August News & Growing Tips from Galloway Flowers

 What a difference a week of rain makes!

  One week we’re miserly saving every drop of household water for plants then Boom! A massive thunderstorm. For a few days, we’re wearing wellies & rescuing potted plants from pools of water. I swear plants grew inches & grass greened last week with the desperately needed rain.

  Like the rest of the UK, we had a glorious long spell of hot, dry weather – it was wonderful being able to plan work outside & cut flowers certain it would be dry.

  But it was beginning to worry us – we've our own water supply & levels were falling fast. Suddenly hyper aware of how careless we're with water, rapidly becoming expert at saving buckets of water from the house. Water was targeted at plants in most need – the colours promised for weddings, the newly planted shrubs & roses.

  There have been losses but mostly just annuals. My carefully planned successions of Annual Gypsophila & Nigella for example, gave one magnificent display, together. Now there’ll be no more for the rest of the year. I miss them but there’s a bumper crop of seed pods to dry for autumn & winter wreaths instead!

  Overall I’ve been impressed by how resilient plants are – the Roses, Achillea, Garden Pinks & Agapanthus have been the most prolific I’ve ever known here, loving heat & the dry. We’ve been harvesting large buckets of all. Even the Sweet Peas kept going – the stems were shorter for a while & they got regular soaks, now they’re happily producing masses of stems again.

  The watering was taking a large chunk of time each day but on the plus side,  weeds didn’t germinate & grass didn’t need cutting… don’t think that’ll last!

  As the flowers move through towards late Summer, the colours are changing in our bouquets. There’s always plenty of white of course but the pale pastels of early summer are giving way to brighter, bolder colours. Dahlias, Asters, Heleniums & Sunflowers are blooming early in a mix of pinks, purples, oranges & yellow. The late Summer flowering bulbs Acidanthera & Gladioli are beginning to form spikes nicely now we’ve had rain. 

  We’ll be bringing flowers to Kirkcudbright Farmers Market on Sunday 26th August. As always, Bouquets, wreaths & Flowers to arrange yourself can be ordered throughout the month to collect from the Flower Farm or local delivery.

  I know the drought remains serious further south, making it difficult for our fellow flower farmers & gardeners (perhaps you). We’re still careful with water & maybe developing better working habits from the experience. But I’m grateful all has freshened up, the pressure lessened. Like wet weather, the heat doesn’t last. - all we can do is adapt & make the most of whatever comes. Take it easy if too hot for you & let’s hope for more sunshine, lots of blooms & cooler, comfortable temperatures for the last few weeks of Summer.

Jobs for the Cutting Garden in August

• Make sure to buy your Spring bulbs.The best varieties sell out quickly. Some such as Hyacinths for Christmas flowering need to be started in September
• Take cuttings of Pelargoniums, Verbena, Pinks & Fuschia to make sure you have more next year - either for you or to give away to an appreciative friend
• Keep cutting flowers to enjoy in your vases - otherwise you'll have to deadhead anyway. It stimulates many of them to produce more blooms - especially Dahlias, Sweet Peas & Roses
• Pinch out Chrysanthemums tips to encourage bushy growth & more flowers
• Take out the central flower on Dahlia stems to encourage more side flowers with longer stems - the opposite to growing huge flowers for shows. These side flowers are more useful in a vase or bouquet
• Collect flower seed on a dry day. Many perennials such as Astrantia & Aquilegia grow best from fresh seed. Annual seeds can be stored & sown next Spring
• Trim back lavender plants after flowering to keep them neat & healthy
• Birds, Butterflies & Bees appreciate a bird bath of clean, fresh water in dry weather as regular drinking & washing places dry up. Easy to do & a delight to watch them up close
• And for some flowery inspiration from a real wedding, here's a Link to a Lovely Late Summer Barn Wedding 

Until next time, 
Rosie Gray
Galloway Flowers ​