 Giant Dahlias 'Frost Nip' Giant Dahlias are rather a divisive topic, aren't they? And they're especially huge this year as heavy August rain has produced whoppers like this! I don't grow many as to be honest, they aren't as easy to use in an arrangement. They produce fewer flowers each season, albeit huge ones. Vase life is shorter then many varieties too. But this variety is rather fun (imho) & always makes my list. I love the subtle tones that develop from tawny gold to deep raspberry as the flower matures. I use almost every stem as it blends so well with Autumn themes & they always get a second look at events. These went to an Auchen Castle wedding this week & most were included in the main ceremony area arrangement. These few remained in the bucket when I had finished. Too special to throw on the compost heap yet though. The resourceful staff found an extra large vase & arranged them so they could be enjoyed in the entrance hall. Maybe I should have put the classic baked bean tin by the side to give a scale of their huge size!  Vase of Giant Dahlias 'Frost Nip'
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 Autumn Glory...
A simple arrangement in a glass vase, bursting with colour.  Natural Farewell Flowers; an August Wreath Farewell flowers as individual as the person remembered...
I made this colourful wreath for an August Funeral. Asked to make it 'Gentlemanly', for a creator of a beautiful garden over many years. Knowing his garden was his passion, I chose foliage, late Summer flowers & seedheads all grown here in Galloway for the lowest possible carbon footprint. No plastic, no floral foam (it's made from oil & not compostable), just natural materials. When you need to find a florist in the UK who will make individual, natural & plastic-free farewell flowers for the special people you love, visit www.FarewellFlowers.co.uk  Saturday leftovers...
After arranging wedding flowers in bright sunshine (such luxury!) these few stems were last in the bucket, looking a bit tired & floppy. Back home, I recut the stems & popped them into cool water. Magically, they soon revived. A quick burst of mindful flower plonking into a favourite old jug revived me too after an early start. (A quantity of strong coffee helped too...) Not good enough for the party, but good enough to grace my kitchen this weekend.  Dahlia 'Negroni Sunset' Possibly my new favourite Dahlia this year...'Negroni Sunset'
First few blooms opened last week & now being tested for vase life in the kitchen. What do you think? A keeper to grow more of?  Flower Farm Florist Rosie Gray You'll not often catch a photo of me on here - I prefer my flowers to take the limelight.
Super-talented Photographer Duncan Ireland captured this moment in May when I delivered the bridal bouquet on Faye's special day. (Thank you Duncan for permission to share your photo) Now let me tell you about the flowers... 100% grown by myself at the Flower Farm, about 4 miles as the crow flies from the venue on Loch Ken. Early May loveliness including flouncy Peony Tulips, Ranunculus, scented Hesperis & dainty Aquilegia dancing above the rest.  Large Vase for the Font A Summers day at Urr Parish Church, near Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway - a lovely setting for a country wedding. The dainty, meadowy flowers of late Summer including sweetly scented Sweet Peas, Honeysuckle & Acidanthera. Every single stem grown & cut by us at the Flower Farm a few miles away. Then arranged naturally in a reusable glass vase with water for a low carbon footprint. When the flowers fade, they can safely be added to the compost heap. The vase will be washed & stored ready for next time. What could be simpler & more sustainable than that?   Photo credit Rose and Julien Emma LOVES pink... The brief for her May wedding bouquet was 'pink, pink & more pink!' So I selected a mix of deep pink Peonies, pink Aquilegia, pinky hued acer leaves & some lacy Orlaya as the key flowers in her bouquet. Emma brought her own choice of velvet ribbon to add & it turned out to be just the perfect colour. Couples come from all over the World to marry at Gretna Green. Emma, Dan & their young family made a road trip out of the occasion. Travelling all the way to me in their camper van to collect flowers, & then on to Gretna for their special ceremony. Thank you Emma & Dan for sharing the lovely photo - it was a pleasure to work with a real flower enthusiast! Photo credit www.roseandjulien.com  Photo credit Rose and Julien  September Bridal Bouquet Some of my favourite flowers are in this romantic wedding bouquet from last September. Peachy Dahlias, Soft pink Roses, Daisies & a few stems of beautifully scented Honeysuckle. A few stems of Gypsophila from Lincolnshire (by September I had cut all mine), every other stem grown here in Galloway by myself.
