Today I am sharing with you a few pictures of a little arrangement I have made for Easter Sunday, with flowers from my garden and greenhouse. The arrangement had to be small, as there are not many flowers out there at the moment. It is difficult to see from the photo, but this is a series of mini posies placed in individual holes in a vase that is effectively a long glass tube. The tube is then standing on a mirrored tray.

I am very excited to have finally used this vase, as it is something that I bought at Chelsea last May and it has been sat in its box in a cupboard ever since, waiting for the day when I could fill it with small spring flowers. It makes me very happy to be using a vase that will always remind me of a glorious flower filled summer day (yes – I was very lucky to be at Chelsea on the day the sun shone) and will also be used every spring time, assuming that I don’t break it!

Easter is probably my favourite family celebration of the year. Like Christmas, there are decorations, crackers and a feast, with three generations around the table, silly games and often even paper hats. Like Christmas, the sun can be shining or the garden can be covered by snow. Unlike Christmas, however,  there is no pressure to meet any expectations of ‘the perfect day’. The result is a lovely family time for everyone, including the cook.

I was disappointed today, however, to find that in the world of the supermarket Easter is already over and I should be purchasing my BBQ supplies. I went in to Sainsbury”s early this morning, with the snow falling again, to buy a bag of sugar coated mini eggs to decorate a cake for tomorrow. Thankfully the important Easter provisions were already tucked away in a cupboard at home, because the whole Easter aisle had disappeared to be replaced with BBQ charcoal and picnic supplies. Friends that I saw at lunchtime today reported that they would be eating chicken for Easter Sunday lunch, because Tesco had sold out of lamb by lunchtime on Good Friday and were not restocking until next week. They were relieved, however, to have had the foresight to buy their mini eggs the week after Christmas and so avoided my plight of a mini-eggless cake. Why do the supermarkets and High Street insist on rushing us through every year at such a pace that there is no time to enjoy what is actually happening?

Oh well – I had better stop moaning and go and wash the BBQ!