In the words of leading landscape architect Jinny Blom A pulsing blood red amaryllis is the best flower a woman can offer a love interest on Valentine s Day Gets the...
...message across unequivocally An oversized home grown stem has the kind of passion that a sad imported rose in cellophane could only dream of weighed down as it is with environmental baggage
Photograph by Sophia Moreno-Bunge.
Gloriosa lilies with ranunculus, in an Isa Isa bunch.
Sophia Moreno-Bunge of Isa Isa Floral
“I always love red or coral gloriosa lilies (Gloriosa rothschildiana); they feel very fire-y and passionate and playful. My first choice though would have to be some very juicy and special pink or red, garden-grown California camellias. We get a lot of these here in the winter and they are always so lush and exuberant.”
Frances Palmer, Ceramic Artist
Photograph by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.
Ranunculus from a nearby state, in a fresh-out-of-the-kiln bud vase. Alternatively, a posy of pale hellebores.
Shane Connolly, Flower Decorator to the King
“The whole idea of small and exquisite appeals hugely.” Snowdrops, left, hellebore, right. Personally I’d go for one of the divine old roses, ‘Souvenir du Dr Jamain’, ‘Francis Dubreuil’ or a rare treat from Trevor White Roses in Norfolk, England (doesn’t even have to be red!).
Photography by Britt Willoughby Dyer.
Or some deepest coloured hellebores. Again, all these could be sent as growing plants, or cut flowers.
Sam McKnight, Legendary Hairdresser
Photograph by Jim Powell.
Massed tulips of a single color.
He tells us: “I would go to New Covent Garden Flower Market (at Nine Elms, London) at 5 AM and get a huge bunch of the best tulips, in season from now. I’d find out the recipient’s favorite color first; make it really personal. And if that level of keen doesn’t frighten them off, you’re in with a chance!”
A thorny branch of flowering quince.
Ngoc Minh Ngo, Plant and Nature Photographer
Photograph by Jim Powell.
“Forced branches at this time of year are my favorites,” says Ngoc Minh Ngo, “especially flowering quince as we Vietnamese celebrate the Lunar New Year with them. Alternatively, I would give Hippeastrum, either in a pot or a stem. They are so exuberant and cheerful at this time of year, especially here in New York.”
An exuberant Hippeastrum (aka amaryllis), forced bulbs that bloom cheerfully indoors in winter.
Photograph by Sophia Moreno-Bunge.
The surprising romance of the bitter leaf, radicchio.
Photograph by Jim Powell.
Jeremy Lee, Chef-Proprietor of Quo Vadis, London
Photograph by Jim Powell.
“A pulsing blood red amaryllis is the best flower a woman can offer a love interest on Valentine’s Day,” says designer Jinny Blom.
Jinny Blom, Landscape Architect