The March Edition
Marching forward to Spring!
Happy happy March! I can’t tell you how happy I am it’s here at last. The abundance of sunshine these last few days feels like it’s drawing and thawing us out of a long hibernation and the tiny signs of new life in the buds, the longer evenings and lighter mornings feel so hopeful - it may still be cold but Spring is on it’s way! At last…
Marching forward this month we herald a new season and celebrate International Women’s Day next week and Mother’s Day at the end of the month - a suitable spotlight for the wonderful women in our lives. Mother’s Day can be very hard for many - saddened by those we’ve lost or are suffering, but I feel like it’s also a chance to really celebrate all women because we are all in mothering roles of some capacity and all feel the need for some mothering ourselves at times too.
My own mother is a constant source of inspiration and support and I am so thankful for her. This month, I’ve asked her to design a Loving Cup - our first artist collaboration for my beloved Loving Cups and befitting the first is my mama! The Seedling team asked us some questions to celebrate the launch of the Loving Cup and our very special bond.
My flowery tip this month is a fun Mother’s Day or any day trick - potted teacups - because I’m sure all have a little tea or coffee cup lying around begging for some bulbs on a breakfast tray! There are so many beautiful bulbs and flowers this month to use - snowdrops, muscari, crocus or dwarf iris to name a few…
March also means rhubarb is in season and we’ve shared a delicious rhubarb gallette recipe from Rick Stein. And as Sean A. Pritchard shows us, rhubarb can be very beautiful as a flowery centerpiece straight from the garden.
My Willow Loves this month seem to have a strong colour and comfort theme - just the ticket for a Spring in my step… and we’ve rounded up a spoily spring edit for beautiful products for you and your home (and your mothers too).
Finally, we round up things to do or book ahead for this month.
I hope you enjoy! This is my monthly free edition, but every Friday (except the Friday before a monthly Sunday edition), I send out an email to my paid subscribers with flowery, fashion, food and wellness content, and other related posts in between.
Wishing you all a marvellous March with plenty of sunshine and time for YOU!
With Love,
Willow
PS. this is a long read so might be best to read in app/web browser (just in case it cuts off in your email).
Willow Loves
Springing forward with colour & comfort!
Top row, left to right
Crochet trimmed shell and suede trainers in the best shade of red! Cannot resist these SL72’s…
Loving everything from Oka right now including the Collette garden bistro chair
My mother designed our new Loving Cup - a happy, colourful beauty for Spring flowers at home
Willow Loves… (6 more!)
(scroll to the end for our paid subscribers)
My Mother & Me
To celebrate the new Loving Cup designed by Willow’s mother - painter and gardener, Kate Corbett-Winder; we spoke with mother and daughter to find out a little more about them both and their very special bond that includes a love of flowers, of course…
Kate on her daughter, Willow
What three words describe Willow?
Generous, loving, sensitive
What was Willow like as a young child? And as a teenager?
She loved dressing up. I remember bringing new born Tom, her youngest brother, back from hospital where she greeted us dressed as a bride in a long white evening dress, having roped Ned, aged 2, into being her page boy. She had just been a bridesmaid so was in a wedding fever. As a teenager she loved parties, excitements, friends and new clothes - and wasn’t thrilled when her school friends went south to London and she’d been sent a rail ticket back to Wales
Would you describe Willow as ‘green fingered’ in her younger years?
No, she wasn’t an especially green fingered child, though she did collect petals to squish into scent potions. But she was irritated by my compulsive dead heading if we were in the garden together
What do you think Willow might have been if not a florist and author?
She would definitely have done something creative - as a fashion or interior designer
What qualities do you admire in Willow in her role as a mother herself?
I hugely admire the commitment she gives to Wolf, Rafferty & Kit. Managing to be chirpy at dawn, breakfast before the school run; knowing what goes on in their lives and lessons and who their friends are - and how much genuine fun they have together - she is constantly on a touchline in all weather cheering them on
If you could spend one day with Willow all to yourself, what would you do together…?
