Retro Bloom takes a cool lilac and blue arrangement and drops metal into it. Sky-blue delphinium spikes rise tall at the back, lilac hyacinth and hydrangea fill the centre in soft mauve and powder blue, and two purple allium globes float above on long bare stems.
Then three copper-gold anthuriums arrive, one at the right and two across the front, in a bronze that reads almost metallic against all that cool colour. Anthurium, from the rainforests of Colombia and Ecuador, has a naturally lacquered surface, and in this shade it behaves less like a flower than like a piece of hammered metal set into the arrangement.
Two orange calla lilies at the lower left extend the same idea in a warmer, cleaner line. Calla, native to southern Africa, is architectural by nature; used in orange against lilac it is the sharpest contrast in the piece. Upright gold amaranthus rises through the middle in dried spires, and small tan craspedia heads stand on straight stems above the allium.
Green dill and ammi thread through the left in fine acid-green umbels, small purple chrysanthemums punctuate the centre, and a purple campanula bell hangs at the right. Wrapped in blue tissue with an orange spotted panel that picks up the callas, it suits birthdays, congratulations and interiors with a considered colour sense.
Anthurium and the dried gold amaranthus will both outlast everything else here and can be kept once the fresh stems have gone. Hyacinth is the shortest-lived and the most fragrant, and its scent will fill a room for the first three or four days. Hydrangea and delphinium drink heavily and want daily topping up. Calla lily bruises where handled, so leave it in place. Keep the arrangement out of direct sun and away from the air conditioning.
