Contrasting persepectives amoungst the gorse

Remarkably, gorse flowers all year round, even during the winter months – although not as intense as its springtime bloom.  So, April and May are the best times to step out and find a sheltered spot amongst the gorse bushes to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine and breathe in the soothing aroma of its distinctively coconut scented flowers. The perfect ‘springtime tonic’.

With an inquiring mind, I wondered why my attention was particularly drawn not just to the bright yellow blooms but also how they starkly contrast to the jet-black gorse stems which had been recently burnt.

Although heathlands look wild, they are managed through controlled burning and cutting of both gorse and heather on a rotational programme. Gorse can live for 30 years, so by burning or cutting older woody stems this encourages the regeneration of low, dense bushes that provide shelter to ponies and many insects and birds. Management prevents the gorse from becoming too big and shading out the heathland flora grazed by New Forest animals.

Initially the areas of burnt gorse look harsh and lifeless but look closer at the ground and you’ll get a contrasting perspective as signs of new growth soon appear. Also, look beyond the tangle of blackened stems and you will see flowering gorse in the distance, as the annual burning programme creates a wonderful mosaic of differing age and structured gorse across this landscape.

So, with a blend of nature-inspiration and floristry zest, I decided to create an arrangement that that mirrored the juxtaposed blackened vertical stems and bright yellow flowers of the gorse.

Mechanics: Using a wooden log slice, I drilled in holes to push in short support sticks and tied onto these a few carefully chosen black gorse stems.  I then arranged 5 glass jars, with coloured twine wrapped around the top, next to the vertical stems.

Ingredients: To represent the bright yellow gorse flowers, I choose yellow Tulips, Freesia, Forsythia and Craspedia – for a contemporary twist. I also decided to add in Centaura (Cornflower) to represent the wild violets that grow underneath gorse bushes. Violet is a complementary colour to yellow (opposite on the colour wheel) and adds another strong colour contrast to the design. Finally, I added moss, dried grass and a few interestingly shaped blackened sticks to the wooden base to both connect the design to the heathland landscape and soften the jar mechanics to complete the arrangement.

My invitation to you this Easter is to allow yourself some ‘nature-immersion’ time and to look for the many contrasting perspectives in nature. What will inspire you?