 Everybody loves a freebie...
And I was delighted to be given this Eryngium seed head. It's from the garden of one of my regular subscription customers (a skilled & knowledgeable gardener). She gave it to me when I was delivering her flowers. It might look a bit scruffy - but It's full of lovely fresh seed! It's a good time of year to sow seed of perennial flowers - after all, that's exactly what Mother Nature is doing. I've sown the seed in a tray. (Simply scattered on compost mixed with vermiculite, popped into a quiet corner of the cold frame. No heat needed, just need patience.) I'm not sure which variety it is - possibly Eryngium 'Miss Wilmott's Ghost'. Those spikes are vicious! Fingers crossed they germinate well & I'll have a nice patch of plants on the way. Hopefully soon I'll be cutting plenty of stems of it.
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 The colours of the Hydrangeas seem to be particularly lovely this year.
These run from deep plum through bright pinks, to teal, soft blues & lighter greens. Two flower heads joined linked on one stem, on the same bush. I've no idea what variety it is. It grows unnoticed for most of the year in a shady, weedy corner, & to be honest it's a rather shabby little bush. And then it does this colour change! Like Cinderella going to the ball, several stems have appeared in wedding bouquets this month. Such a useful flower to link other colour flowers together in a bouquet, vase or wreath. It's roots are deep under paving so it would be difficult to move without damage. But I'm going to have a go at rooting some cuttings. A row of these growing in a better spot would be a thing of beauty & a Florists delight in Autumn... I need more Hydrangeas in my life.  Last weeks Frosts have finished the tender flowers such as the Dahlias & Cosmos outside. There are still flowers, but a much reduced selection. It brings our 9th growing season here to a close. To be honest, it's not the prettiest sight just now!
So it's time to pull those plants out, refresh the beds with lovely home-made compost & replant ready for next years flowers. For a Flower Farmer, this is one of the busiest seasons & a dry day like this precious. All the debris (such as the Cosmos in the barrow) will be shredded, added to the heaps & form the basis of the next batch of Compost. And of course, that means the nutrients are retained in the soil to make future flowers. Round it goes again...  Cut earlier in the day, & ready for the 'Friday Flowers' bouquets...
Acidanthera Murielae are among the easiest flowers to grow for cutting in September, unbothered by frosts & among my Autumn favourites. A sweet scent to stop you in your tracks as it wafts around the garden or as you walk into a room. They last well in a vase too as a succession of buds opens up the stem. The bulbs are inexpensive & I plant them in batches from late May to early July to give a succession of blooms. They're a 'one hit wonder' though & don't flower again the following year. Join me for the 'Cut Flowers From Your Garden' workshop at the Flower Farm to discover how to grow more blooms in your own Cutting Patch. Details can be found here  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'  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.  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.
 Vintage Spode Posy Bowl filled with Spring Flowers If 'April Showers bring May Flowers', we're surely heading for a bumper show next month! The frequent rain has slowed down a lot of our prep work outside recently. A few dryish weeks (please!) are needed to help get things closer to schedule again. Dividing perennial plants as planned has been difficult with the wet ground. Some varieties will have to wait until next year now, reducing productivity this season. It's better than risking loss of plants if we've a prolonged dry spell. The last few years have been exceptionally dry here in late April to early June. Growing flowers doesn't always go according to our plan - we just have to adapt to Mother Nature's! I prioritised precious dry days to complete bare root Rose planting. These had to go in, too expensive to leave. Another 35 rose bushes planted this year. It'll be a couple of years for them to be really productive. Patience is required to grow these lovely diva's well. Most are English & old reliable varieties, selected for health & scent. I've added a few new Hybrid Teas as experiments. I've often been told Roses don't grow well here in Galloway. I've found many do exceptionally well (getting very tall in the rain) as long as they're fed very generously. Three of our giant Conifers have been removed at last. Although there's a lot of mess to clear still, the impact is dramatic. So much light floods this area again & it'll be full of flowers soon. This area was one of the first planted when we came here 9 years ago, producing huge quantities of stems. The Conifers grow quietly & fast, only when looking at old photo's