The English Garden Palette: A Garden in Paper, Paint and Pattern
I was delighted when Octavia Dickinson invited me to create the paper flowers for The English Garden Palette, her collaboration with Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. The idea was to bring an English garden into their Pimlico Road showroom, surrounded by Octavia’s patterns and Edward’s beautiful colours. I had the pleasure of creating the paper flower installation for their Pimlico Road showroom in London, bringing together hand-crafted flowers, Octavia’s beautiful patterns and Edward Bulmer’s palette of 12 colours to transform the space into an English garden.
Bringing an English garden indoors
Towering foxgloves and hollyhocks rose from Octavia’s beautifully patterned bins, while my beloved geraniums grew through a series of trellises, another wonderful idea from Octavia.
It was an ambitious project, and I might not have attempted something on quite this scale without her trust and encouragement. Seeing the finished trellises filled with geraniums was a particularly special moment.
My little snowdrops proved popular, too, with a couple visiting from the Netherlands so taken with them that they could not wait to take them home.
My favourite detail might just have been the central table, where the flowers sat amongst lamps dressed in Octavia’s patterned lampshades. The combination of flowers, paint and pattern was utterly charming.
An evening to remember
On the 23rd of September, we celebrated the launch with cocktails at the showroom. It was a pleasure to meet so many wonderful people from the interiors industry and see the installation enjoyed by visitors.
One moment made my evening. Edward Bulmer told me that people had been eulogising about the flowers. Hearing that meant so much after all the thought and work that went into creating them.
As someone who spends so much time making flowers by hand in my Manchester studio, it is especially rewarding to see them become part of a larger vision and work alongside people who bring their own ideas and imagination to a project.
Flowers beyond the season
The English Garden Palette brought together paint, pattern and paper in a way that felt wonderfully connected to the gardens that inspire my work. Made from specialist crepe paper, the flowers offer a way to enjoy botanical beauty at home without watering or seasonal replacement.
I am incredibly grateful to Octavia Dickinson and Edward Bulmer for inviting me to be part of this collaboration, and especially to Octavia for her ideas and confidence in my work.
The exhibition was on show at Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, 69 Pimlico Road, London, until the 9th of October 2026. Although the installation has now come down, I will remember this particular paper garden as one of my favourite projects of the year.
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