We’d probably talk about doing something extravagant and luxurious but in reality we’d happily end up going for a huge walk in the country talking non stop or going very slowly round a garden examining everything
What is Willow always talking about?
We talk endlessly about favourite flowers, usually tulips and dahlias, favourite clothes. When it comes to wardrobe issues, she is my fiercest and most loyal adviser!
What is Willow’s favourite flower? And Season?
I’d say Solomons Seal which flowers in early May, and late Spring is her favourite season
“We’d happily end up going for a huge walk in the country talking non stop or going very slowly round a garden examining everything.”
What would you never find in Willow’s home or garden?
Rubber gloves that don’t have a hole in them (or Windolene!)
Kate - can you please tell us about your Loving Cup design…
I’m so honoured that Willow asked me to design a Loving Cup. This design was the last one I created - it’s a simplified more abstract version of several flowery themes I tried out. I thought it was too much of a doodle, but Willow insisted it was her favourite so I’m THRILLED and it will be in constant use on the kitchen table as a vase
Willow on her mother, Kate
What three words describe your mother?
Inspirational, kind and a creative genius
What is your most vivid childhood memory of your mother?
Either weeding, covering us in suncream or taking us on very long walks!
What do you admire most in your mother?
There is literally nothing she cant do. She’s a writer, a gardener, a painter, incredible cook, editor, best mother, always there for me when I need her. She’s incredible in every sense of the word; kind, patient, creative, funny..
What is your mother’s favourite flower?
She loves a really beautiful, scented garden rose. Preferably a soft pink one
Have you inherited your mother’s talent for painting? Could this be in your future?
No! I’m hoping maybe I’ll be a late starter?!
What do your siblings tease your mother about?
How she thinks ’nuts and raisins’ are the answer to everything
If you could spend one day with your mum, just the two of you, what would you do together…?
Our dream day together would involve walking, coffee, looking at pottery in the Ashmolean, reading bulb catalogues, weeding and non stop chat
“She loves a really beautiful, scented garden rose. Preferably a soft pink one…”
Tell us about your love of a Loving Cup and the new design created by your mother. What do you plan to fill it with this Mother’s Day month?
I don’t know what it is about Loving Cups that I love so much. I fell in love with an antique pink lustre one when I was small and been mad about them ever since. I love collaborating with artists on product and as our first Loving Cup collab, obviously she was my first choice!
You can read our 2023 interview with Kate here.
Spring Spoils Edit
For the love of Mothers or for treating yourself just because…
Clockwise, left to right…
WILLOW CROSSLEY Petal Tray Set
C.ATHERLEY No'1 Bath Oil, Geranium No'1
WILLOW CROSSLEY x Kate Corbett-Winder Loving Cup
ROXANNE FIRST Mama Embellished Beaded Necklace
BRORA x WILLOW CROSSLEY Wool Blanket Jacket, Mulberry
WILLOW CROSSLEY Green Botanica Tumbler Set
WILLOW CROSSLEY Block Printed Red Posie Frame
WILLOW CROSSLEY Pink Filigrana Vase
NOT ANOTHER BILL Wellness Seed Kit
ZORAIDA 9ct Gold Swallow Stud Earrings
YOLKE x SALVESEN GRAHAM Eye Mask, Winter Rose
AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES Ultimate Bath & Shower Oil Collection WILLOW CROSSLEY Pink Stripe Tablecloth (background)
Flowery Trick - Mothers Day Potted Teacups
When my boys were younger they would proudly present me with their homemade mother’s day cards inside which was taped a tea bag for my breakfast in bed! This got me thinking that a teacup brimming with beautiful spring bulbs would be a perfect finishing touch to a breakfast tray.
Make these for your own mother or hint for your children to help create these for your breakfast tray (that is also hopefully laden with delicious and spoiling treats!).
