May is a beautiful season at the Flower Farm as plants grow away at great speed. After recent rain, sunshine (& a bit of hail) I swear the plants visibly grow overnight! Fat new growth on the peonies, early perennials shooting skywards & blossom on the fruit trees – fills my heart with optimism as I look forward to all the flowers on their way now.

  It’s a bit like ‘musical chairs’ though as I juggle plants in the covered space available. The Hardy Annual plugs (including Sweet Peas) sown early in the year are being planted out now. Tulips have finished & been replaced, but Ranunculus & Anemones are going strong, too good to pull out yet. I need their space for planting more plugs!

  And in the greenhouse & polytunnel, trays are endlessly being moved. These seeds need the heat mat… those seedlings need a dip in water before they dry out... dahlias still too tender to go out & take so much space… Aagh! I’ve more protected area than even last year but it’s a challenge this month.

  Nights can still be cold here so I’m cautious with tender plants such as Cosmos & Dahlias. Soon I’ll begin toughening them up by bringing them outside for the day & taking them back in at night. They’ll be planted out at the very end of May, if the weather is kind.

  This is a good month for sowing seeds as they'll germinate quickly. These later plants keep colour coming here until late in the season. This past few days I’ve started off yet more Sweet Peas – they’re always popular & I like a few for late Summer weddings & parties. I’m growing even more grasses, seed heads & other flowers for drying this year too as this is a strong textural trend. They’re popular in bouquets, wreaths & even weddings at the moment.

  Some of the best flowers for cutting (& often leave big gaps if cut from a home garden flower bed) are the traditional British Perennials. Over the last couple of years I’ve increased my stock, growing many from seed or propagating from a few plants. These provide good long stems including Geum, Alliums, Campanula, Scabious & Astrantia this month, next month it’ll be the Delphiniums, Lupins & Achillea taking the starring role. Most appreciate staking to keep them standing tall in wet & windy weather. A little time on this now saves much time later, avoiding the loss of beautiful blooms just as they’re about to flower because of a sudden summer storm.

  As well as practical growing tasks, I’m preparing for June weddings, traditionally the busiest wedding month of the year. Some of the less glamourous tasks such as washing all the vases so they shine, cutting ribbons & more are jobs to do ahead of time.
 
  Over Winter we applied for the UNESCO Biosphere Certification Mark - & proud to announce we’re one of the first awarded it! It was a rigorous, thought provoking review of our environmental policies. This is a special, sensitive place for flora & fauna so we take great care to look after the wildlife we share our home with. Admittedly though, we’ve not been terribly good at telling everybody else about what we do. So this process is the start of communicating our story better. In a nutshell…

• We grow our flowers sustainably here in Galloway with care, without harmful chemicals.
• We supplement with flowers from trusted growers in the British Isles to offer variety throughout the year. These growers all comply with British/EU standards for environmental protection.
• We NEVER import cut flowers from outside the British Isles so ‘Flower Miles’ are kept to a minimum.
• We minimise plastic use by reusing seed trays, pots etc. We use minimal plastic in floristry, rarely using floral foam, cellophane etc.
• More information about the UNESCO Galloway & South Ayrshire Biosphere & our Environmental policy are on our website here;

  We’ll be at the Producers Market in Castle Douglas again on Sunday 19th May& at Kirkcudbright Farmers Market on Sunday 26th May. If you need a flowery fix before then, I'll be making up bouquets & wreaths to order as usual (not 13th-15th or 20th-23rd). Also flowers to arrange yourself by the informal bunch or bucket (pre-order & collection only) are available on Fridays & Saturdays this month.

  Planning is gathering pace for our 'Big Flower Weekend' event on 15th – 18thAugust. Over 100 UK growers (all members of the ‘Flowers From The Farm’group) will be opening their gates for flower farm tours, flowery themed workshops & more! We'll be hosting a 'Flower Farm Tour' & a 'Tour plus Posy Making Session'. Still trying to sort out the practicalities so details of how to book your places will be in this newsletter next month.
 
