simple table flowers

Lucy Wharton arranges flowers for the dining room at Chatsworth House, placing them in the middle of the table on a big silver platter.

Cut floristry foam to the right size to fill the dish and then add the flowers.

Cut full, heavy-headed flowers (eg roses or peonies) short for the centre, with foliage around the edge.

Lucy likes the deep yellow rose 'Golden Celebration’ and creamy white single or semi-double rambling roses.

Use the odd stem of wild cow parsley, lady’s mantle, or the frothy spikes of Aruncus dioicus to soften the effect and offset the neatness of the plate.

For an even simpler arrangement, try the pink peony 'Sarah Bernhardt’ interspersed with cow parsley. Lucy often uses different scented-leaved pelargoniums ('Lady Plymouth’, 'Mabel Grey’, 'Old Spice’ and 'Creamy Nutmeg’), as a frill around the edge of a table arrangement. Tree foliage such as copper beech also works well.