The weather has forgotten it is Spring and has produced a sequence of cold, grey, rainy days from which we should mercifully emerge at some stage this week. But I haven’t forgotten and valiantly decided to celebrate the season anyway by putting together my favourite colour palettes to use at this time of the year.

1. The Roses in Bloom palette
This is the time of the year when the first roses start to bloom, and I really look forward to it. Their scent is heavenly but it’s the colours I am really drawn to. The pale pink, sweet peach, gentle cream and rich amber never fail to inspire me.

2. The Cupcake palette
I am not sure why cupcakes are a synonym of Spring for me. Perhaps because we make them for Mother’s day? But oh, I do love their colours, the baby pink, the delicate rose, the pale lemon, the elegant plum. And the colour combination works just as well in art as it does on the serving tray.

3. The Kensington Gardens palette
An early morning stroll in Kensington Garden inspired this one—the deep green of the foliage stood vivid against the taupe of the Broad Walk and the pale blue of the sky, lightened by the candy cotton white of a passing cloud.

4. The Lawn at Dawn palette
Green can be surprisingly delicate, just like the early Spring buds. I like to start with my dazzling, jewel-like phtalo and work it down to a pale hue that works well with gentle yellows and off-whites. It reminds me of a garden wrapped in the soft, early morning light.

5. The Chelsea Flower Show palette
The fondest memories I have of the many years I spent editing Countrylife.co.uk are linked to the Chelsea Flower Show. Walking through the gates, you are bombarded with scents, colours and artistic garden designs. It is so inspiring it can be overwhelming.

Do you have any favourite Spring colour palettes? Please share them with me. And don’t forget to let me know if you create something using these colour combinations.