The Collection

Willow Crossley's notes on her summer style

Q&A with Florist Willow Crossley

What are your favourite parts of the English Countryside in summer?

All of it! It’s my absolute favourite time of year. I love how green everything is, from the frothy cow parsley, the hedgerow drifts, the towering oak trees, the birdsong, the pink skies at 8pm. Being barefoot and the scent of freshly mown grass.

Describe your perfect summers day?

We’d be on Tresco in the Isles of Scilly. We’ve been going for as long as I can remember, and it feels like home. We’d bike to Pentle Bay for some early morning cowrie hunting and then to the Ruin Beach for coffee and cake. It would be a perfect hot, still day and there’d be lots of swimming, paddle boarding and jumping off the quay. Then there’d be a picnic lunch on the beach, followed by more shell hunting and a walk round the Abbey Gardens. Finished off with fish and chips eaten on the sea wall for supper. And I’d be bare foot all day!

Best tip for creating a wildflower arrangement?

Start small. Jam jars are brilliant to begin with. Keep in mind the proportion of flower length to the vase and as a rule the flowers should be 1.5 times the height of the vase. Pick them first thing in the morning and include grasses as well as flowers for a lovely, airy feel.

What flower screams summer to you?

Peonies and roses and sweet peas.

What is your interiors style?

Relaxed, colourful, homely. I love mixing textures, pattern and prints; I don’t follow trends and fill our home with pieces I love rather than things that will necessarily go with something else. I mix lots of natural fabrics like linens, sisal and wool.

Which Floral Trail colourway is your favourite and why?

I love them all! If I had to choose probably the Delicate Floral Trail, which has a very calm feel to it.