 
Your Flowery Inspiration;
Here's a couple of links for beautiful new ways to use dried flowers.

• First to a stunning Fresh & Dried Flower Mix Wedding Shoot in Wales. 
• The Second is a blog post from Floret 'Discovering Dried Flowers' - if you're new to this method of using flowers, you'll be inspired by the varieties & possibilities. 

 
Enjoy the lengthening days, hopefully plenty of sunshine & perhaps planting up your own Cutting Patch if you can!

Until next time, 
Rosie Gray
Galloway Flowers

This Spring, I've been trialling varieties of mini Narcissi & this one has become a stand out favourite. Called 'Moonlight Sensation' each stem holds a cluster of blooms, starting a pretty pale lemon & fading to white. Very useful for little posies & bud vases etc. Definitely planting more of these this Autumn.

  It's March, birds are singing & the flower season is kicking off! Spring is springinghere & every morning I’m delighted by something new popping up outside to greet the world. The tiniest bulb, shoots on a perennial or the new leaves on some of the shrubs, it’s good to know they’ve made it through another winter. The March gardenis an exciting place to be!

  The fabulous weather of the last few weeks was probably a ‘false spring’, as it couldn’t be more to different to last year. When I sat down to write last March, we were in the grip of the ‘beast from the east’. Deep snow blanketed the ground & I feared we would lose plants. It did damage some hedges but a year on, they’re mostly bouncing back. I estimate we’re running 3-4 weeks ahead of last year as Daffodils, Primroses & Forsythia are blooming already.

  This month we had the tree surgeons in to take out a row of tall Leylandii treesalong the bottom field. Put in 30 years ago, the trees were an effective wind break(& I’ll miss that) but shading a large area. I knew too that growing at a metre a year, if we didn’t deal with them now, it would become worse. I hate taking out healthy trees as they’ve taken so long to grow. At the moment the area is a bit of a mess with logs & wood chip to move but already the light is making a huge difference in the large polytunnel.

  This change gives us a whole new growing area – space to put in another polytunnel, erect the three small greenhouses we’ve been given & more foliage shrubs. I want space to grow more vegetables again as I’ve cut back on this while we’ve been getting the flower farm up & running. Ken’s been planting new, (more manageable) trees along the field boundary so in a few years, the environment will be richer than before.

  Much is going on indoors this month. Dahlias are sprouting, hardy annuals sown & first flowers cut. While most of our March bouquets are filled with beautiful Tulips, Narcissi & Ranunculus from growers in the south, we’re adding our own Anemones, double Daffodils & Hyacinths now. Soon I’ll be cutting Hellebores & Fritillaries too & aim to have our ‘Galloway grown’ bouquets later in the month. Just a reminder – Mother’s Day is Sunday March 31st! We’ll be delivering a limited number of pre-ordered bouquets on Saturday 30th.

  Outside, it’s time for rose pruning – anyone who looks closely at my hands will think I have a small tiger as a pet! Some jobs are just easier without gardening gloves, even though I end up being snagged on the thorns.

  We’re going to be at the new Producers Market in Castle Douglas this year & return to Kirkcudbright Farmers Market too. The CD date is Sunday 17th March, Kirkcudbright on Sunday 24th March.

  Another diary date for you is 15th – 18th August. On this weekend, members of the ‘Flowers From The Farm’ group of flower growers will be hosting the ‘Big Flower Weekend’. Over 100 UK growers (including us) will be opening their doors for flower farm tours, flowery themed workshops & more! I’m not sure what we’ll be doing yet but it’ll be ‘something’. Details of our events will be in this newsletter soon.

