A wreath on Monday

Not quite a vase but it is Monday so I'm joining in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a vase on Monday. 

I made this wreath as I wanted to practice and wanted a pale one which would show up well on our front door which is dark green. 
The other ones I've made have just been greenery tied onto a frame so I thought I'd try moss here. 

I made a few twiggy frames in Autumn so I have them when I need them. This one is made of Elaeagnus but I have also used Jasmine as well as the traditional willow. It's a shame to use willow if it's going to be completely covered. 

I raked the moss from our 'lawn' so it's from a sustainable source! The bunched it on the frame and wrapped string around. 

The stems are just pushed in with a bit of wire wrapped around to secure. My other wreaths have been 100% compostable but I cheated here. 

Included are Artemesia 'Powis Castle', Pittosporum, Abelia, Vibrunum flowers, Pieris flowers, Apple mint, Rosemary, Dusty Miller which I think is now called Jacobea maritima.
I don't think the Artemesia is going to last, I should have conditioned it better. I might have to remake it. It's all good fun though. 

I like it, I hope you do. 

Recycling my vase on Monday and Floral update - part three.

The green vase I made last week is still looking really good so I added in a few different flowers and left most of the foliage. A couple of things were looking crispy but I think the water got low. Top tip - keep the water topped up!


Regular readers will know of my change of direction this year. The story of my year is here and here.
Obviously it is interesting to people keen on growing cut flowers to know what has grown well and is worth trying. Thanks Christina for pointing that out. 

Unless otherwise stated things were grown outside from a spring sowing. 
One thing I do know is that pinching out really works for many things to get good bushy plants and more flowers. It works for most things which will branch anyway. 

This year many things grew well for me in no particular order:
Cornflowers. I had white and pink. The flowered for months and if you keep cutting they keep flowering and bush out nicely. They last a reasonable time if picked early and fade prettily. 

Sweet Peas. Winter Sunshine inside and mixes outside. 

Cosmos. I had Cupcakes growing inside which were beautiful. Outside I had a general mix which wasn't as good due to the weather. 

Rudbekia. I tried Sahara for the first time. Oh, they were gorgeous. Some plants were inside and did really well, some outside didn't get very tall through lack of water. Still pretty and good enough for small vases. 'Green Eyes' is still flowering, in fact one plant has survived from last year. 

Ammi. This did well from a spring sowing and went on flowering for a long time. 

Daucus carota. This got off to a slow start but is doing well now! Again probably went short of water in the summer. Really pretty and  good with anything. 

Dill. Seeded everywhere from the previous year and went in every bunch during September and October. 

Larkspur. Autumn sowing. 

Nicotiana. I sowed some and some seeded themselves. Flowered for months and were very useful. Green and pink.

Atriplex. Fantastic foliage/filler. Once you have it it seeds forever. 

Amaranthus. The plants I pinched out and watered well produces lovely long tassels. 

Sunflower. 'Vanilla Ice'. I love this and it went on and on. 'Prado Red' also. They have smallish heads which are better for vases and keep coming. They suffered in the drought but then took off when we had rain, like many things. 

Snap dragon. 'Royal Bride' was brilliant and went on until November. 'Madame Butterfly' grew and flowered well but I didn't like some of the colours in the mix. Some were a strange pinky orange. One was white and green which I did used often. 

Zinnia. 'Queen Red Lime'. Gorgeous. I grew some mixed colours inside and they did much better than those planted outside. Too dry again, I expect. 

Scabious. Pinky colour mix and also 'Fata Morgana'. These did well and in fact, I think they are still flowering. Once established they just go on and on. Cut as a bud and they open in the vase. 

Limonium suworowii. I grew these having seen them in other peoples vases. They made good little plants and beautiful long flowers which looked great mixed in with other things. Then they were scorched. :(

Salvia farinacea. A beautiful pop of blue, especially good with pinks. The whites were no where near as good. 

Dahlias. Of course!

Cardiospermum. A beautiful annual vine which produces puffy seed balls. 

Some things failed or were disappointing but I need to leave room for improvement next year. No doubt different things will fail or be brilliant:

Ridolfia. My plants were very feeble and never bulked up. Trying again from an autumn sowing.

Stocks. I can't seem to grow them well. Any tips. Trying again.

Didiscus. These are very pretty and started well but then got very leggy. I'll try and get bushy plants next year. 

Orlaya. I think I had 3 plants which never got over 40cm. They like to self seed apparently or be sown very fresh. I have lots of seedlings now from seed kindly donated from a fellow grower. 

Cosmos. Xanthos and Rubinato. I was really looking forward to these but they were feeble plants barely tall enough to cut. 

I'll stop now before you all drop off. 