had I realised by how much. Replanting has begun. So far, I've moved Campanula, Achillea & Hellebores into the area - a lot more waiting. The seeds sown earlier this year are being planted, making room for the next batches in the greenhouse. I felt very silly watering them in the polytunnel beds, as rain hammered above. It never rains in the Tunnel (of course) & easy to forget this critical task in a spell of wet weather. Our flower season is well underway now - I've already cut plenty for 2 weddings, florist orders & our 'Friday Flowers' bouquets. The variety of stems available increases steadily in the coming weeks. What can I begin to grow this month? Potted Herbaceous plants (such as Delphiniums) can go in now for a quick show this year. The Garden Centres & Plant Nurseries will be well stocked this month so may make an enjoyable trip. Dahlias can be started off indoors now (need frost protection). This is a great month for seed sowing. Often seeds sown this month catch up on the same variety sown a month ago as light levels increase. Sow Hardy Annuals direct outside & Half Hardy Annuals (such as Cosmos) inside. The Half Hardy Annuals can be planted outside after the last frost. I'm sowing Sunflowers this week for a cheerful crop. Plant more bulbs for summer colour in gaps - Lilies, Gladioli & Acidanthera are reliable & make great vase fillers. What Can I Cut This Month? The simple answer is 'Lots!' I'm declaring 2024 Spring as 'Well ahead of itself' as the flowers are romping away, some 2-3 weeks ahead of most years. The 'Fancy Daffs' are sensational here just now. Blithely ignoring my careful plans for a continuous crop over several weeks, they're opening fast. Plenty for those weddings though... I love the frilly doubles like a ballerina tutu & planted more last Autumn. Other favourites are dainty short varieties such as 'Prom Dance' & 'Blushing Lady' (scented like a freesia). Great value bulbs as they come back every year with little attention. Tulips are beginning to pop & included in bouquets last week. If you would like a bunch (on the bulb or off), let me know. These are strong, large headed varieties & very different to the short, small-headed flowers (grown hydroponically) from the supermarket. Add these glamourous beauties to Honesty, Snowflakes, Cherry or Amelanchier blossom perhaps & you've the making of a lovely vaseful. Buds are appearing on Aquilegia, Sweet Rocket & even Peonies so these aren't far behind. And let's not forget the teeny, short stemmed flowers. The vintage Spode Posy ring pictured above was filled with Spring flowers on Saturday 6th. It's still looking pretty & fresh today, so far not a single stem has failed. These may look delicate but last well. Take a walk around your patch & see what you can find...  Speciality Tulips Upcoming Events
Workshop Dates for 2024 are;
How To Buy Flowers;
Jobs for April: Yesterday we had bright sunshine, gusty winds, hail & heavy rain - classic April weather! So I find it useful to have options when it comes to jobs. I might start a task outside - but am always prepared to dash inside a tunnel or shed to carry on.
Until next time, Rosie Galloway Flowers "In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours." Mark Twain, American Writer 1835 - 1910  Yesterday I pruned & mulched a few more Roses, feeding them lots of goodness to set them up for a stunning show again this Summer.
Not that the Rose bushes show much appreciation... My hands are crisscrossed with scratches, despite wearing gloves. Pruning Roses is a bit like tickling a friendly Tom cat who purrs, winds it's way around your legs, then rolls over to have his tummy tickled... & wham! Those claws are straight in to the soft fleshy bit of your hand. If you've ever had a cat, you'll know just what I mean. Anyway, no hard feelings towards the Roses, they're worth a bit of pain. And today a picture of deliciously scented Roses in sunshine is exactly what I need. This was a new one planted last year, & hopefully it'll be producing plenty of blooms soon.  Batch 1 Sweet Peas are well underway now.
These were sown in January, & about 350 baby plants are happily being nurtured in one of our polytunnels. Batch 2 are germinating now ready for potting in to root trainers like these soon. Cardboard toilet roll tubes could be used as an inexpensive alternative. These root trainers seemed very expensive to buy but this is their 9th season of use. With care, they'll be reused for Sunflowers & other seedlings later this Spring. Hopefully, I'll reuse them for a 10th season next year. So yes, the root trainers are made from recycled plastic but used carefully, definitely not single use only. And when they do fall apart, they can be recycled & the material used again. It won't be long before we're cutting deliciously scented Sweet Peas by the bucketful for our Customers!  Early September last year - our Dahlias were pumping out hundreds of stems every week, & continued well into mid-October.