  I’m sure they’ll be cold weather yet but Spring really is just around the corner. Soon we’ll all be filling our vases with gorgeous British grown blooms…
 
Jobs for your Cutting Garden in March

• Sow Hardy Annual seedlings this month, either under cover or later in the month, outside. Nigella, Cornflowers, Calendula & Larkspur are tried & tested favourites to supply you with masses of stems to cut
• As the Snowdrop & Aconite flowers fade, it’s a good time to dig up & divide the clumps if they’re becoming large. Replant in small bundles. This is a good time to buy them ‘in the green’ if you want to create a new beautiful carpet of flowers every February.
• Perennial plants such as Astrantia, Phlox & Lupins benefit from being divided every few years – it keeps them healthy & flowering well. Cut the original plant into pieces. Replant what you need & give away any spares to friends. It’s a great way to boost the variety in your garden with swaps!
• Pot up your dahlia tubers & place in a space protected from frost. Some of the large flowered varieties need an early start or they only begin blooming in September. Dahlia are great value plants – prolific stems to cut in a wide range of colours & shapes. They grow surprisingly well in pots too
• It’s a good time to plant summer bulbs from mid-month onwards. Plant a few each month to keep a succession of these deliciously perfumed blooms coming. Gladioli, Freesia & Acidanthera are my favourites.
• Plant out in the garden any forced bulbs from indoors after flowering finishes such as Hyacinths & Narcissi.    
• Trim back Hydrangeas before new growth appears – as a guide trim to about a third of last seasons growth
• And for some flowery inspiration, here's a couple of links to beautiful weddings linked by the red/burgundy colour themes. First to a stunning early Summer wedding. The Second is a winter wedding in peaches/burgundy - these colours would translate beautifully for a late UK Summer wedding using Dahlias (IMHO).

Until next time, 
Rosie Gray
Galloway Flowers 

This morning's funeral tribute was a vibrant mix of bright Spring flowers & deliciously scented. Made without floral foam (it isn't biodegradeable under normal conditions & a source of harmful microplastics in the sea) or plastics such as cellophane. The flowers were 100% British grown & it also had a rich mix of Pussy Willow, Rosemary, Camellia & other garden foliages grown here.  

The sun has really moved these Anemones up a gear this week. The pink ones seem to be ahead of the other colours at the moment. And wow, what a pink that is! The stems are still quite short & a bit wonky, but I love their cheerful little faces just the same. 

The new year of growing cut flowers has begun for us, slowly to start with but underneath the snow, there's a lot going on. Gently pull back the snow & dead leaves, the Tulips & Narcissi are growing well. We've planted over a thousand new Narcissi this winter so it's going to be quite a show!

  Most of our work was indoors while it's been snowy but the plants are quietly growing away out there. The days are beginning to noticeably stretch now so in February we begin preparing the outside growing areas too.

  The stars at the moment are the winter flowering shrubs - these are some of my 'desert island' plants I wouldn't want to be without. A large Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera Fragrantissima) grows near my back door. A rather plain green shrub for most of the year but In the past few weeks, is really earning it's place. This often delights me with a powerful waft of scent on the late night breeze when I take the dogs out for their final stroll in the dark. Just a few stems are a treat to enjoy in a bud vase on my desk & I often pop them in a bouquet too.

  The Hellebores are full of buds now & a fabulous cut flower. They have a bad reputation for flopping though & many florists are wary of using them.  The trick is to let them mature before cutting - so enjoy them in your garden now & then later this month, enjoy them in your vase too. Most of my Hellebores were grown from seed given to me in a tiny envelope over 25 years ago by the Great Aunt of a friend from my primary school days. Over time, I've picked out & increased the better colours - they're still called 'Auntie May's Hellebores' though! So many of my favourite plants remind me of people - somehow those names are easier to remember, aren't they? So we have 'Terry's Fuschia', 'Mrs Jefferies Geranium', 'Peter Roberts' Blackcurrant' to name just a few...

