Flowers that can set you adrift on a sensory sojourn

Following a hectic month of shows and book tours, Fiann Ó Nualláin is taking some time to smell the roses. 

I HAVE had a hectic few weeks; built two gardens at Bloom, which also means having to dismantle two gardens after the show — and I’ve been on the radio circuit plugging my book (Natural Cures for Common Ailments — don’t you know), which entails visiting many counties for in-studio conversations and conducting scratchy phone-ins to others and to European channels with one finger in the ear and two crossed hoping I heard the question right.

All stress, adrenalin and trying hard not to slip out an expletive or laugh inappropriately. Harder than you think when you are so frazzled after a sweltering Bloom with record visitors all keen to know about your garden with anxious anticipation or exuberant enthusiasm. It takes a while to ease back a gear.