Growing Tips & News for July

​So the second half of the year has begun - can you believe how fast it's come along? One minute the cutting beds were packed full of jewel coloured Tulips, now just weeks later, the overall impression as I look across is subtle pink, white & blues. Roses, Delphiniums, Cornflower, Nigella, Cosmos, Scabious & many, many more varieties.

  The weather forecasters might tell us 'Summer' starts on June 1st - but for me it's when the first of the Sweet Pea stems are cut & the air is filled with the heavenly scent of Rose 'Gertrude Jeckyll'. These are just two of the stand out plants that shout 'Summer' out loud for me. This year I cut the first Sweet Peas on June 9th & everyday the numbers of stems cut is increasing.

  This is an exceptionally busy time of year here as the wedding season is in full swing. I enjoyed giving a talk about the Flower Farm at National Trust for Scotland's Threave Castle recently & we were featured on ITV Border's 'Border Life'. It was a fun day back in May when presenter Emma Baker visited to film - if you missed it the programme can be seen here; scroll down to our feature in the 12th June programme. It starts at about 8.30 minutes.

  And somewhere amongst all that activity, we find time for planting, seed sowing, irrigating through the dry spell & of course, cutting the flowers.Without this effort now, the volume of flowers available would quickly reduce & we want to keep them coming for the months ahead.

  As well as local flower deliveries, I'll be bringing a selection of flowers to the lovely Loch Arthur Farm shop on Fridays this month & the Kirkcudbright Farmers Market on Sunday 23rd July - do come & say 'hello' if you're visiting.

  I hope your garden is bursting into bloom too this month & you've been able to cut plenty of gorgeous blooms to bring inside. Below are a few pointers of tasks for your Cutting Garden in the month ahead;
Jobs for the Cutting Garden in July;

• Keep deadheading faded flowers to keep your display going. Of course, if you're cutting lots of flowers to arrange, you'll be deadheading at the same time, minimising the work. What better excuse to get snipping?
• By mid-month some of the early flowering perennials might look a bit tired after flowering their hearts out for you. If so, it's time for some drastic hacking back. Cut the flowered stems down low & remove any dying or mildewy foliage. Give a sprinkle of goodness such as seaweed meal & if the weather is dry, a watering can full of water. Within weeks, the plant will produce new fresh leaves & sometimes another, small flush of flower. This is good for delphinium, lupin & hardy geranium.
• If you're thinking of adding roses to your cutting patch next year this is a good time to visit a few of the many open gardens or a large garden centre. You'll see which roses bloom prolifically, have strong straight stems for cutting, look healthy & of course, have the best scent. Much easier to choose varieties than from a catalogue or website in the winter, though that is the best time to buy & plant them.
• And for some flowery inspiration, there's plenty to be found here at the British Flowers Week website. British Flowers week, an initiative from New Covent Garden Flower Market to encourage Florists to use more British grown flowers was in mid-June. As part of the event, five top Floral Designers were invited to create designs using British grown flowers & foliage. See what they produced here 
• And remember to relax outside this month too. Perhaps take your cup of tea (or glass of wine!) outside if the weather permits & just soak up the atmosphere. Listen to the birds sing, breathe in the scents & enjoy the moment. These long days slip away too soon ...

Until next time,

Rosie Gray
Galloway Flowers

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