  A large box of new Dahlia tubers arrived on Friday - I'll start a few of them (new varieties) off this week so I can increase the number of plants quickly & cheaply from cuttings. But most ( & last years saved stock) will wait until the end of the month. It's too cold here to plant them out until late May & they take up so much space.

  All the seed has arrived now - & my fingers are itching to get sowing! A few of the toughies can be started in trays this week - more Sweet Peas, Larkspur, Foxgloves for late summer, fancy Primroses for next year & Antirrhinums. Unless you have somewhere warm & light to grow tiny plants on, hold back with the tender seeds such as Cosmos. It's better to sow small batches, often, over time to keep the continuity of flowers coming.

  And if you're in need of a flowery treat, I'm bringing in deliciously scented Narcissi from the Scilly Isles by courier each week now. So if you would like to order some for yourself or a friend, let me know by noon on Monday each week. They can be collected from the Flower Farm on Fridays & Saturdays. Email Rosie
 
  The diary is beginning to fill with bookings for wedding flowers so if you know a couple looking for locally grown flowers for their special day, do suggest they get in touch soon. We’ll be offering full service wedding flowers (romantic bouquets, buttonholes, venue flowers & more) again, as well as ‘Bloom Buckets’ of flowers for arranging by family & friends. I only take on a few weddings each week, & the busiest weeks book early.

  We begin our calendar of events around the region on Saturday March 2nd when we take part in the 'Big Brew' event at Dunscore during Fairtrade fortnight. There'll be an opportunity to see Fairtrade products from around the world & meet local producers from Dumfries & Galloway. Do come along & say 'hello' if you're coming along.

  If the weather is kind, there are many gardens open in the next few weeks for the'Snowdrop Festival' & they're definitely worth visiting. Be inspired by the sight of the first Spring flowers, the sun on your face & sound of birds beginning to mark out their territories with song!
 
Jobs for the Cutting Garden in February;

• There's still time to plant bare root roses & new shrubs ths month
• Weed seedlings begin to emerge as the soil warms up - an hour spent hoeing or pulling these now saves much effort later
• Prune late flowering varieties of Clematis & Honeysuckle before they begin active growth. Leave the early flowering Clematis until after they have flowered
• Put up Nest Boxes for birds this month so they have time to discover them before breeding season begins. They're supposed to find their mates on Valentine's Day after all!
• And for some flowery inspiration, below are links to two gorgeous weddings by one talented florist. Dorset based florist Emma Whicher of 'Martha & the Meadow' uses British flowers whenever she can. I particularly love her use of British grown foliage in these two weddings. What do you think?

1. Hannah & Yann's Summer Wedding
2. Sai & Jack's Autumn Wedding

Until next time, 
Rosie Gray
Galloway Flowers 
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The first proper snow fall of the winter this past week - can't complain about that. Very picturesque of course but slowed me down on the planned tasks (shrub planting). Never mind it was a good opportunity to work in the greenhouse, tidying up, sweeping away cobwebs & getting ready for seed sowing to commene.

​    It’s been a kind, mild start to the New Year hasn’t it?  On recent days I could almost imagine Spring is just around the corner – buds on Hyacinths & Hellebores, a few Snowdrops already blooming in sheltered spots & the Daffs shooting up fast. There are surprise flowers blooming outside & the Chrysanthemums, Garden Pinks & Anemones are still giving a few flowers each week in the tunnel. Too few for a bouquet, of course, but enough for cheery little bud vases around the house.

  But don’t be fooled, it’s still too soon to reach for the seed packets & start sowing much. The days are slightly longer yet the memory of the ‘Beast from the East’ last March is making me extra cautious. Seed sown too early produces thin, light starved plants & never come to much. There’s plenty of other tasks for dry days to get your Cuttting Patch ready for 2019. What better way to get fresh air & exercise after the lazy, long festive break?

  So what might 2019 hold? 

  Well, this is my time for planning – most of the seeds, new Dahlia tubers (not THAT many, honestly) & plants are ordered. The easy bit.

