Flowers In The Reign

Today is the diamond anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. Her Majesty  is having fun at the races today, good for her. Tomorrow the pageantry starts with a Royal Procession down the Thames river. A commercial boat "The Spirit of Chartwell" has been turned into a royal barge for the day.  It will be groaning under the weight of floral decorations so I hope we can all get to see it via some form of media. If you are actually teetering on the river bank, brolly in hand and trying not to slip down the muddy bank, then I expect pictures A.S.A.P.

How is this for a florist's order:
90 garlands each approx 6ft wide (1.8m)
7,000 cut flowers
140 containers
1,000 sweet peas and a knot garden?

2,450 rose stems with 60 more in containers, lavender and scented herbs are being used to make the barge fragrant. (Perhaps the dear old Thames still pongs a bit?)

Here is an article showing the preparations:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/9287896/Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-a-barge-perfumed-by-flowers.html

Rachel de Thame the designer was inspired by the dress Queen Elizabeth wore for her coronation.

The Queen suggested embroidered floral emblems from the U.K. and her Commonwealth realm.
Her white satin dress was decorated with pale pink roses, lotus flowers, shamrocks, purple thistles, green leeks, ferns, wheat and maple leaves among others. Opals, silver and gold thread, mother of pearl and diamante were used to form the designs.

The Queen's wedding dress also had a floral design. This time star shaped lilies, white roses and orange blossoms were worked using seed pearls and crystal.

The Queen obviously shares my delight in floral dresses. I knew we had a lot in common.

Two blogs, the Royal Post and Madame Guillotine have great posts on the coronation and the coronation gown. I appreciate their generosity in allowing the use of their photographs.

How I Became A Gardener, Part 1

I was raised in an unhappy home. Only someone who has had a similar experience can know the damage this does to a child. Occasionally I was able to escape to my Great Uncle Archie’s garden. He let me roam freely; perhaps realizing I was an anxious child and needed the solace the garden offered. Archie was a Quaker and gardened like a Quaker-methodically, scientifically, respectfully, usefully. It was mostly vegetables but he couldn’t resist growing flowers entirely. Half way up on the right hand side was an arbor covered in sweet peas.

  Hidden inside, the soft, damp petals, fresh scent, and gentle colours, combined into a soothing balm. I pretended it was possible to stay there forever. Of course, it wasn’t. It has been a long road to this time of wisdom and joy. You have to hang on to the good memories and let go of the bad. Every year, in gratitude, in love, in remembrance, I plant sweet peas.