To get the answer, follow royal florist Shane Connolly up the garden path to a bewitching festival full of ideas in Electric Picnic land.
Shane Connolly takes low-key to a new level.
The Belfast native grew up on the outskirts of the city in a suburban 1950s home that backed onto fields, with just Divis Mountain framing the green expanse.
And yet he famously did the wedding flowers for Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, in 2011.
He also did the flowers for King Charles’ coronation in 2023, having previously done the flowers for his wedding to Camilla.
He won’t name other names, but his client list includes the V&A Museum, The Royal Academy of Arts and Vogue.
He has a sustainability-first approach to the industry and a background in psychology, which means every selection is just that bit more considered.
If you’ve messed up and need to send a bunch of flowers this week by way of an apology, he’d suggest that instead you send a living bowl of lily of the valley.
“There’s nothing like the scent and something sincere about it, so much so that your apology is likely to be accepted,” he explains.
Afterwards, the recipient can plant the gift in their garden.
It’s the kind of thought-provoking response someone who needs to grovel would hear if they called his Connolly and Co shop, on Eynham Road in W12.
He’s one of the many speakers at this year’s Festival of Nature and Gardens at Ballintubbert Gardens and House, in Stradbally, Co Laois, the same town where the annual music festival Electric Picnic is held, and the house hosts many working at the event.
Garden designer, Catherine FitzGerald, has teamed up with owner Minnie Preston to create a two-day festival of talks, workshops, organic cooking, garden tours, foraging classes and more.
The eldest child of Desmond FitzGerald, the 29th Knight of Glin, Catherine was raised in Glin Castle, Co. Limerick, a fairytale property set in 400 acres of woodland that has been in her family for more than 700 years.
She too has a friendship with King Charles, having bonded over their love of horticulture and also redesigning the 100-acre gardens at Hillsborough Castle, the British royal family's official residence in the North.
Connolly is a fan of FitzGerald, too, who is married to The Wire and The Crown actor Dominic West.
“She redid the garden at Glenarm Castle over 10 years, ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim, and it is very beautiful with running water sounds and cool spaces,” he explains.
If she were a flower, what would she be?
“A Solomon seal. It’s elegant, refined and doesn’t need to be in the sunlight all the time.”
In addition to Connolly’s talks, other noteworthy explorations include nature writer Adam Nicholson's Bird School for Beginners, which he hosts with Fitzgerald’s husband, West.
They hope to shine a light on our relationship with the wild.
Rory O’Connell of Ballymaloe Cookery School andCúán Greene of the eagerly awaited restaurant and guesthouse, Ómós, discuss the future of Irish hospitality and a few easy-to-grow salad recipes.
Sustainability is key to growing the next generation.
Connolly rates two upcoming English talents: Jonny Bruce, “who does extraordinary things with unusual plants” and is the primary gardener at Prospect Cottage in Kent – the coastal home of the late film-maker and activist Derek Jarman, and James Horner, head gardener at Benton End.
The former is also speaking at the weekend festival.
He is reassured that there’s a very strong drive to engage with what is seasonal and to celebrate that.
Right now, lilac is in blossom, so too are tulips, which make a lovely gift, especially if selected in the recipient’s favourite colours.
He suggests ordering from an Irish flower studio in Glanmire, Co Cork, such as Between The Briars.
If you want to grow something in a small fragrant garden, his feeling is that vibernum is the one to go for.
Cut a stem from it to bring into the house.
It delivers a scent that he says is “beyond price”.
If you have a larger space, then mock orange blossom is a shrub with richly scented flowers in early summer.
For something to lift the garden in darkest winter, he suggests wintersweet, another shrub renowned for its headily-scented winter flowers, “It smells 20 times better than any scented candle”.
The Festival of Nature and Gardens takes place at Ballintubbert Gardens & House, Stradbally, Co. Laois. R14 E954, on Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3re. Tickets from €75 (Sunday), €120 on Saturday and €170 for the weekend.