Going Green In a vase on Monday and Floral update - Part two

I'd planned to make a foliage vase today but as I was cutting I added in these Anastasia Green Chrysanthemums. I'm not really sure about them mixed with other flowers. They are quite bright but they do look good here with the greenery. 
A couple of types of Euphorbia, some Penstemon foliage - which is good in a vase and is gong to be cut back in spring anyway, and Yellow Choisya.

I'm making a couple of bouquets on Saturday so I might try these green ones with the purples. I'll let you know how they look. 

Last week I started to tell you about my floral journey this year. You can read about it here. Now for the second part.

Part two - Flowering

Gradually things started to flower and I had to start marketing. 
I had to embrace Social Media, create my website and start Instagram and Facebook accounts. I'd never wanted to be on social media before so it was all new. Everything had to be photographed to build up a portfolio. It's also a wonderful record. 

Thursday bunches - a kitchen full of flowers in October

Sales throughout the summer have been variable. Some weeks I didn't sell anything and felt very down and then there is a real thrill when I do sell and people appreciate the beauty of my flowers. I've sold to self employed florists, some bouquets and arrangements, some gate sales and towards the end of the summer I started selling bunches through a local village shop. Things started to pick up towards the end of summer which was frustrating as, of course, there are fewer flowers. 

I was lucky to already have this poly tunnel and here it is filled with Zinnias and Cosmos still with room for tomatoes behind.

Many flowers came out of my small plot. I don't think I really knew what to expect but I certainly cut bucket after bucket.

A birthday bouquet

I am working on my marketing strategy for next year. I dived into this year without much planning but have sold enough to know that there is a market for local, seasonal British grown flowers. I just need to get the word out. 
Local florists are interested in what I am doing. Some will need persuading to convert to buying but some are already very enthusiastic and hopefully telling their friends. 

I'm expanding my growing area and already have hardy annuals growing for next year. This time I'm laying down vast quantities of cardboard and covering it with whatever comes to hand. Grass clippings, straw, manure. It's going to be 3 or 4 times the size of the plot I made this year. I gave some willow plants to someone local and she is now supplying me with manure from her horses. It's karma. 

I've just ordered a huge quantity of seeds as there were Black Friday sales on last weekend! Bulbs and biennials are already planted along with anemone and ranunculus in the hope of having a few early flowers. 
Next is a planting plan and an assessment of the flowers I'm growing. The challenge is to produce a good mix of flowers and have a succession throughout the season. Some things can be sown two, three or even four times and I think I'll need to be ruthless about pulling things up and replanting when they have done their bit. 

During April I did a two week Career Change course at Tallulah Rose Flower School in Bath. I had a wonderful time surrounded by flowers and learnt so much. They have a very relaxed, informal way of teaching to encourage everyone's individual style rather than the more formal 'we all put this red rose here' approach. This suited me and I think my own style is developing.  I've continued to learn all year and am planning much more reading and studying during the winter when, hopefully, I'll have spare time. My brain has enjoyed the challenge, I was definitely stagnating. 
There is plenty of help and information online amongst the community of small growers who are also nothing but encouraging. 

It's been an exhilarating, exhausting, exasperating and exciting year and it's hard to believe that this time last year I had no idea I'd be travelling down this route. 

Christina has asked about the flowers I've grown. That would have been an obvious thing to include but as this post is already so long, I'll expand to part three next week and include an idea of what I've grown this year and what worked. 
Again, thank you for reading. 

Floral Update Part One and In a Vase on Monday

Good morning, 

This is an arrangement I created for a 101st birthday table centre. It's bigger than it looks here, probably about 60cm long. The brief was that it was to have impact but also not be too tall so people could converse over it. It stars Chrysanthemum 'Avignon Pink', 'Porto Purple' and 'Saratov Lilac' I think but some of the labels have got in a muddle. There is also some Bay, Leylandii and honeysuckle tendrils. I like a bit of whimsy. 
I'm joining in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a Vase on Monday. 


Cathy asked last week about my first year of flower farming so here is an update. 
I've divided this post into two as it was getting longer and longer and I don't want you to drop off. 

Part one - Growing

A bit of background for those of you who don't know - Early this year I had the chance to make a career change. The choice was to stay in my office job working for a new boss or try something new. I chose to create my own Flower Farm. 
I have a fantastically supportive husband who is right behind the venture so we started in March by hiring a turf cutter. We only had it for a day and it was hard going even though it was petrol driven. 

This is what my main plot looked like. 

This makes it look huge.I divided this plot into two with a path up the middle. 

Meanwhile I was raising seedlings inside. To be honest it wasn't very different from a normal year. I know many of you are the same and we have trays and trays of little plants waiting in the wings. By the time we get to our safe planting date (May here in the UK) our covered areas, windowsills, spare floor spaces and cold frames are full to bursting with plants which need to get into the ground. 

