Emma Bridgewater
Emma talks about her
favourite Hellebores
Hellebores are best. They are that extraordinary combination of deep glamour and of flowering when everything around them looks horrid. Nothing, except perhaps the passion flower, has quite such a complex appearance, calyx and stamens and complex fleckings and nettings on the petals themselves. Their variation is endless and almost always a pleasure, although as with so many flowers, single does have a less-is-more advantage over double. It is particularly good as they self sow so very freely. The hellebore bed at home is currently full of bowing handfuls of flowers growing out of their crisp rosettes of bright green leaves but between them the leaf littered ground is covered in tiny seedlings waiting for another summers growing -on. A few years ago Matthew, who CANNOT let nature be, potted up dozens which looked so neat but proved to give them no advantage over those undisturbed ones that he missed.
My great friend and floral Queen, Sarah Raven picks individual flowers and floats them in a bowl. They lie face-up showing off their make up in a bright blue Persian bowl an idea I have shamelessly taken up. But I also love to have them weeping slightly in a milk bottle, their slightly reptilian stems snaking out in all directions. The vital thing of course is to have enough to do both, and quite often, as they are not at all long lasting, even with assiduous changes of water every day. They are really greedy and wolf up well rotted manure or compost.
Hellebores have another significance. Ten years ago Matt asked his parents’ neighbour the most distinguished painter Mary Fedden if she would ever consider designing a pottery pattern for us. Long before I met Matthew I knew and loved Mary's work, muscular drawing, spare composition and the most delicious use of paint, whether oil or gouache. Perhaps most of all I enjoyed her choice of still life subjects. Sturdy slipware or mocha ware jugs and bowls, blotched Quail or plovers eggs, a cat and a bunch of flowers from the garden. They are the simple domestic items and are my own inspiration as well. To my amazement Mary agreed that she would try some ideas and together we visited the studio that she had shared for fifty years with her husband the painter Julian Trevellyan. It is a perfect riverside studio with wide views of the Thames at Hammersmith and a garden with lurid pink peones, honesty and acanthus. The studio itself is full of the most extraordinary amount of work in progress, Mary is very prolific.
We talked about what might go on the pots and what colours we might use. Mary was quite clear that she would want new colours formulated for her designs to which, of course, we agreed. A month later we were excited to see Mary's stylish, and to Matthew very recognizable, hand on a brown paper envelope. Inside were drawings and precise instructions for two new designs. Egg and Feather, sophisticated and in a muted palette we had never used, and, rich and dark, the Hellebore.
Ten years later we still love, and sell very well, Mary's Hellebore. [Egg and Feather is an occasional treat as it is fiendishly difficult to produce!] It has become a staple of our range. I had coffee out of a deep purple hellebore cup and saucer this morning, it is my favourite.
See the full range of Emma Bridgewater pottery and accessories at www.emmabridgewater.co.uk Purchase from the Emma Bridgewater website until 6th May 2008 using the promotion code: hellebore and 5% of your purchase value will be donated to the NGS by Emma Bridgewater
Click here for Emma's favourite gardens