As our flowers are grown naturally, availability of specific varieties changes as we move through the flower season. No two weddings are ever exactly the same as I cut the best flowers available to your wedding colour theme. And our Bride Megan told me; 'thank you - the flowers just made the day and all the photos so perfect! They were really beautiful and just the right colours for the late summers day we had. Thanks so much for all the thought you put into creating the perfect bouquets!' If you're looking for memorable flowers for your wedding in Dumfries & Galloway, let's talk soon.  Rose 'Ispahan' The scent of Garden Roses... What could be more Summery than that?
This is a favourite 'Ispahan' - recommended to me years ago by a Lady who bought my Flowers when I took them to Loch Arthur Farm Shop on Fridays. So grateful for the recommendation. It's a good 'un. Prolific flowers for a few weeks, the true Rose scent is one of the best. It earns it's spot in any garden I create from now on...  Photo credit Lorna MacLeod Country flowers for a Country wedding... In early July, Fergus & Myumi married at Balmaghie Kirk, near Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway. This is such a pretty Kirk, surrounded by stunning views across Loch Ken & surrounding countryside. A beautiful backdrop for wedding photo's. The Bridal bouquet was possibly the most scented I can remember making. Soft peachy pink Garden Roses & Sweet Peas, with delicate Daisies & Nigella. Just very light & airy as Myumi is petite. At the door, two large flower arrangements stood tall & inside the Kirk, boxes of Summer flowers welcomed guests to their seats. Again, deliciously scented Garden Roses & Sweet Peas plus plenty of Daisies & 'froth' from the Flower Farm in Summer. And of course, all grown sustainably here in Scotland for minimal 'flower miles'. Arranged without floral foam or plastics. It wasn't a long commute to work for me - just to the other side of Loch Ken! Balmaghie Kirk is available for hire for weddings,funerals, christenings/naming ceremonies of any denomination. For more information, visit the Balmaghie Kirk website     Photo credit Lorna MacLeod  Here's a gorgeous confetti shot of Rosie & Gregor at their wedding at Crichton Memorial Church, Dumfries in early July. The bright bouquet flowers (all grown here at the Flower Farm) really pop in the sunshine. It included our garden Roses, Honeysuckle & Sweet Peas for scent. Congratulations to both & thank you for sharing the photo. Photo credit Nicola Hunter.  Bridal Bouquet closeup Rosie ordered a 'Bloom Bucket' of our mixed Summer flowers, collected the day before the wedding. Family members arranged the flowers to decorate the wedding venue.  'Bloom Bucket' of Summer Flowers  Natural Heart Wreath Natural Farewell Flowers... Close up detail of a handmade Heart Wreath made in early July from lichen-covered twigs. Simply trimmed with Lavender from a family garden, plus Thistles, Rambling Roses & foliage grown here in Galloway. As individual as the Gentleman remembered, a lover of the wildlife who shared his world. This design is suitable for natural burial sites as it's 100% compostable, without any plastic, floral foam or wire. Below are photo's of 2 small Posies made for other Family members to lay on the coffin. The cream Posy included the garden Lavender also. Both are completely compostable except for the small length of blue ribbon. After the Funeral, the Family sent this kind message; The arrangements and designs using the wicker frameworks, the posies with the hessian and simple, but so in keeping, luggage labels were just perfect and all reflected his personality of keeping things as natural and kind to the environment as possible. It was also so lovely to know the flowers were grown near where he used to live. I just wanted to say how very pleased we all were with them.  Natural Funeral Flowers; small Posy  Natural Funeral Flowers; small Posy  Sometimes small IS beautiful.
