cut flowers with pots. Not in the same container, I am not suggesting pot-et-fleur here, but a scattering of grape hyacinths in my favourite terracotta shallow bowl is quick, easy, lasts without any effort on my part, and I can put them in the ground afterwards. The epitome of sustainability.
I bought this pot of Muscari ‘Peppermint’ from Yalham Hayes Flowers a few weeks ago and they have been quite happily coming into full bloom on the table in the courtyard by my studio. I will admit when I bought them, I had not great plans for them, I was just supporting local businesses, but they have repaid my good intentions in buckets. As I laid the hot cross buns and the cake out for an Easter table, they were at absolute peak loveliness.
Any small bulbs will do. Normal tulips are a little top heavy but fritillaria, Iris reticulata, the smaller and more delicate of the narcissi will make for an exquisite centrepiece.This took about five minutes, including walking out to the shady spot to find the moss, and it looks absolutely wonderful.
Tip out the bulbs and pull them apart gently, being careful with the roots. Keep the compost. Put a small layer of compost in the bottom of the pot or saucer so that you can nestle the bulbs in. (If you are using a deeper vessel, just use more compost so the tops of the bulbs are near the top.)
They will fall all over the place initially, but gently use the compost to support the bulbs so that the stems are upright. Try not to get too much compost on the leaves. It doesn’t matter too much if you do, I didn’t think of it early enough, but I was just careful to wash it off when I watered the pot.
Shuffle them around a little so they are well spread and look pleasing. Add a little water. My saucer does not have holes in the bottom, so I was sparing with this. If you are putting the pot on any sort of tablecloth, I would suggest a mat or something to catch the water. Even terracotta without holes in wicks water dreadfully.
Add any spring flowers you happen to have. A few stems in bud vases makes all the difference and leaves plenty of room for tea and cake.
