Edible wedding bouquets

Getting married between Christmas and the New Year raises many problems in terms of sourcing things that are short-lived or out of season.   When I was told that I would have to pay over £80 for a small bouquet of red roses that would be long past their best, and £4 for each buttonhole, I decided to think about it later. Then promptly forgot  until three days before the wedding - Christmas Day when everything was shut.

I was fortunate to be saved by an artichoke plant in my garden that had been confused by the unseasonably mild Autumn and was busy producing heads.  Inspired by the tradition in parts of Italy of having chillis in a bridal bouquet (with interesting meanings I'm sure) I decided to use some of the chillis I had grown earlier in the year to surround the artichoke head. A quick whizz around the garden on the morning of the wedding to pick Bay, Rosemary and Fennel (magical in its ethereal featheriness) meant I had all I needed to create my bouquet.  I just added a few red roses bought from the local Co-op on Boxing day to ensure the bouquet matched the buttonholes I made for  the male guests - and that was it, a bouquet and ten buttonholes for about a tenner!

On returning from a two-day honeymoon, I used the bay leaves and Rosemary to make stock for an artichoke heart, borlotti bean and chestnut stew served with spiced polenta fingers - and a deep feeling of gratitude to a seasonally challenged artichoke plant.