Growing cut flowers course – the spring season

 

Last month saw the final growing cut flower day for the spring season. So I thought it was a good time for a sum up. The dates ran through March and April, on either a Wednesday or a Sunday and we were very lucky to have gorgeous weather for all five of them. I have had about seventy people, sixty eight women and two men. Come on guys where are you all? People came from all over the country to attend, which was both flattering and slightly pressurising. But I have had some really flattering feedback so I am now taking bookings for September dates (posted on the courses page).

 

It has been really interesting to hear about everyone's burgeoning cutting gardens from a raised bed in the city to a few acres in a walled garden on a country estate. Experience has ranged from complete beginners to people with allotments already growing their own veg to professional gardeners sent by the boss. There have also been a surprising number of people (mainly florists) wanting to set up something similar to us, no one too nearby thankfully.

 

Everyone seemed genuinely in awe at the area we tend with two full time people (myself and my partner Ashley) plus our wonderful part-time volunteers Irene and Sally. It is partly down to hard graft and no social life but I do try to demonstrate techniques to make the growing and harvesting of flowers less labour intensive. Another aim of the course is to show people how to plan for a continual supply of flowers throughout the season without any wasteful gluts or flowerless gaps…always a challenge, especially with the extreme weather we've been having. My shiny new projector and screen has done a great job in showing the highlights of the year, favourite flowers selected for their productivity, low maintenance, colour, scent and what I call nostalgic value. Lastly I try to demonstrate the cultural difference between flowers picked from a border and those destined to be a cut flower to rival anything bought in the shops.

 

Of course the main objective is to have fun and go away feeling inspired with a few seedlings to make a start and a hand tied bouquet to spur you on.  One of the highlights of the day was our home cooked lunch made with produce from the garden. A few people have asked for the Spinach Pie recipe which comes from my neighbour Vicky's book 'The Kitchen Manual'. If any of you are planning to come to our open day Vicky will be serving up her marvellous cakes, scones and ice cream. I will ask her to have a few copies of her book available too.

 

 Spinach Pie

I use Nigel Slater's recipe for the pastry (180g plain flour to 100g butter and a splash of cold water), this is baked for about 15 mins and cooled.

 The filling ingredients are combined in a blender:

 1 onion peeled and quartered

500g spinach chopped

½ tsp salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup cottage cheese

100g feta cheese

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 – 5 eggs

a small amount freshly grated nutmeg

 Pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake for 40 – 45mins at 180 C. It is good eaten hot or cold.

 

Here are a few pics of from one of the days

 

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Pricking out half hardy annuals to take home.

 

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Putting together a hand tied bouquet in the flower studio.

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A beautiful combination of ranunculus and honesty.

 

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Getting the aquapac (cellophane bubble with water reservoir) for the long journey home.

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Promising Peonies and Poppies

My ranunculus have been cooking in the oven of our polytunnel but whilst mourning their demise I have been considering the alternatives for our May weddings and 'ready to launch' mail order service. Fortunately the peonies and poppies are showing a lot of promise.

In fact I am amazed at the number of buds on my peonies which are only two years old, I have four varieties to choose from: Kansas, Festiva Maxima, Duchess de Nemours and Sarah Bernhardt. They have obviously enjoyed the cold winter and warm spring, so fingers crossed. I will pick them at the 'marshmallow stage' and combine them with my sweet peas, hesperis and mint for beautifully scented arrangements and bouquets.

 

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Now the poppies: Icelandic 'Meadow Pastels' …they are dreamy in lemons, apricots and creams. I can't believe how long they last in the vase, their petals look so delicate and tissue-like but even unseared I have had a good five days in this hot weather.

 

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Other flowers making an early apearance this year by a good three weeks include cornflowers, alliums, nigella, iris and delphiniums.

 

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All we need now is some gentle rain for about a week to water in all the recent plantings and encourage nice long stems.

RS

 

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Three weddings and a course

 What a busy week, with three weddings to start the season off, all with different colour schemes thank goodness. It has been an anxious time with the heat pushing everything on so quickly, but everyone seemed more than happy with their various combinations of ranunculus, tulips, anemones, honesty, apple blossom, muscari, narcissi, sorbus and euphorbia.

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  Anna Baldwin 14th May 024

 

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The narcissi we planted in the field have been so useful this week, I used a different variety for each wedding; Avalanche for the yellow theme, Thalia for the white and Silver Chimes for the pinks/creams. It is amazing what you can do with a tractor and a potato planter; I think the tulips will get the same treatment this autumn. The ranunculus are peaking with some heads the size of peonies, they are one of the only flowers I find hard to pick! But pick I did, a couple of hundred for our first arranging course today, there will be more info about that from Jo in the next blog.

Now I am just praying for a grey, rainy day to slow things down and water in all those perennials I divided back in March , plus the annuals we are planting out now…. I do sound like a grumpy farmer.

Other exciting news:  the mail order boxes have arrived, finishing touches are being made to the shopping page and I hope to be taking orders for gorgeous ranunculus bouquets like this very shortly.

 

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