Florist and illustrator Cathy Graham is queen of the informal but fabulous flower arrangement. Here’s how to re-create her sought-after signature looks
Cathy sketches in her sunlit studio seven days a week, as well as selecting the colours, textures and varieties for her flower arrangements

Climbing roses cover the side of the shingled playhouse in the garden of Cathy’s Nantucket, Massachusetts home – a favourite haunt for her children when they were young
Your essential snip kit
Set a playful table
A PERFECT REARRANGEMENT
‘Flowers set the tone and mood for the day and add to the atmosphere you wish to create,’ says Cathy, who likes to use blooms as a way to redecorate her home. Cushions and accessories can remain the same but the one thing that changes constantly is the flowers.

In the dining room, Cathy has festooned a sideboard with foxgloves, garden roses, passion flower vines and dianthus. For the dining table centrepiece she created a luxuriant bouquet of pink, lavender and blue hydrangeas mixed with peach foxgloves. For a similar chandelier, try Petersham Nurseries (petershamnurseries.com)

Cathy’s cat Reggie gives his sniff of approval
Top of the pots




BRASS URN, £155, Houseology, houseology.com. CERAMIC PLANTER, £52, Oka, oka.com. GLASS VASE set, £3.50, Barker and Stonehouse, barkerandstonehouse.co.uk. VESSEL, £80, Petersham Nurseries, petershamnurseries.com
This is an edited extract from Second Bloom: Cathy Graham’s Art Of The Table by Alexis Clark, published by Vendome Press, price £29.95. To order a copy for £23.96 (a 20 per cent discount) until 28 January, visit you-bookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640; p&p is free on orders over £15