When we started thinking about writing this book, my key "thing" was to let everyone know what flowers they could get hold of throughout the year. But our big question was, "should we start with January?"

Yes it's the beginning of the calendar year, but there aren't any British flowers available, are there?.....

Well, the range is a lot smaller in January. You have to think outside the box when designing, and foliage is a key element. But the flowers in January are worthwhile because there are so few of them. Plus there is scent to think about. Sarcoccoca, Viburnum, Rosemary. Actually when we started counting up what we could put into our January colour scheme of green and whites, we found our 12 ingredients (6 flowers, 6 fillers/foliage) almost too easily, and we snuck extras in. So do take time to look around you this month. What is available in local gardens, what flowers are being posted on Instagram with the #britishflowers hashtag. You may be surprised by how many beautiful flowers there are out there.