The most popular colours with our Customers were the oranges, coppers, & peaches, in demand for weddings with an Autumnal palette. These colours were very popular in our weekly 'Friday Flower' bouquets too. But fashions change & over winter I've been tracking the trends to make sure we have plenty of the 'Must Have' colours for 2024. What do you think I should be growing more of this year? More of the same? Increase the pinks & purples? More whites, burgundies, reds? More...? Fingers crossed I'm on the right track... Your thoughts always welcome! Every year we produce thousands of Dahlia stems. These are used in our own floristry & sold wholesale to professional florists.  So Goodbye January & Hello February! While I know this is still a cold month, I'm already seeing & feeling the stirrings of Spring. Are you too? The days are just a little bit longer at both ends now. It's easier to wake up, & there's more time to garden in the afternoons. In early January, it seemed as if after breakfast, lunch & walking dogs, the light was almost gone. But yesterday it was past 5.30pm when I came in for a cuppa. And I was ready for it! January was my 'Get Ready' phase of planning, deciding what to grow & placing the orders. Now February is 'Get Set'. It's the month of preparing to implement those plans. Having decided what to grow, spoken in more detail with wedding couples, the picture is clearer. Now I can calculate how many plants will produce those flowers. Then it's the challenging bit - how to fit it all in the space available! Planning can be a frustrating, time consuming task but I'll be ready for 'Go!' by March. It's a good time for doing jobs to make my workload easier in the busy Spring & Summer months. When weather allows, work begins on the big tidy up outside. Heaven knows it needs it after the relentless Storms. The beds & paths look messy, scattered with broken sticks, leaves & pots tossed around in the wild winds. I leave stems & seed heads on most plants in Autumn, providing food for many birds & shelter for insects. But now I'm gathering them up, weeding as I go. I start with plants the slugs & snails love to munch,such as Delphiniums. The tender shoots are perfect for propagating new plants so must be protected. Once beds are cleared, a generous mulch of homemade compost will be added, feeding the plants ready for growth. The first new Dahlias are scheduled to arrive this week. It's too early to plant them but I'll propagate cuttings. Hopefully, my tubers from last year will get through Winter safely & divide into even more plants. Though expensive, I hedge my bets buying new stock, just in case extreme cold destroys the old tubers. This year I've invested in new-to-me rust, red & orange varieties as these are increasingly requested colours for weddings. But there'll be plenty of the favourite varieties from previous years too. The first batch of Sweet Peas have germinated well. I'll prick them out this week & if I can keep the Mice away, these will be my early crop in the polytunnel. I'll sow my main Sweet Pea crop on February 14th or soon after. As I love Sweet Peas, it's an easy date to remember! What can I begin to grow this month? It's too early to sow most of your seeds - wait until March for better results. If your fingers itch to start, sow Sweet Peas, Antirrhinums & Larkspur. Plus start corms such as Ranunculus & Anemones for flowers in May & June. In the vegetable patch, Broad Beans can be started off now. Later in the month, Tomato, Pepper & Chilli seeds can be sown if you have a warm, light space for them. I planted Garlic yesterday between some of my Roses. I've read planting Garlic & other Alliums (onion family) among Roses deters Blackspot. The Blackspot wasn't bad last year but I don't know if it was the Garlic protection or coincidence. But it was good Garlic nonetheless so as good a place to grow it as any other... What Can I Cut This Month? The Snowdrops are pushing up so fast this week & last well in tiny bud vases of water. The Wild Daffodils here have buds on now so will flower before month end. Hellebores are budding up nicely & I've cut a few from the Tunnel already. Twigs & foliage are beautiful still, giving height to arrangements. Bright Cornus & Willows, Catkins on Hazel, Birch, Alder, Garrya & Pussy Willow. The berried Ivy, Skimmia, Viburnum Tinus, Heathers, & Arum leaves. The scented shrubs such as Lonicera Fragrantissima (Winter Honeysuckle), Daphne & Wintersweet are wafting scent about the garden. You need just a few stems to scent a room. I've cut a few stems of Forsythia this week as it will quickly open buds indoors. Mix with a few stems of Narcissi from the Isles of Scilly, perhaps a few Lincolnshire Tulips (hydroponically grown indoors) for an cheerful Winter arrangement. I have these available most weeks so let me know if you wish to order.  Wedding bookings are being confirmed & there are already weeks in 2024 fully booked. If you know a couple planning to tie the knot this year & who would love our locally grown flowers, the Wedding Pages can be found following the links from this page. As well as large Bespoke Weddings for Couples planning 'the whole Shebang', we'll again be supplying Couples with our simpler Wedding Packages options. These include 'Bloom Buckets' of mixed flowers for Family & Friends to arrange. Weddings are arranged from March to October only.