Any small vessel could be used for this, most of us have a couple of espresso cups, a delicate tea set or an ornate sugar bowl waiting in the wings for a special outing. A single cup makes an ideal addition to a tray, or you could gather a variation of sizes and patterns in the centre of a breakfast table, dotted between the coffee pot and croissants.
Potted muscari bulbs can be found in every garden centre and most big supermarkets at this time of year - dwarf iris, crocus and snowdrops would be great too. If you are planting up several cups or bowls all together, try selecting a riot of colours, shapes and heights to group as a display.
Very simply…. remove the plastic nursery pot and pop your bulbs with their soil straight into your teacup. If you need to raise their height just add some fine gravel or sand into the bottom of the cup. This will also stop the roots from stagnating in water.
Moss means Mother’s Love in the language of flowers, so add it in abundance if you have saved any from your Christmas or spring wreaths! If it is a little dry, treat it to a good soak which will bring it back to life, squeezing out any excess water. You can also find moss on garden walls, stones and a roof perhaps so you shouldn’t need to buy it. Tuck the moss around the base of the bulbs and around the edges of the soil to keep the moisture in.
Remember to water sparingly, we don’t want the roots sitting in water, and ideally keep in a cool spot away from direct sunlight if kept indoors. The best part is your bulbs can be planted out in the garden ready to bring more joy again next year…
In season… rhubarb
Recipe - Rick Stein’s Rhubarb Galette
Ingredients
225g plain flour
Pinch salt
170g cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
80ml ice-cold water
500g rhubarb, cut into 6cm long batons (save any trimmings)
Finely grated zest of an orange
200g granulated sugar
Pinch salt
Juice ½ orange
1 tbsp muscat dessert wine
30g unsalted butter, melted
30g caster sugar2 tbsps sugar, for the glaze
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
Method
In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt. Add the butter and process briefly. Sprinkle over the ice-cold water and pulse for about 5 seconds, until just moistened.
Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead it 2 or 3 times until it comes together. Pat the dough into a disc. Lay a sheet of baking parchment on your work surface and dust it with flour.
Roll out the dough like a pizza to make a 35cm circle, 4–5mm thick. Transfer the parchment to a baking sheet and chill the pastry.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 6. Toss the rhubarb in a bowl with the orange zest, sugar, salt, juice and wine and mix well. Arrange the rhubarb on top of the pastry and sprinkle over any remaining sugary mixture.
Leave a border of 5–6cm around the edge of the pastry, fold that in and crimp to form a border. Brush the fruit with melted butter and sprinkle with caster sugar, then repeat this process three times.
Bake the galette for 10–12 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 5 and bake for a further 30–35 minutes.
To make the glaze, cook the rhubarb trimmings with 75ml of water until soft. Strain the liquid from the pulp and add the 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Pour this back into the pan and let the sugar dissolve, then reduce to a thick syrup. Leave the galette to cool, then brush it with the glaze. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe taken from The Road To Mexico by Rick Stein, photography by James Murphy
March Arts & Culture
What to see, visit & plan this month…
Listen to my latest podcast interview on What Do You Do For A Living?
Book tickets for The New Romantic Garden Talk by Garden Designer Jo Thompson on 25 March at the V&A
Visit the Grayson Perry: Delusions Of Grandeur exhibition at The Wallace Collection from 28 March
Book tickets to the Cartier exhibition at the V&A starting 12 April
Visit Flowers - Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture at the Saatchi Gallery
Book tickets for The Great Gatsby musical starting in April at the London Coliseum
Don’t miss Picasso: Printmaking at The British Museum, until 30 March
Book for one of Sarah Raven's courses at Thyme during March in the Cotswolds
Go and see Pamela Anderson in Gio Coppola’s The Last Showgirl in cinemas now
Book ahead for Sarah Raven’s Spring (Tulips) Open Garden at home in East Sussex (dates from 24 April through to 2 May)