Forsythia: Everything You Need to Know
A bright burst of golden yellow sunshine, for many the Forsythia flower bursts into our lives just when we need its optimism the most. When we’ve grown tired of cold, drizzle-filled days and we’re desperate for the warmth of sunshine on our shoulders, and being able to burst open our windows. We do love feeling cosy in the winter but there’s nothing like the anticipation of spring.
Why does Forsythia flower?
As one of the earliest flowers to emerge, Forsythia branches burst with golden yellow flowers before the leaves bud, showcasing their glorious selves around the same time that daffodils and other Spring flowers are also budding. But they bring more than just cheer, with an interesting history and powerful symbolism behind them, here’s everything you need to know about Forsythia…
Where does Forsythia originate?
Originally native to China, Korea and Japan the plant was brought to the UK in the 18th century, by its namesake the British gardener William Forsyth. Known as the man who created one of the world’s first rock gardens, Forsyth was somewhat of a gardening rock star himself, as one of the founding members of the Royal Horticultural Society in London. He was also the royal head gardener at Kensington Palace and St James Palace. Forsythia was named as such, in his honour.
How Forsythia flower grows
There is folklore surrounding forsythia, that says “three snows after the forsythia blooms” as, despite being such a bright Spring symbol, it blooms so early winter isn’t quite over yet…
From February to April Forsythia undergoes a transformation, its bare twigs producing masses of yellow flowers on its upright branches. These bell-shaped blooms are produced in small groups or clusters along the stems, a little party of brightly coloured and happy friends, with each flower with just four petals connected at the base.
Why we love Forsythia
A firework of sunshine and happiness, Forsythia never fails to cheer us up. It’s guaranteed to brighten up your home and blow away any winter cobwebs (and bad moods.) Our Forsythia arrangement uses this twiggy ray of sunshine as the star, complimenting its brightness with white lilies, snapdragons and beautifully scented eucalyptus Viktoria.
We also love to, once the flowers begin to flutter to the floor, to scoop them up and scatter them along a table for a Spring-like vibe.
Where we grow them
We work closely with growers in the UK and the Netherlands to source the flowers we need for our glorious flower gifts and subscriptions, only occasionally looking further afield. It has been a joy working with them year on year, and as our volume and scale has increased they’ve stepped right up. Here’s a bit more about some of our growers…
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