Gardens: mum's the word | Life and style | The Guardian

Gardens: mum's the word | Life and style | The Guardian: "I used to work as a florist's assistant, conditioning the exotically scented lilies flown in from Kenya and arranging bouquets while the real florists took care of the funeral letters and get-well-soon baskets. Bouquet-making was huge fun, like painting with flowers. Sometimes customers wanted bold and colourful, at others frothy with pastels. But when an order came in labelled "No xanths", you knew something classy and restrained – dare I say it, middle class? – was required. Chrysanthemums were the slightly naff cheap fillers that bulked out the backs of the bouquets, and I, too, soon learned to turn up my nose at them. I prided myself on being a "no xanths" kind of girl."

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