Constance Spry (1886-1960) did indeed live a 'surprising life' as Sue Shephard, her biographer, describes it. In 2021, the Garden Museum devoted an exhibition to this 'remarkable woman' who influenced so many aspects of C20 domestic and public life, from cookery books and Coronation Chicken to roses and royal weddings. 

This week on the Post we have roses - and people who have had roses named after them. During his long and distinguished career as a rose-breeder, David Austin (1926-2018) "put the romance back into roses", combining the shape and fragrance of old garden roses with the repeat-flowering ability and wide colour range of modern varieties. His first commercially available rose, introduced in 1961, was Rosa 'Constance Spry', named after the highly influential florist. 

Petrikyvka painting is the traditional decorative style which is so closely associated with Ukrainian folk art. In 2013 it was included in the UNESCO lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage "as an essential component and as a repository of cultural diversity and of creative expression". Despite everything, and like so many forms of creative expression in Ukraine, it is still thriving. 

Polina Raiko (1928-2004) began painting at the age of sixty-nine in response to a series of family tragedies, and in six years she transformed the entire interior of her small home in Oleshky village, southern Kherson. A foundation to preserve it was set up and the house became well-known, attracting artists and visitors, but was then catastrophically damaged by the destruction of the Khahkova dam in June 2023. Its probable loss has been felt throughout Ukraine, and her art continues to inspire.

The вишиванка or 'vyshyvanka' is the traditional Ukrainian embroidered linen shirt which forms part of the national costume typically worn on special occasions, but now increasingly as a part of everyday dress as a gesture of respect for Ukraine's culture and history and a symbol of resistance. Vyshyvankas are usually embroidered with a combination of six main colours of Ukrainian embroidery: white, black, red, blue, yellow, or green, and the patterns differ from region to region even  village to village.

This tapestry, 'Wedding' (1969, National Museum of Decorative Art of Ukraine) by Ivan and Maria Lytovchenky) was made during a period of revival for Ukrainian arts when unofficial art flourished. While Soviet Socialist Realism remained the official style, traditional folk themes which were identifiable with nationalism were not safe subjects. Today, works like this resonate with Ukrainians who are once again fighting to protect and assert their culture.

This week on the Post we celebrate Ukrainian persistence, resistance, and beauty. As this website says, "Ukrainian culture is experiencing [a] powerful reevaluation", especially in the spheres of folk art and textiles which have always endured under occupation. Too much has been lost already; Maria Prymachenko (1909-97) whose whose art is "expressive and consistently advocating for peace", but much of her work in the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum was lost in a Russian attack. This is Our Army, Our Protectors (1978).