Funky Flora is unapologetic. Three sunflowers open across the middle of the arrangement with their dark centres facing forward, two large yellow roses sit high on the left, and lilac and cobalt chrysanthemum balls punch through in colours that have no natural relationship to either.
Sunflower is the anchor and the joke: it is the least subtle flower available and the arrangement is built to make that a virtue. Around it, magenta dahlias and roses cluster at the centre right, a pink dahlia opens low, and blush hydrangea and a large pale gerbera fill the bottom of the piece so the eye has somewhere to land.
The upper half is all height and line. Purple and grey delphinium spikes rise at the back, a tan eremurus shoots straight up through the middle, and bells of Ireland lean out to the right in green spires. A bronzed palm fan spreads behind everything, dried grasses splay outward, and thin orange wire curls out into the air on both sides like something drawn rather than grown.
A large copper anthurium sits low on the left, and a yellow calla lily curves out from the base. It is wrapped in orange polka dots with confetti pom-poms tucked in at the side, which tells you exactly what it is for: birthdays, congratulations and celebrations where restraint would be the wrong instinct.
Sunflowers drink more water than anything else in this arrangement and will droop first if the level drops, so check it daily rather than weekly. Chrysanthemum and the dried elements will outlast them comfortably. The bronzed palm fan, the dried grasses and the wire detail need no attention and can be kept once the fresh flowers have gone. Keep the arrangement out of direct sun and away from ripening fruit, and recut the sunflower stems every few days.
