Dahlias used to be dismissed as brash and unreal-looking, not in keeping with the fashion for white gardens and tasteful, unthreatening, soft pastels. But it is precisely their vibrant colours often in extravagant combinations and unusual shapes that make them so appealing. They don't last long as cut flowers and can be difficult to find in shops and markets, so it is often best to grow them. Halls of Heddon and Sarah Raven, who has done so much to reinstate the dahlia as a fabulous flower, sell a huge range of varieties with which to recreate arrangements like this, Still Life, Flowers (c1937, Bantock House and Park) by Agnes Chettle (1867-1959).