 Autumn Glory...
A simple arrangement in a glass vase, bursting with colour.
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 Hiding away from the blustery wind of Storm Babet was a perfect opportunity to use some of the dried 'Stuff' I've stashed away over Summer.
All British grown (most here) & dried naturally by myself over recent months. No dyes, no bleaches, just Mother Nature's own colours! To commission a wreath for your own home or as a gift, contact me Various colours available  Perfect Summer sunshine yesterday for the 'Arrange A Vase' Afternoon at the Flower Farm near Castle Douglas. This month Peonies, Delphiniums, Foxgloves, Astrantia & the first Sweet Peas were included in the choice of flowers. What could be more Summery than that? I love to see how everybody creates their own unique combinations from the selection of ingredients offered. Such beautiful work to take home & enjoy this week. The next 'Arrange A Vase' afternoon will be soon & bookings are open online now HERE     Yes, these flowers are real...
A Corsage made last week for a wedding guest to attach to her handbag. On her black bag, it would really catch the eye. All the flowers & foliage was grown here at the Flower Farm. It's made from Hellebore, with 3 types of Muscari & a touch of Heather for colour. I love making these intricate little creations so if you fancy a unique piece of floral glamour for a special event, do get in touch!  A cheerful 'Bloom Bucket' of British-grownflowers ready to arrange for a house warming party in mid-March. Guaranteed to welcome guests in with colour & scent!
My Galloway-grown flowers are beginning, although slowed down again by the cold weather. A little Forsythia & Viburnum plus Narcissi was cut this week. By the end of March, we'll be cutting plenty of our 'Fancy Daffodils' & hopefully Tulips too. Our 'Bloom Buckets' of mixed, seasonal flowers look lovely arranged in an informal, relaxed style. Each bucket contains a mixture of fresh flowers, prepared ready for you to simply cut to length & arrange. Lots of fresh flowers, great value & without fuss. Pre-order is essential. More information here  Slipware Pot by Fitch & McAndrew, with Dahlia 'Tartan'. Image credit Shannon Tofts Late last October, talented local Slipware Potters Hannah McAndrew & Doug Fitch popped over to collect a few flowers. The couple were preparing an Autumn photo shoot for their new catalogue of beautiful Slipware designs. It really was the tail end of our season., with thin pickings at the Flower Farm. A day later, even these Dahlias would have been ruined by Jack Frost. But we found a few last flowers, berries & seedheads. It's always a pleasure to see how others use my flowers. Thank you Hannah & Doug for sharing these images of your stunning pots. More of their work can be found on Instagram @FitchandMcAndrew & online shop www.fitchandmcandrew.co.uk Image credit ShannonTofts  Slipware pots by Fitch & McAndrew. Photo credit Shannon Tofts  Everything has it's season...
And our season of fresh Galloway-grown flowers is almost at an end. So on the really wet days & longer evenings, I make wreaths & other arrangements to bring colour into homes, using my stash of dried flowers & grasses. All materials were carefully dried by myself on warmer days. To commission a unique, handmade Hoop or other arrangement for your home or as a gift, send a message. For an extra special touch, wreaths can be made in a colour scheme of your choice, while my stocks last. Local delivery, collection or by post across the UK.  Bookings are well underway for our 'Make A Christmas Wreath' workshops.
Small, friendly groups, with all the materials necessary to make a natural. floral foam free wreath for your door.
Book online Here  'How can I keep Tulip stems straight in the vase?' I'm asked often. 'Will they stay straight if I put an old penny in the water? Or prick them with a pin?'
NO! More to the point, why would you want to? Aren't they at their best when twisting & dancing, opening wide, then tumbling downwards in a relaxed, 'old master-ish' style? They aren't dead, the stems are still strong, firm to touch - it's just their natural progression, doing what Tulips do. Naturally attracted to the light, they move during the day. And yes, they might be wild & wonky, & they're still beautiful! When cutting Tulips, I wrap them in brown paper & immediately place in a tall bucket of clean water overnight. After their long drink, they're firm, straight & much easier to arrange. But they fight back - growing several inches of stem to rise above other flowers in a bouquet. Given space as here, they begin to dance... These flowers know what they want, flowers with attitude. Our Galloway-grown Tulips are planted in November/December & cut daily between early April - mid-May (depending on the weather, of course). They're beautiful for weddings in Spring as they come in such a wonderful range of both flamboyant & subtle colours. Then it's goodbye for a full year & we welcome the early Summer flowers as they arrive...  A LOT of Wreaths left the workshop in December to brighten up Front Doors. Many were delivered locally, & others were sent by post across the UK. All were handmade on either a mossed or willow base, then decorated with foliage, berries, mistleoe, cones & a touch of bright ribbon. All our wreaths are made from 100% reusable or compostable materials, all grown in the British Isles.     So four wreath workshops in Kirkcudbright & Castle Douglas took place in December 2021. At times I thought it might not happen due to the pandemic, but we managed to enjoy some creative crafting fun together! A HUGE 'well done' to everybody who came along & created STUNNING wreaths - that's 37 very well dressed doors welcoming your guests this Christmas! The mixed conifers & other foliage gave the room a special 'Christmassy' scent as soon as we started cuttng it up to make the wreaths. But best of all was the gentle buzz of conversation & laughter as the groups worked together - that's the thing that made the atmosphere 'normal' & for me, very special. Thank you so much for coming along & getting the Festive season started. And Huge 'Thank you' to the teams at Ernespie Farm Shop in Castle Douglas & Station House Cookery School in Kirkcudbright for giving space to me to host the workshops!          Most of our Galloway-grown flowers have finished by November. I'm grateful to growers further South in the UK for supplying flowers for our to us in the next cold, dark months.
