Alchemilla mollis
Alchemilla
“comfort and protective love”
Alchemilla, or lady's mantle, is named for the alchemists who prized the beads of dew that gather on its pleated leaves, believing them the purest of waters; the 'lady' is the Virgin Mary, whose cloak the scalloped foliage was thought to resemble. Tradition gives it the meaning of comfort and protective, nurturing love. Its froth of acid-green flowers is the great flatterer of the June garden, making every colour beside it look brighter.
In season, and in the studio
Alchemilla is in season June to September, so it is in the studio this month. In the studio's bunches it is texture: the airy, spiky, odd detail that gives a hand-tied its character between the bigger heads. The studio buys it in acid green, and at the bench each colour is read for its own meaning.
What each colour says
- Acid greenfreshness, renewal and gentle comfort
Right for
Arranges beautifully with
Pairings follow the florist's rule: one voice leads and the others frame it (focal, secondary, texture, green).