Aoife cannot claim to know Zoë very well but she had made the Spade's flower arrangement almost entirely on her own. She was always eager to play a part in the floral designs of people her own age. Sophie was next on her list; Orla had done hers.

Zoe will have received an arrangement of french marigolds, bronze chrysanthemum and red azalea on a bed of hay. The colours burn in their wicker basket like a compact furnace. Fine ornamental grasses (Arizona fescue and silky threadgrass) loop over the basket like wisps of smoke. At the base of the arrangement is a waterproof container and a moist sponge, holding the plant matter together.