This time of year is challenging for a flower lover like myself. In jest, on Instagram, I’ve been referring to my garden as the garden of nothingness. All jokes aside, it is a depressing sight. Mildewing remnants of dahlias. Naked roses. No camellias or hellebores as yet. No daphne. Not even any mint.

And yet, as Monsieur Monet so famously said, I must have flowers, always and always. So how to solve this between season dilemma?

Well firstly, I think that the simple gesture of some wildly random garden pickings is as beautiful, if not more so, than the grandest floral arrangement. So lots of greenery is good. I love the feeling of freshness and calm that green styling gives. The sculptural form of all the different leaves makes a strong statement, and the arrangements are simple yet still manage to look beautiful in a more minimal way. And they also bring that sense of living nature and softness to a room that I think is so vital.

I have babies tears and small ferns planted in old kitchenalia, leaves of fennel and potato vine and almost anything green I can find. I have sculptural vases of olive branches and even rhododendron. Rhodo fans, block your ears, because usually I struggle to see the appeal of rhododendrons. I inherited a tree/bush with this garden and for 9 months of the year, including when it is flowering, I threaten to pull it out. But at this time of the year, I absolutely love the leaves, so I apologise profusely to it for my neglect, and pick branches of new growth to bring inside where it does so well in a vase.

I also pick my other pet hate, alstromeria. While I might not appreciate the flowers as much as I should, this is the plant that keeps on keeping on, and those new zesty green pre-flowering shoots are an autumn & winter vase favourite.

Dried end-of-season hydrangeas with all their moody antique colour are also a beautiful winter floral. I have them hanging in the laundry and filling some old crocks and ceramic vessels amongst my books and on higher shelves.

For florals that will bloom beautifully all year round, add some gorgeous floral cushions and textiles, with the added bonus that these also add a layer of warmth, texture, pattern and colour to your room.

Amanda xx

(styling and photography Amanda Holland for perfectly imperfect living)