The 'Arrange Your Own Wedding Flowers' option is now open for bookings. This is an affordable option for Couples wishing to fully DIY their wedding flowers. Upcoming Events Mothers Day is very early this year - Sunday 10th March. Bouquets of colourful British-grown flowers for local delivery & collection can be ordered online now. And you can, of course, telephone me on 01644 420407 if you prefer talking to a real person rather than ordering flowers online! Workshop Dates are on the website & I'm receiving bookings already for the first dates. So far,
Jobs for February:
Until next time, Rosie Gray Galloway Flowers And the last word this month? 'There is always in February some one day, at least, when one smells the yet distant but surely coming Summer' Gertrude Jekyll (1843 -1932 Horticulturist, Garden Designer & Author)  Ranunculus may just be the most expensive mouse food on the planet.
I've noticed there are a few gaps in the bed where they had been growing rather well, a few weeks ago. But full of optimism that this year might be different, I've started off another batch. They're gorgeous when they do make it to flowering stage like this. Let's see how it goes. Keeping everything crossed & going to give the supposedly feral cats lounging about in my garage, out of the rain, a pep talk...  'It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses So wrote George Eliot (pen name for Mary Ann Evans, Author of Victorian classics such as 'MiddleMarch' & 'Silas Marner') And she was so right. It takes a couple of years for a rose to get into it's full stride for cut flowers, & if you cut a lot as I do, their life is shorter than when grown to admire in a garden setting only. This Winter I've been adding more to my collection - mostly planted in the few frost free days earlier this month. About another dozen to go in still, currently heeled in waiting. There's nothing quite like the scent of a British-grown Rose in a Summer wedding bouquet, & I adore using them. Maybe I'll add a few more? Our Wedding Calendar for 2024 is filling fast this month. If you would love our seasonal, locally grown flowers for your wedding, do contact me to arrange a chat soon.  Rosie Gray, Flower Grower & Florist at Galloway Flowers Summer afternoons cutting Dahlias by the bucketful seem a long time ago... And as it's been a while since I've posted much on the blog, a little introduction/reminder of what I do is overdue too.
I'm Rosie & since 2015, I've been growing flowers near Castle Douglas in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. But I've gardened since a toddler, & selling flowers was a side hustle long before. Every year I grow thousands of stems, in a dizzying range of colours, scents & varieties. The selection changes as we go through the season, no two weeks are exactly the same. When I look at photo's of wedding flowers I arranged, I can date it pretty accurately by the combination of flowers in the bouquets! A strange superpower, I know... The flowers grown here are mostly used for local weddings, funerals, parties & bouquets. Our flowers are available for all to buy during the season. They can be ordered online, by telephone, through the Galloway Food Hub or at Kirkcudbright Farmers Market. I'm happy to chat about your flowery requirements coming up this year & how we could work together. I offer relaxed, flowery afternoons here too from April to September (plus wreathmaking in Winter). To learn more about what's growing, events planned for 2024 & tips for growing your own cut flowers, join my monthly (ish) newsletter or follow on Instagram/Facebook.  And off we go again, preparing for our 9th season at our Flower Farm in Galloway.
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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