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Blink and you will miss them

By on April 8, 2011 in Cut flowers, Tulips

 

Phew, it feels like summer out there already and my tulips have all come up at once in the oven-like polytunnel. Early, mid and late season are all coloured up and popping. I love tulips and I think the varieties we offer are far more interesting than florist fare, but they do make me rather anxious. They are ready when they are ready and will not wait around for a farmers market at the weekend. Thankfully I used a good amount for Mother's Day last week.

 

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Where I have not been able to keep up with them, I will deadhead, lift and dry in the barn to replant in the Autumn.

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Rachel Siegfried

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A Happy Hen

By on March 14, 2011 in Corsage, Cut flowers, Floristry Courses, Weddings

Finally, after months of winter waiting, I managed to get my hands on some flowers and do some arranging. The season has kicked off for me with a Hen party workshop in a Tudor Manor house near Peppard in South Oxfordshire. The bride, Anna Baldwin has ordered buckets of flowers to arrange herself for her wedding in April, so her chief bridesmaid invited me along to host a morning floristry workshop. As we began Anna announced she'd be keeping her eye out for those who would make the floristry dream team on The Big Day….no Pressure then Ladies!! Joking aside, it was really relaxed and everyone enjoyed themselves. There was some pretty hot arranging going on too.

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During the workshop we created a spring posy, flowers in a tea cup and a corsage. I took along some anemones, tulips, muscari and scented narcissi. As for foliage, we had Viburnum tinus and variegated Pittosporum. I would say the anemones were the main attraction. It's been a hard winter and there have been a few losses in the garden, so the rows of anemones that have popped up in the polytunnel bring extra cheer with them.

 It was a great way to start the season, so thank you ladies, especially Flo who supplied me with coffee and cake.

Jo Wise

 

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In the Best 50 Florists!

By on February 20, 2011 in Cut flowers, dahlias

We all had a spring in our step this week after being listed in The Independent's 'Best 50 Florists'. We could not resist a link to the article on the homepage. It feels like quite an achievement after only three years in business and a validation that there is a growing movement towards using British grown, seasonal flowers.

I seem to be busier than ever, juggling course, wedding and mail order enquiries alongside all the jobs in the cutting garden.

 So I have just pricked out the first batch of stock seed, as you can see you have to look pretty closely to see the difference between the ones you want and those destined for the compost heap. As soon as they were in their plug trays I sowed another batch, successional sowing is key to keeping up a steady supply of gorgeousness!

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I had an extra large order of dahlia tubers arrive from Holland last week and immediately set about potting some of them up for propagation. I have put them on a heat mat in our new prop room (a converted stable) which will probably be dedicated solely to raising dahlia plants to sell and grow on to replace all the ones I optimistically left in the ground last autumn. I have ordered a high proportion of the Karma dahlia range this year, these were bred by the Dutch specifically for cut flower use. They are water lily shaped, with lovely long stems and an excellent vase life. Anyway, hopefully my potted tubers will be shooting in about a month and I can take about three basal cuttings from each, any more can exhaust the tuber as well as me the propagator!

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I picked my first bunch of anemones from the polytunnel yesterday, what a joy. They will be coming thick and fast soon, hopefully in time for Mothers Day.

 

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