Pittosporum
Pittosporum
“steadfastness and quiet support”
Pittosporum reached British gardens from New Zealand and Australia in the nineteenth century, a little too late to earn a formal entry in the Victorian flower dictionaries. Florists have given it a meaning of their own: steadfast, quiet support, for the way it holds a bouquet together and lets the flowers shine. Its small, glossy leaves keep beautifully in water, which is why it has become one of the most trusted foliages in the trade.
In season, and in the studio
Pittosporum is in season all year round, so it is in the studio this month. In the studio's bunches it is foliage: the frame every bunch is built on, and the green that makes the colours read. The studio buys it in variegated, and at the bench each colour is read for its own meaning.
What each colour says
- Variegatedlight-heartedness and versatility (cream-edged leaves that brighten soft palettes)
Right for
Arranges beautifully with
Pairings follow the florist's rule: one voice leads and the others frame it (focal, secondary, texture, green).