January 2025 News from Galloway Flowers

Photo Credit Ken Leslie Photography

   As 2025 began with a big freeze, I was grateful this is our quiet month, without urgency to go far on icy roads. This is our time to rest & recover after a hectic year full of flowers & life's challenges. Best of all, it's the time to cosy up by the wood burner, under a patchwork quilt. The detailed planning & preparation for the year ahead begins here.

  It's our 10th full season growing flowers here at the Flower Farm (we began in 2015) & as always, there'll be changes. Every year we try something new, both plants, colours & of course, methods. There's always something to learn. We continue learning which flowers excel here - & some of those that don't!

  At first sight it might not look that different in the field in high Summer to any other previous year. But fashions change & so do the flowers in greatest demand. As we've taken on more weddings, these drive our colour & plant choices. 

  Take Dahlias as an example - we grow more each year as they're having a fashion resurgence. (Oh & I've been growing them 30 years & just love them!) Six years ago, the dark burgundy shades were very popular (often mixed with a pale blush pink). The oranges/red/yellows grown were minimal, rarely requested. Last year, only 2 burgundy varieties remained in the field & these were soft, blended shades. In 2024, the tropical, sunset & autumnal colours were most requested. For 2025? Well, I'm still figuring it out!

  I think of January as List Season as I ponder possibilities. What do Customers tell me they love - colours, shapes, textures? What will I have in flower each month? What goes with what? (It might sound a bit mad but I'm basically designing bouquets in my head). Where are the gaps I need to fill? What do I grow now that I could propagate quickly & inexpensively? And the hardest bit - where can I fit it all in? The plant & seed catalogues arrive & with so many tempting varieties, it's easy to add more. But that means something else has to fall off the list to make room. It's HARD being a plantaholic, you know...

  At times, I feel as if my head will explode as I juggle the lists. I have to remind myself there's no perfect 'right' answer, just my best guesses. Wedding consultations for 2025 & 2026 are underway & with every conversation, the lists are refined. The fun bit starts with the armchair shopping!

  This is a busy month for wedding bookings so if you know a couple planning to tie the knot in 2025 or 2026, feel free to point them at my Wedding Pages  on my website. The most popular Summer dates book quickly & I take on only a few wedding dates each week. 

  The cold snap has slowed down January jobs such as Tulip planting. Usually I plant my bulbs in early January - this means they flower in April & May when I need them most, Also, the soil is less likely to blight the flowers with the nasty virus 'Tulip Fire' after a a good freeze. A busy week lies ahead as the soil warms again.

  It's already getting a teeny bit lighter each evening, isn't it? Social media is full of seed sowing posts already. But I'm cautious. Seeds sown now will struggle as light levels are low, They'll become thin & stretchy. March sown seed quickly catches up, often overtaking the early starts. Just Sweet Peas & Antirrhinum seeds for me this month.

What Can I Cut in January?
  It's thin pickings for my vases, making me treasure anything I have. The coloured stems of Cornus & Willow glow in the garden & vase. Mix in Catkins from Hazel, Birch, Garrya or Alder plus Ivy, Skimmia, Viburnum Tinus, Camellia or Heather perhaps? By the end of the month, scented Shrubs such as Daphne, Lonicera Fragrantissima (Winter Honeysuckle) & Wintersweet will flower. Picture the ground carpeted with Snowdrops - it won't be long. Bowls of Hyacinth, Narcissi & Amaryllis are scenting my house nicely in the meantime. I'm sure the garden centre will have plenty of bulbs to pot up if you need a little 'pick me up'.

Upcoming Events 2025
Dates for the first workshops are live on the website now. I'll add more dates as wedding dates firm up.

• 'Cut Flowers from Your Garden' Sunday 27th April (3 places)
• 'Make A Hand Tied Bouquet'  Sunday 4th May (3 places)
• 'Arrange A Vase' Afternoon' Sunday 15th June (5 places)

Jobs for January;

• Sow Sweet Peas (indoors) in deep pots & protect from Mice!
• Order & plant bare root Roses & trees - still plenty of rain to come to get them established
• Hellebores are coming into bud - trim away any dead, tatty leaves to reveal the flowers. This prevents them marking flowers
• Check your seed supplies - do you have everything you need? 
• On a mild day, wash greenhouse glass & polytunnel covers, seed trays. Wash labels & pots so you're ready to begin - looked after these last years & minimise plastic waste
• Remember the birds &  Squirrels in cold weather. They appreciate feeders full of peanuts, sunflower seed & fatballs. Clean fresh water is a great help to them when normal sources are frozen

How To Buy Our Flowers;

• Weekly deliveries or collections  Next Bouquet delivery will be Mothers Day weekend Sunday30th March
• Dried Flower stocks still good if you need a bunch for craft projects or to order a bouquet/wreath
• Flowers will be available across a wide area through the Galloway Food Hub again this year
• Flowers for Funerals, weddings, parties available all year round using 100% British grown. Pre-booking essential.

   And you can, of course, telephone me on 01644 420407 or email if you prefer talking to a real person rather than ordering flowers online. Much of my work is 'bespoke' for House flowers, parties & funerals so doesn't really fit the neat boxes necessary for online ordering. 
 
  It's set to be much milder this week so hopefully we can all enjoy any dry, bright spells that appear. A potter about to see any plants stirring already is good for the soul, in my view. And doubtless we'll have more cold weather yet so do enjoy the excuse to stay in the warm. Just day dream about the beautiful flowers to come & do that armchair shopping!

  And the last word for this month?
'What good is the warmth of Summer, without the cold of Winter to give it sweetness' John Steinbeck (American Writer)

Until next time, 
Rosie 
Galloway Flowers