Well, what do you do in the winter?
British Flowers Rock!
Well, what do you do in the winter?
As the summer ends, I get asked that a lot!
Outdoor grown British cut flowers are mainly available from April till September and by October it’s a juggling act between gathering the last blooms while the weather is good and prepping for next year.
Flower farmers start sowing seeds for the following season in late spring. By October next year’s sweet peas will be on their way and the beds will be full of lots of small hardy plants happily growing away ready to start flowering their hearts out in late spring.
Success is heavily dependent on the weather. September 2023 has been exceptionally warm which means the dahlias have been spectacular – till the frost when they vanish overnight. We mourn their passing but know that they will be back. We cut them down, cover them with straw and repurposed silage sheets then leave them till the spring, when they’ll be back, raring to do it all over again.
All over the country flower farmers are gathering up all the gorgeous, colourful, scented, fluffy things they have been drying and squirrelling away throughout the summer months in anticipation of the Great Seasonal Wreathing Workshop Time!
Wreaths are perennially popular and there has been a growing interest in making your own in recent years. Going to a wreath workshop is a lovely relaxed introduction to the crazy, busy pre-Christmas season – a chance to meet up with friends and get creative knowing that your decorations won’t cost the earth.
Sustainable florists use a natural willow wreath bases, moss is sourced responsibly and twine is chosen over wire. Everything from the evergreens to the finishing touches is grown or gathered locally. You get all the sparkle but none of the plastic and glitter.
Autumn on the flower field is all about reviewing this year and planing for next season. One new trend at the moment is to use more perennial plants. Unlike annuals which complete their lifecycle in one season, hardy perennials come back year after year.
Another emerging interest is in winter flowers for floristry. Experienced ‘all year’ gardeners will know about those ‘winter interest’ plants that make the season more colourful and often incredibly scented – sustainable florists are discovering them too! They offer a very different esthetic, but a welcome one in the dark depths of winter.
The Garden Museum in London is hosting the first Winter Flowers Week, led by some of the leading lights of British Flowers – well worth a look if you are planning a pre-Christmas visit to the Big Smoke
Vanessa Swetman
www.kitchengardenflowersandproduce.org.uk
www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/winter-flowers-week/
First published in the Peak Advertiser October 2023