Winter coat, spring flowers

My Arsene Wenger coat keeps being threatened with warm-weather banishment to the depths of the wardrobe, but then the 3rd Saturday of the month rolls around, and I look out of the window and think "hmmm, might get chilly standing around in this".  It therefore gets shoved in the car as a last minute safeguard against the cold as I man my market flower stall.

Maybe a serving of this chilli oil might've kept me warmer.

This weekend I wished I had worn two more layers underneath my snuggly windproof coat - boy was it chilly!  I stood there shivering and eyeing the experienced traders who had all come armed with woolly hats and suddenly, even the most unprepossessing of knitted tea cosies looked desirable.

Hopping up an down like a mildly demented chicken, I lurked behind my lovely flowers and wished that, like the woodturner next to me, I had a physical activity to keep my busy whilst I manned the stall.

Or maybe a blanket of lamb's ears with their thick felty leaves might've done the trick?

I think the hot chocolate man probably did the best trade on Saturday, and for good reason.  But despite the cold, it was good to be part of the local scene and catch up with a few people that I haven't chatted to in a while.  Doing the stall  also gives me a reason to experiment with new flowery ideas and see what kind of things people really love.  My favourites of the day were the 'Poeticus' narcissus above with their wrapping of lamb's ears and gorgeous perfume, and the apple blossom teacups below.

It is starting to get much easier to put things together as the garden is filling out daily.  Can't wait to see the return of the alliums and roses next month as they are brilliant flowers to make arrangements with.