BACK TO SCHOOL
PHOTO ©TAMARA PEAL
Become part of the enchanting world of floral designer Zita Elze with one of her exclusive courses at the Flower Schools. There are intense, four week courses and one-day workshops to choose from throughout the year for both amateurs and professionals. March offers an invigorating floral embroidery and wedding design classes. zitaelze.com
[GARDENING]
©PETER BAISTOW
Green Fingers ©RBG KEW
Updates from a gardener’s world
ONE POT WONDER IN BLOOM
Catch the Orchid Festival at Kew Garden’s Princess of Wales Conservatory, which has been transformed into a blanket of exquisite and vibrant colour. Courses are also being held on 20 and 21 February, helping keen gardeners learn more about cultivating these beautiful plants. Until 3 March; kew.org
India Jane bring a touch of the exotic with their gorgeous range of colonial style accessories, furniture and trinkets. If your garden isn’t exactly large-scale, then their array of potted plants, herbs and fantastic topiary will fill your kitchen or conservatory beautifully. You can practically smell the oregano coming off the page. 16cm mini oregano in pot, £27.50, 36-38 Hill Rise, TW9; indiajane.com
KATE GOULD’S TOP TIP ‘Choosing furniture and creating attractive storage outside can contribute hugely towards making your garden a truly unique space and one that lends itself to use all year round. Terraces with outdoor sofas and generous dining tables look fabulous when they are dressed with cushions, lit with candles and filled with friends and family.’ kategouldgardens.com
FLOWER POWER
Gardener and art historian Celia Fisher, who was previously a researcher at Kew Gardens, has collated Flower: Paintings by 40 Great Artists, a beautiful new book of her favourite floral paintings. The book explores the significance of flowers in various art movements – spanning several decades; from the usual suspects such as Manet and Van Gogh to Georgia O’Keefe’s surreal floral close-ups and the vibrant works of 17th-century Dutch painter, Ambrosius Bosschaert. £12.99 published by Frances Lincoln. Available at Oliver Bonas, 24 Turnham Green Terrace, W4; oliverbonas.com 57
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