But these lightly-scented beauties are among the exceptions - I cut stems (in bud) into November this year. These were included in bouquets delivered to our regular customers. They may look fragile but they're tough cookies, standing up well outside to that Galloway wind & rain! We NEVER import flowers from outside the British Isles, all year round. It's not always easy to do but our talented growers make sure there's always something lovely to enjoy. All grown to high ethical, environmental & sustainable standards with minimal carbon footprint, of course. And buying a UK-grown bouquet can save up to 7.9kg of Carbon compared to an imported bouquet of flowers. If you would like to join our regular subscription customers, let me know. Delivered locally on Fridays, & British-grown all year round. Minimum subscription is just 3 bouquets. If somebody you know is looking for gift inspiration this Christmas - maybe it's time to give them a hint...  Autumn days -I was delighted to make this Autumn wreath for a special birthday delivery on Friday. Such a smart front door for a perfect background! Wreaths aren't just for Christmas, you know & I love the glowing seasonal colours of the leaves, berries & seedheads. All the plant materials, except a few sprigs of Cornish Eucalyptus, grew here at the Flower Farm in Galloway so I had a free choice of materials. All natural, no floral foam & completely reusable/compostable, (who doesn't reuse ribbons for bookmarks? Just me?) Think I might make one for my own door this week...   Christmas Wreath Workshops will take place again this year in Castle Douglas & Kirkudbright.
Book your place online Christmas Wreath Workshops Dumfries & Galloway  I've been at it again!
These are some of the flowers I cut on a July morning, ready to prepare for Castle Douglas Farmers Market the next day. The flowers all have a good long drink & then are ready to arrange. These really are locally grown in Galloway, with minimal Flower Miles & are deliciously scented! We take flowers to the Farmers Markets in Castle Douglas & Kirkcudbright most months - dates can be found here for 2021 Farmers Markets. You can buy a bunch of a single variety of flowers in season that week (such as these Sweet Peas or Garden Pinks), a mixed 'country bunch' for yourself or a friend to fill your favourite jug, or if you would like me to make up a gift bouquet, get in touch before the market & I'll bring it ready wrapped for you.  The White Double 'Fancy Daffs' are capturing my attention this week - this one was included in a Natural Funeral Spray today. So full & frilly, like tissue paper. All the flowers & foliage included, except a few white Alstroemerias grown in Sussex, were grown by me here in Galloway. So 100% British-grown & minimal 'Flower Miles'. The Spray included our double Tulips, scented Narcissi, the double Narcissi, Alstroemeria, Hyacinth & white Heather. The spray was completely compostable too, & used no floral foam. Making the switch to natural funeral flowers avoids introducing damaging microplastics into the marine environment. That damage isn't the legacy I want to leave behind from my floristry, so prefer to work in this way. Many of the people I make arrangements for were passionate Gardeners, nature lovers or simply doing their best to make responsible environmental choices in life. It seems natural to me to recognise this commitment with natural flowers at their funeral. I don't often post funeral flowers here, I guess we prefer not to dwell on it too much. But if you need to arrange flowers for a loved one at some future time, it might be useful to know greener funeral options are available to you.   Now that's more like a Spring day isn't it?
Birds singing, Sun shining & best of all everyone I spoke to today was in a good mood - amazing the difference a bit of sunshine makes. It's going to be cold again tonight so too soon to be complacent but going in the right direction at last. And a little basket of Spring flowers just because I fancied brightening up a dull corner...  A tad worse for wear, this wreath has seen a lot of weather since I hung it on my workshop door last December. Wind, rain, frost, a little snow & hot, hot sunshine (remember that?)
In that time, as the foliage dried & colours changed, it's become more than a wreath. Now it's habitat, home. I noticed a tiny wren roosting in here last February, on a wild, stormy night. She (or he) flew from the wreath as I opened the door, switching on the lights. This has happened often since when working in the workshop after dark, so I left the wreath all year. But last night I jumped out of my skin as 4 tiny wrens flew out, fluttering around my workshop! Now a des res for Wrens it seems. Wrens like snuggling up together for warmth & commonly roost together in tree holes. They seem to get under the wreath foliage, just to the right of the cones - perfect for them. A warm natural moss base, under the foliage & north facing eaves, nice & dry. If you would like to make your own Natural Wreath to decorate your door, join me at a 'Make Your Own Wreath' workshop in December. There are a couple of places on the workshops in Castle Douglas & Kirkcudbright. All socially distanced of course. I can't promise you a roost full of Wrens but you never know...  I've been spending a little time each day clearing my phone of photo's - you know all those weird out-of-focus shots, pictures of knees & the floor(no, maybe just me who does that) & of course all the 'why did I bother with that one?' shots.
It's freeing up plenty of space & best of all, reminding me of all the flowers cut, arranged & delivered this year. This little Posy from May was full of cheerful, happy Spring flowers, just perfect as a little 'floral hug' during lockdown for a birthday celebrated alone. And it reminded me not to be too ruthless with my weeding. Forget Me Not's seed everywhere here, I often complain about them being weeds. But in Springtime, I love them & enjoy having masses to cut...  Last bouquet of the week, gathering up the leftover stems, just for me.
It sums up my love of the classic Country Cottage garden style in July & the botanically rich bouquets I create. I've always been a gardener, a plantswoman, first. The floristry is simply something I do with those flowers to make a living. At every house I've owned I've created a garden full of my favourite plants, many moving on to the next house with me. The Flower Farm started because, well, I admit I was growing a LOT of flowers & people asked to buy them. Memories of the people who gave me plants, or where I bought them, come too, making every garden more special to me than just a collection of plants. |
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