As we head further into spring, our monthly choices open up as more plants begin to flower. From this broader selection, I’ve chosen the pretty and colourful primrose. Clusters of these cheerful, small flowers are a recurring delight as they appear in the same spot year after year. This perennial woodland plant is native to Britain and Europe and is apparently the second favourite flower in Britain (behind bluebells). As the primrose blooms from early spring, they represent youth, new beginnings, new life and birth. The flowers of some primroses are edible and can be eaten raw in salads. In traditional herbal medicine, cowslip wine (made from primroses) was used as a sedative. I’ve placed our pretty pink primroses, with their impressive overlapping leaves, in a large flowerpot – so they can continue to enchant us throughout the growing season. The patchwork design is a traditional Cross and Crown block, which is achieved
