September News & Growing Tips for Your Cutting Patch

​Autumn seems to have arrived early doesn't it? August brought colder nights & so much rain. No wonder the swallows are lining up on the phone lines, getting ready for that morning when suddenly they vanish off to warmer climes.

  But fortunately there'll be many mornings yet when I'm reminded of the beautiful John Keats poem 'To Autumn' (one of the few everyone seems to remember). While admiring dewy cobwebs on meadow grasses yesterday, backlit by the rising sun, his description of the 'Season of mellow fruitfulness...' was perfect. Here's hoping for a late 'Indian' summer bringing warmth & an opportunity to get on with autumn tasks.

  The colour of the Cutting beds, & so of course all our bouquets & funeral flowers, are reflecting the changing season.Last month's abundance of Sweet Peas (we even sent stems to London to be presented to Princes William & Henry - a rather long story for another time) has reduced because of the cold nights. The bright pinks, purples & golds are coming to the fore with a dazzling firework display of colour. 

  And it's a busy time for growing; often we think of Autumn as the end of the gardening year - clearing up untidy stems of spent flowers & leaves to the compost heap, harvesting the bounty of apples, brambles & berries (many of which are finding their way into my arrangements just now...)

  But it's the beginning of the gardening year too - a great time for sowing seed & planting bulbs, switching around planting combinations which didn't quite work & of course planning for glorious flowers next year.

  We've begun tidying the workshop so I can offer short 'hands on' courses in floristry & growing skills. Our first will be in early December when we'll be making Christmas door wreaths & table flowers. Join me & you could be enjoying the most gorgeously decorated door for miles! Watch for an extra message from me in the next couple of weeks as I announce the dates & how to reserve your place.

  As well as delivering bouquets, wedding & funeral flowers, I'll be bringing a selection of flowers to the Kirkcudbright Farmers Market on Sunday 24th September - do come & say 'hello' if you're visiting.

  I hope your garden is bursting with bloom 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 September;

• Begin the Autumn tidy up. Cut back spent stems, gather up dead leaves & pull any weeds before they sow freely in your flower beds. But do leave those stems that either have seeds for the birds (such as lemon balm, pampas grass) or look beautiful covered in a hoar frost in the months to come.
• Plant bulbs such as daffodils, snowdrops & muscari as spaces appear in your border.
• Keep a beady eye open for self-sown seedlings of garden favourites such as cornflower, feverfew & calendula etc. - transplant to a better place if necessary.  Or you may spot ripened seed to collect & keep ready to sow in the spring - poppies, honesty & cerinthe, for example. I love plants for free!
• Sow Sweet Peas by the end of the month for an early show in 2018.
• If you've had a display outside of potted plants &  want to protect them indoors over winter (such as scented pelargoniums or salvia), consider using a nematode drench to ensure vine weevil aren't hiding away in the pots, destroying the roots.
• Get your horticultural fleece at the ready so you can throw it over tender plants quickly if we're warned of an early frost.
• Hyacinths are 'marmite' flowers. I love their heady perfume indoors in the dark days of winter but Ken finds it overpowering. Nonetheless, consider growing them for indoor flowers or for sweet little Christmas gifts. Be sure to buy 'prepared' bulbs & plant by about September 24th for Christmas flowers, For instructions on how to grow hyacinths in water (fun for children) see this blog post here.
• And for some flowery inspiration, here's a link to a beautiful August wedding by London florists Aesme. Using British flowers & foliage including dahlia, roses, japanese anemone, crab apples & more.

Until next time,

Rosie Gray
Galloway Flowers

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