Garden Day 2020: 'It's the perfect time to enjoy the little things'

It was in 1986 that Shane Connolly, author, star florist, with a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales, attended a Sunday lunch that would change his life forever.

At the time, he was a university student on a one-year psychology placement. Fresh out of blustery Northern Ireland, with its sparse peppering of flower shops, he found himself at a dinner table with Michael Goulding, an event florist, who alerted Connolly to the exciting floral display he was making at the Lloyd's building in London to honour the Queen.

“Any man on a galloping horse would’ve known that psychology was not for me,” Shane tells me on the phone. “But back then, educational advisors expected young men to pursue a career in mathematics or science if they had  a pickle of a brain.” Shane offered to help on the project; he lifted, cut, cleared and swept. “It was a lightbulb moment for me and I told Michael that I wanted to pursue it as a career.”

Goulding was shocked. “He couldn’t believe that I wanted to go into floristry when I had a degree.” But Connolly was not dissuaded, going on to secure a placement with society florists Pulbrook & Gould on Sloane Street and, after a few years, turning freelance and working for many others. In 1989, Shane Connolly & Company was set up.

“It’s like it was meant to be,” he says. A few weeks prior to our phone call, he had been digging through some old files and came across a four-chapter book named How to Garden. “God, wasn’t I pretentious,” he says with a laugh. “I wrote the thing when I was eight, having learnt everything I needed to know from In Your Greenhouse by Percy Thrower.”

The book was the result of many happy summers spent in his greenhouse, a present from his parents. “I developed a love of flowers through my time in the garden; digging in the earth, potting plants and watching them grow was, and still is, highly cathartic for me.”

Like many career-change stories, there is an extraordinary amount of happenstance, being in the right place at the right time. “I’m lucky to have gotten into floristry the way I did, through my love of the garden.”

It’s hardly surprising, then, that Connolly is the ambassador for Garden Day 2020, the UK’s largest ever virtual gardening celebration, this weekend. “For me, it ticks every box, as did the RHS National Gardening Week.”

On Sunday May 10, renowned garden designers, growers and florists will join forces to produce an action-packed programme, urging families to down tools, don a homemade flower crown, sit back with a cup of tea or a glass of wine in hand and connect with friends and family by video calls and social media in the garden.

“For 32 years, I’ve only seen my garden on the weekends,” says Connolly. “I had no idea how much time I was spending away from nature, despite the essence of my job being about it." His garden, like many, was left unattended during the weekly bustle to offices, shops and friends’ houses. “These days, I shuffle out to look at the roses in bloom - 'Adam’ climbing rose and 'Cecile Brunner' - and feel completely at peace.”

The programme will be streamed live on Sunday on Garden Day UK’s Facebook channel from 11am to 3.30pm, where viewers start with Arthur Coles at The Newt in Somerset, followed by story time in the garden with Sophie Dahl. Afterwards, there will be flower crown-making sessions with Liz Earle and florists Julie Collins of the British Academy of Floral Art; gardening tips and tricks workshops from garden designer Ann-Marie Powell and Mr Plant Geek Michael Perry; and a touch of garden gastronomy with No Dig kitchen gardener, Stephanie Hafferty.

To finish, a toast with Garden Day’s flower crown ambassadors: Gynelle Leon, Kitten Grayson, and Wolves Lane Flower Company.

For Connolly, who will be taking over Telegraph Gardening (@telegardening) on Instagram this Sunday at 1pm for a flower-crown making session to rule all others, Garden Day is much more than a party; it is a an essential respite from the anxiety and stress of the pandemic.

“This year, I watched the lily-of-the-valley in my garden grow from the tiniest speck to a flower in bloom, when else do we have the time to do that?” He asks. “Lockdown has forced us to enjoy the simple things; the flour we use to make bread or the flowers in our garden.”

He admits that part of the pleasure of lockdown is the lack of pressure to perform. “There are absolutely no rules to lockdown gardening. If you live in a flat, I implore you to get four pots to put on your windowsill. It'll make the world of difference.”

Known for his interest in floriography, otherwise known as the language of flowers, Connolly’s flower crown tells the story of the nation's resilience and strength through the pandemic.

Wrapped with a “simple bit of clematis vine,” the crown is made from sage, symbolic of a long and healthy life; thyme, a symbol of strength that ancient Greeks pinned warriors; rosemary for remembrance; wild garlic for protection; dandelion, symbolic of a wish come true; and lily of the valley, meaning the return of happiness. All of which can be found in borders, gardens and pathways nationwide.

“I wanted to do something meaningful,” he says. “Afterwards I sent the crown to Patsy Spicer, our photographer Andrew’s mother. She’s an utterly fearless GP and deserved it. She even sent me a photo with it on!"

When asked about how he would spend Garden Day, Connolly insisted that gardening tools would not come into play. “Garden day gets you back into the garden, sitting and looking and enjoying what it is. It’s a different vibe to a general day in the garden working on old shrubs or digging weeds. Forget the rules, just go out on a walk and pull up some dandelions to smell. Setting a day aside with your children to enjoy the magic of nature is enough to make anyone happy in the toughest of times."

Join us at 1pm on Sunday May 10  @telegardening for a flower-crown making session with Shane Connolly. 

For more information on Garden Day, visit gardenday.co.uk; @gardendayuk