Petite Posy of late June flowers grown here at the Flower Farm. Tiny yet packed with the heady scents of the season.  Sweet Pea 'Kings Ransom' This year I grew this lovely Sweet Pea 'Kings Ransom' again but in the warmer end of the Tunnel. They seem to like that little bit of extra mollycoddling, especially given the cold night temperatures this week.
A gorgeous soft shade but sadly, no scent that I can detect. Maybe my sense of smell is being bamboozled by all the other varieties in the tunnel? It still makes my growing list though, I just mix it in with more scented ones in a bouquet.  ‘Tell me about your Mum & her Garden – what did she like?’ was how the conversation started. Memories came tumbling out as her Daughter described growing up in a Cottage Garden filled with colourful flowers. She shared how her Mum loved the 'Flower Fairy' books by Cicely Mary Barker & reading them to her Children. Similar memories were gathered from other family members. So naturally I was asked to include some of the 'Flower Fairy' stars in season among her funeral flowers. ‘And we were wondering if we could give the flowers to my Mum’s friends after the funeral… As she was known for her lovely garden, this would be a nice memento.’ Of course you can – it’s a lovely idea. So taking these requests as inspiration, I chose April flowers for the Heather, Stitchwort, Bluebell, Daffodil, Lady's Smock, Heart's Ease, Cowslip, Snowdrop, Willow Catkin & Forget Me Not Flower Fairies. I used a little artistic licence by including several Garden rather than wild varieties, all growing here. For example, 6 types of mini Daffodil. A Leucojum Snowflake to represent the Snowdrop Fairy. A Spanish Bluebell as our native Bluebells weren’t in flower yet. It was still surprising how many 'Flower Fairies' could be found once I began to look around our flower field & garden in April. I filled this pretty willow basket with 8 jars, held in place with sphagnum moss. Each jar contained a Posy of Spring flowers. The Basket was positioned on the natural willow coffin for the service. After the Funeral, the flowers were easily divided for 8 Friends to take a Posy home to enjoy, I tucked tiny Viola plugs in the moss around the edge too. The Family planted these in their own gardens. A lovely way to remember & celebrate the life of a Lady who loved gardening & telling stories to her young children. All flowers & foliage were grown here in Dumfries & Galloway (including the moss). And of course, the basket could be reused, flowers composted, glass jars reused or recycled. No plastic, no cellophane & no floral foam was used to make the design.    Phlomis Russeliana (Turkish Sage) Phlomis Russeliana.
Or as it's better known here 'Poodle Tails'. It just reminds me of those fancy groomed French Poodles. I need easy to remember names for flowers as sometimes latin names can be tricky... Whatever you call it, it's still a cracking cut flower.
 Just because they're common, doesn't mean they're a weed...
These Purple Foxgloves are perfect for a splash of bold colour & height to a big arrangement, such as a milk churn outside a church. Perfect for a wild, country look. At their best here in June & then shoot short stems in coming months. Self seeded along the bed edges, they love the improved soil & sunshine, growing tall, full flowered & strong. The bees adore them too. The white & apricot varieties do well here too but most of them have been cut now (though shorter stems will appear on them in coming weeks). But seriously, how many layers am I wearing? This picture taken in early June shows me wrapped up in thermals & thick socks as the wind had such a cold edge. Says everything about the Summer of 2024 in Scotland! |
AuthorRosie Gray of Galloway Flowers. Cut Flower Grower & Florist near Castle Douglas, in South West Scotland. Using 100% Flowers & Foliage grown in British Isles, all year round. 
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Growing Gorgeous Seasonal Cut Flowers & Foliage in Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland
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Flower Farmer Florist Castle Douglas, Flower Farm Scotland, Wedding Flowers Castle Douglas, Florist Castle Douglas, Funeral Flowers Castle Douglas, Sympathy flowers Castle Douglas, wedding florist Dumfries & Galloway, Wedding florist Kirkcudbright, wedding florist Gatehouse of Fleet, natural funeral flowers Dumfries & Galloway, wild wedding flowers Dumfries & Galloway, wedding flowers Ayr, wedding flowers Ayrshire