“Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” The anxiety of Virginia Woolf’s protagonist, Mrs Dalloway, also known in the novel as “the ultimate hostess”, over her floral arrangements is palpable from the novel’s opening line. Indeed, Mrs Dalloway is not the only titular character to be caught hold of by this unique malaise. Even Jay Gatsby, another of literature’s notable hosts, is concerned by his floral arrangements, buying hundreds of blooms to decorate the room in which he and Daisy are about to hold their longed for reunion.
However, our blog reader need not fear that they may meet the same fate. Constance Spry’s book “Party Flowers” is here to step into the breach. Featuring decorative ideas for everything from table flowers to flowers for a coronation lunchroom or a cocktail party, this book (with its fabulous set of 42 illustrations) leaves the reader in no doubt as to what blooms might be appropriate for each event. Constance Spry’s eye and style pervade them all. Her arrangements make use, not only of flowers, but also of fruit, vegetables and shells that the reader might have around their home.
It is little wonder, looking at this book, that Constance Spry and her influence has been widely celebrated, including by a London Garden Museum exhibition which named her the twentieth century’s most influential floral decorator. In spite of this, Constance Spry and her legacy can generate a certain amount of drama, in particular the resignation of James Dyson as chairman of the Design Museum. Dyson left after an exhibition celebrating Constance Spry’s influence over twentieth century design in the domestic sphere was proposed by the museum’s director, arguing that flower arranging could not be called “design” in the true sense of the word.
Whether or not Constance Spry’s designs should or should not be considered icons of twentieth century design, I will leave to the reader to determine. In the meantime for just £18 you can relieve yourself of the ill fated destinies of either of our unlucky flower buying protagonists, Jay Gatsby and Mrs Dalloway.