  Now I need to plan the ‘where’ each plant will go to make the most of the space. This is a frustrating process rather like working out the plot for a game of ‘Cluedo’. Just as I think I’ve come up with the perfect solution, snags appear. You know the sort of thing - Professor Plum (or 2 metres of Cosmos ‘Psyche’ perhaps) in the Conservatory (third bed of the nursery plot) from June to early September – but no! I’ve got my second batch of Godetia behind it at that time. They’ll not get enough light! Aagh – back to the plan…

  The plan always changes but it’s still a great help when we begin sowing so I don’t overdo it (is it possible to have too many Sweet Pea plants? Yes!) I aim for at least 2 & ideally 3 crops from every bed over a year & space is always at a premium. I must keep the blooms coming – it's no good having more than I can cut & sell one month, then nothing late in the season.

  And of course, they’ll be new tempting varieties to try. Last years Chrysanthemum trial brought winners & some losers. We’ll take cuttings from the best & I’ve ordered some different ones to add in the mix for very late flowers. Also I’m trying more of the huge ‘dinnerplate’ dahlias – last year a huge white one was a big seller (especially to decorate wedding cakes). But the stems were short so not great for bouquets & vases. This year I’m trialling (just a ‘few’ tubers of each) ‘dinnerplates’ in other colours & several smaller white ones in my search for the perfect, weatherproof white dahlia.

  There’s a trend for drying flowers at the moment so I’m growing many more varieties specifically for this too. Interesting seed pods & grasses have been popular recently both as fresh accents in arrangements & drying for winter use.

  The planning is helped by bookings for wedding flowers coming in now, as it helps me predict the favourite flowers for our couples. We’ll be offering full service wedding flowers (romantic bouquets, buttonholes, venue flowers & more) again, as well as ‘Bloom Buckets’ of flowers for arranging by family & friends. I only take on a few weddings each week, so if you know anyone looking for seasonal, natural & locally grown wedding flowers this year, please do give them a nudge to get in touch soon.

  Now this is usually where I give suggestions for jobs in your Cutting Patch for the month – but no, this is probably the shortest list of the year! Instead enjoy any dry, bright weather when you can, admire the beauty of frost on the garden & snuggle up in the warm, dreaming, planning the beautiful flowers to come…
​
Jobs for the Cutting Garden in January;

• Order your seeds, dahlias & any new roses this month to be sure of your chosen varieties. Hold off sowing most of them though - later sown seed catches up fast. A few Sweet Peas can be started off from mid-month for early flowers.
• Remove the dead blackened leaves from your Hellebores to reveal the beatiful blooms as they emerge. 
• If too cold to work outside, tidy greenhouse & potting shed areas ready for seed sowing next month.
• Wash plastic seed trays, pots & plant labels ready to be reused. With care these last many years & help reduce plastic waste.
• And for some flowery inspiration for the year ahead, here's a LINK to a review of the 'most popular wedding bouquets of 2018' on wedding blog Green Wedding Shoes.
• And predictions for wedding trends in 2019 from wedding blog Style Me Pretty. Will they be right, I wonder?

Until next time, 
Rosie Gray
Galloway Flowers 

I found some leftover Mistletoe in the workshop while tidying up after the Christmas mayhem. Rather than just toss it, I thought I would try to 'seed' it on our apple trees. Until recently I didn't think it would grow this far north. But then neighbours told me some grows in their orchard, so thought it worth a try.
The seeds are in the berries - the vile, sticky balls have to be squashed on the branches. Utterly disgusting stuff, gloves are essential! 
Now I must wait & hope - it's slow to germinate, very fickle but maybe, just maybe, we'll have our own Galloway grown mistletoe, in about 5 years time.

Sami continued his tradition of 'not really helping' yesterday while I was cutting conifer for the first of the Christmas Wreath Making Workshops in Dumfries tomorrow. By sitting on it. Well, it was sunny...