Pastel Fairy is far bolder than its name suggests. Pink hydrangea heads mass across the full width of the arrangement, several of them hanging below the rim of the vase, and large magenta phalaenopsis orchid sprays open through the centre and right in strong, striped colour.
Three terracotta anthuriums sit low on the left in a rust that has no business working next to hot pink, and does. Anthurium, from the rainforests of Colombia and Ecuador, brings the flat glossy shape the arrangement needs to stop reading as one soft mass. Above them, yellow parrot tulips lean out on curving stems, and a cream peony and peach ranunculus open at the centre as the only quiet part of the piece.
The outline is deliberately unresolved. A green eremurus spike shoots up well past everything else, a burgundy calla lily arcs over, orange gloriosa lily flickers out to the far right, and fringed pink gerbera daisies open at odd angles across the left. A dark veined alocasia leaf sits front and centre, and trailing eucalyptus and bear grass fall away to the right, so the arrangement is roughly twice as wide as the vase that holds it.
Set in a simple fluted white vase, it needs a long console or a wide table with nothing else on it. It suits milestone birthdays, events and gifting for someone whose taste is maximalist rather than restrained.
Hydrangea is the heavy drinker here and there is a great deal of it, so the water level should be checked daily rather than weekly. Orchid and anthurium will both outlast everything else and can be lifted into a smaller vase once the tulips and ranunculus have gone. Tulips continue to grow in water and will move over the first two days, which changes the shape of the piece. Keep it out of direct sun, and give it space: the eucalyptus and bear grass need room to fall properly.