Shane Connolly

Born in Belfast I’ve been working in floral design since 1987, after a brief foray into research psychology. Times were difficult in Northern Ireland, but I never forgot my early years. Although I was always interested in gardens and was given a small greenhouse when I was 12, boys did not do art at that time, so I thought psychology might be interesting. A year later, an encounter with a flower arranger altered the course of my life forever and I worked for celebrated florist Pulbrook & Gould in London for two years before founding my own firm in 1989. Today, with the help of my wonderful team, I run Shane Connolly Flowers from a workshop and studio in West London.

Our emphasis has always been on local, sustainable flowers and plants, which should only be used when in season. Wherever possible, we like to use ones that can be replanted after the event. For example, when we designed the Royal Wedding for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the tall avenue of hornbeams and field maple trees in Westminster Abbey were all replanted on the Prince of Wales’s Highgrove Estate.

I am lucky to be doing something I love and my inspiration comes from my mother, Margaret “Peggy” Connolly. She was beautiful. She loved color and arranging flowers, so consequently, flowers were always in our house—always. When we were out driving she would comment on the colors we encountered along the way, such as ‘Oh look at those lovely yellow primroses,’ or ‘I would love to have an evening dress like the color of that spectacular sunset.’ It was impossible not to be influenced by this brilliant attitude laced with a sense of wonder.

I have written four books now, and each one is intended to convey not just the extraordinary beauty and versatility of plants and flowers, but also their meaning. My favorite book is ‘The Language of Flowers’ where an entire vocabulary opens up if you know what the particular meaning of a flower might be. My latest title, A Year in Flowers, takes the reader through one year, season by season, showing which plants are best at what time. It is purely inspirational though, and not intended as a step-by-step manual, and as all the arrangements are very easy to do we thought we could dispense with the how-to aspect for once!