We had snow in March, heavy, twice and then a heatwave in April. The seedlings survived though and then I had to get them planted. 
I'd dug over my plot once but from now on I'll be using the No Dig method. I love planting out on a newly dug plot and in rows,though it does lead to aches the next day. 

Seedlings. I should stand here and take a picture every month!

I had my Winter Sunshine Sweet Peas growing in my poly tunnel. They flowered from April for three months, I think. 'Opal' was the most gorgeous colour and went to a couple of weddings. (I didn't do all the wedding flowers). I'll be growing that again as well as white. I grew other Sweet Peas outside and they were so good I couldn't keep up with the cutting. 

'Opal' and 'Navy'

One long bed viewed from the opposite end. The posts are for horizontal netting which is very effective at supporting stems. 

Summer drought, you can see how brown the grass is. Most of the landscape here does not belong to us, we just enjoy it. The nettles do.

The truth is that the second long bed was never fully dug before the drought and never got planted until late summer. However, along with things growing in the tunnel, the dahlias in my old cutting beds and these, I had plenty flowering. 

That is the first part, thank you for reading to the end. Come back next week for some more flowery pictures. 

Chrysanthemum love In a Vase on Monday

When I tell people I've got Chrysanthemums flowering they often make a face. I know what they are thinking and the word does conjure up images of yellow and white petrol station flowers wrapped in cellophane. 
Let me introduce you to something a little different. 

Here is my vase with a few of my gorgeous Chrysanthemums plus some Parsley. I really have to search to find some good looking foliage to add in. 

'Tarantula Red'

'Avignon Pink'

It's hard to describe the colours in these. They are pink but sometimes have caramel or cream tones and I think get more pink as they age. 
Some of these Tarantulas have droopy stems so I've cut them for myself. Most of them have sturdy stems and last for ages in a vase. 

Staking has been difficult. Plants have grown enormous (I suddenly remember writing about this last year) and then topple over and the stems grown at odd angles which is no good for cutting. The odd kink is fine but right angles are no good. I must work out a better way of staking or perhaps pinch out more so the plants are not as tall. 
They are all growing under cover. I know some other growers have lost their plants to frost even under cover. I've been lucky. Possibly as we are quite high here. Temperatures have been right down to zero even under cover. 

Wandering the internet yesterday I found another spider type in caramel colours but I really shouldn't buy it, I don't have room...

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what interesting things everyone has found to put In a Vase on Monday. 

(Not) In a Vase On Monday - 5 years

Does anyone else make something pretty then spend 20 minutes trying to get a good photograph? Or is that just me?
I've made this little wreath/hanger to celebrate with Cathy 5 years of her meme In a Vase on Monday. Over the five years it has become very important to it's loyal followers. I joined in about 2 years ago and it was definitely one of the many factors contributing to my decision to begin Flower Farming this year. It proved to me that I loved growing and arranging flowers, and having people admire them is very encouraging. 
That said, we are not using vases this week. For one week only it's (Not) In a Vase On Monday.

I've been all round the house and these are the best pictures I could get. 

I've been making wreath bases for Christmas and beyond with anything I could get my hands on. This is Jasmine but I've also found Elaeagnus works well. I made a tiny one today for me. It's about 20cm across. I've also used some tiny pink rosebuds which I dried, dried Marjoram and some ferns which are not dried but I think might dry nicely once hung. 
The buds are wired.
Dried flowers are all the rage once more with Honesty being the most sought after. Florists up and down the country are looking for it. If I'd realised sooner I would have tried to dry more things and definitely more Honesty but then comes the problem of storage. 

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for inspiring, commenting, encouraging and holding it all together and thanks to Cathy and everyone else for adding to my endless list of plant and seed 'wants'. 

Autumn colours In a Vase on Monday

We've had two hard frosts in the last week which meant the end of anything remotely tender, sadly. I've started cutting back the dahlias and I will lift them. I've read ( and watched on You Tube) plenty about whether or not to lift, and how to store and divide. There are many options and I've decided to lift them as I think they'll get a better start next year and there is the opportunity to divide and make more plants. Always good! I'm not sure where I am going to store them yet. In the past I have treated them very badly and still found the majority grew well the next year. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. 

I picked this vaseful in seconds yesterday. Chrysanthemum 'Orange Allouise', Pineapple sage flowers and a stem of Dusty Miller. This plant has so many names it's thoroughly confusing. Today I'm calling it Cineraria maritima though I'm not sure that is correct. It doesn't have the divided leaves of the more common one. If anyone has experience of growing this and over wintering, I'd be interested to hear how you got on. 

It's a lovely plant which I really recommend as it goes with many things in a vase. 

These flowers are growing under cover so I can try and prolong my harvest a little longer. I am looking at yellow roses through my window though so there are some tough plants outside still giving. 
Pop something in vase and join in with Cathy for In a Vase on Monday.