Spring is abundant with spirit and energy, colour and intensity, but once the heat settles in and the month of June arrives, I find myself drawn to the pure and untinted beauty of pure white blossoms. Perhaps it's the blissful aura of June weddings and celebrations, but when it comes to this time of year I just can't get enough of fragrant white flowers so here's a roundup of my can't live without faves...
Anemone
These delicate delights flutter in the breeze while standing pin straight in the garden held aloft by the thinnest of stems. This is the type of wonderful wildflower to appreciate as a single bloom in a bud vase. Imagine opening your eyes in the morning and having the first thing that comes into focus be one of these…
Tulips
Thanks to greenhouses worldwide, we can generally get tulips all year long, so we don't always consider them to be the emblematic bulb of springtime anymore. No matter what the season, I always swoon for the simple elegance of a bunch of tulips loosely arranged in a vase, and think they are most beautiful when they stretch out and bend gracefully over the edge of the vase.
Ranunculus
Turns out that these frilly beauties are actually part of the buttercup family (which likely explains their whimsical exuberance). Ranunculus start as a tightly closed orb of a bud and gradually open layer by layer with petals as thin as tissue paper.
Lilacs
Depending on where you live and how warm the temperatures are, you might find the last of the lilacs still blooming in the early days of June. Is there anything better than driving down a country road with the windows open while the delicately sweet aroma of the lilac hedges wafts in your car windows?
Peonies
There's no contest. My all-time, hands-down absolute favourite is, and always will be, the peony. No other flower bursts open with such exuberance, and none could possibly smell as sweet. While there are many varieties, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more fulsome and fabulous blossom than the white peony. The fact that they bloom for a few short weeks every June only adds to the allure for me. Oh to be a June bride with a bouquet full of peonies…heaven!
