Bloom Scrolling: February’s floral Instagram picks

Though born in New Zealand, Charlie McCormick has become known for his quintessentially British gardening. His Instagram page, for the uninitiated, is a sheer delight – a madcap miscellany of prize-winning marrows (they’re whoppers), corgis, cakes, ducklings and dahlias, which fill the flowerbeds of the parsonage he shares in west Dorset with husband Ben Pentreath.

But the wanton beauty of his more decadent blooms finds a counterpoint in this snap of his gem-like auriculas, almost edible in their painterly prettiness. Normally displayed in stands called ‘theatres’, it turns out they’re just as photogenic on a soil-smudged hand. All in all, it’s a timely reminder to get down to the garden centre soon; these darling buds are in season from March to May.

Meanwhile, some petal power for the here and now. Year-round flowers are the dream, but what do you do when the weather’s underwhelming? Invest in some of Emmeli Kimhi’s exquisitely crafted paper blooms, of course, which the Swede makes by hand in her studio in Hackney. Giving faux flowers a well-deserved rebrand, Emmeli’s creations are lauded by the great and the good, from Richard E. Grant and Helena Bonham Carter to Selfridges and the Courtauld, for whom those shown here were made. No wonder – a bunch of her blooms is sustainable, seasonless and simply splendid.

Among Emmeli Kimhi’s fans is Lulu Guinness, who seems to be following the paper trail herself, having recently commissioned artist Annabel Pearl to make some cardboard vases filled with blushing roses or verdant frondy ferns. It transpires that, during lockdown, Lulu also made some herself. We spotted these on Gavin Houghton’s account, the interior designer and puckish potter who’s got a bit of a thing for greenery in all its guises. We love how he’s placed La Guinness’ vase on a moulded bracket all its own – only what a creation of such calibre deserves. Feeling inspired? Swap your secateurs for scissors and start snipping.

What’s better than a picture of George Harrison looking dreamy? Naturally, it’s a picture of George Harrison looking dreamy surrounded by an embarrassment of flowers: daffs and dahlias, lilies and leggy irises. He absolutely loved the things; apparently the Beatle decked out the entire studio – including Ringo’s drum kit – with buds and blooms in the run up to recording The White Album, and he was a stalwart visitor at the Chelsea Flower Show, notebook always in hand. “He thought,” his widow, Olivia, once said, “that everyone, as a matter of course, should have themselves regularly overwhelmed by nature.” We like to think he’d approve of this picture doing the rounds, thanks in part to @the70z, a flare-filled Cher-fest of an Instagram account. We can’t get enough.

“Pigs, pink ladders and flowers… what’s not to love?”

We haven’t much to add to Jessica Osborne’s caption. The textile designer posted this a while back, but it’s an evergreen reminder that while raindrops on roses are all very well, hoglets and hydrangeas are really our favourite things, especially when photographer Tim Walker’s involved. This picture formed part of Mulberry’s spring/summer 2011 campaign, which featured Lindsey Wixson and Nimue Smit as clothes horses, alongside this little piggy. We only wonder why the nursery rhyme didn’t mention the one that had a sparkling modelling career?