Edwardian House Flowers
Autumn
An Indian Summer has meant flowers throughout most of October, much to the delight of my subscription customers. But now I'm looking ahead to the winter months. Strawflowers are my final harvest of the year, and these will be hanging up to dry inside my old Edwardian wardrobes, the darkness helping to preserve the colours. I will be mixing them with other everlasting beauties that are currently tied to hooks and handles all over the house. As always, I will have a limited number of dried flower arrangements available from December to add cheer to the dark evenings, so do get in touch if you would like one, as they tend to disappear very quickly!
The rest of autumn and winter will be spent prepping the garden for next year: clear, compost, mulch, plant, repeat. I also want to keep the wildlife happy, and this little chap on my doorstep has reminded me to pay special attention to the pond!
But most of all I want to keep my lovely customers happy, so THANK YOU ALL once again for your incredible loyalty and generosity. This business is hard hard work, but it is absolutely worth it for the looks on your faces when you see the flowers. Year 4 coming up! In the meantime please do keep watch outside and enjoy all the seasonal changes; before you know it I will be bringing you some 'freshly picked loveliness', which will mean that spring is here again!
Simone xx
September
Yet more fruit! Half a dozen apple trees mean that I can pick lots of lovely pink blossom in the spring and still have apples galore.
Autumnal colours for the brightest arrangements of the year, with golden foliage perfectly highlighting those shades of crimson and saffron. And I just love the matching pompom shapes of dahlias and ivy blossom in these nine table arrangements for a lunch at Rosy's Food on Chatsworth Road. If you have a special occasion coming up do drop in and see her beautiful garden venue at number 86. At this time of year she'll be lighting the log fire too - pure hygge! (rosy@rosysfood.co.uk)
Treats
Black Eyed Susan is a striking late summer/autumn flower usually grown as a hardy perennial (flowers every year). However this annual version 'Rudbeckia Goldilocks' is even prettier and has an amazing vase life. I've just collected seed from mine which I'm giving away with every arrangement, together with sowing instructions.
If you don't have a garden yourself then here is the perfect present for your friends who do!
August
Plums plums and more plums. Last year just five on my tree and this year over a thousand!
I've been putting them in crumbles and even in my arrangements, their darkness contrasting beautifully in this jar with the pinks and blush of sweet peas and cosmos.
Treats
Summer holidays in Scotland mean that I get to be surrounded by my favourite flower, the wild foxglove. I grow lots of these and have three healthy seedlings to give away with each jar this month. You can plant them anywhere, still in their biodegradable pots. They are happy in the shade and next June you will be able to watch the bees popping in and out of each of the bells. Later they will self seed liberally so you can enjoy them forever!
July
Well, welcoming nearly 400 visitors to my garden made for a very special afternoon! Thank you to everyone who showed up to support Mapesbury Open Gardens Day; it was lovely to chat to you and to see such a wide age range, with the children hot on the trail of hidden objects for the quiz. (The birdhouse was on the kitchen windowsill!) Many asked about the effect of the heat, and I must say this summer has been particularly challenging. The plum trees seem to love it, but I'm looking closely to see which flowers are still happy in these temperatures and will definitely be focusing on drought tolerant plants in the future! Meanwhile here are two beautiful heat lovers that you will be seeing in your jars this month: zinnias and achillea, both grown from seed and beloved by bees and butterflies.
Treats
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More gorgeous Rose Buds for July, this one with my best cutting rose, Timeless Purple. I would normally save this for a large arrangement as it does last so well, but I broke the stem so here it is, paired with a sprig of scented daphne and just perfect for my bedside table. Actually I might keep this one for myself!
June
This little lady likes to follow me around mornings and evenings and would even come into the house if I let her. She has been keeping me company while I prepare for Mapesbury Open Gardens Day on the 22nd of June which means lots and lots of tidying! The roses in particular have been so beautiful this year but sadly they will have peaked by that date. You will have an opportunity to look behind the scenes however, to see how I grow jarfuls of flowers on such a small plot. And there are a dozen gardens in total to enjoy so do brave the heat and come along!
Treats
Some roses don't last long enough to be used in my arrangements, but I still grow them for their beauty and scent. So how can I share them with you? With a Rose Bud: a bud vase for three days of perfume and garden. Here is my absolute favourite: the semi wild Rosa rugosa.
May
No Mow May coming along nicely!
I feel very honoured to have been collaborating for the past two years with private chef Rosy from Chatsworth Road, providing table flowers for her beautiful lunch and dinner parties. Rosy's Food is an opportunity to celebrate any occasion in a Japanese style pavilion surrounded by her gorgeous woodland garden. We chose Rosy's Food for my son's tenth wedding anniversary and it was the most perfect evening; drinking champagne under the trees and then sitting down to delicious home cooking served by her team of butlers. Our family ranges from strict vegan to strict carnivore with everything in between but nothing fazes Rosy. Oh and the table flowers were rather lovely too! Do take a look at her website: rosysfood.co.uk and drop in and see her for a chat. You will be welcomed with a big smile and a glass of champagne. She never drinks anything else darling!
Treats
My lovely little Flower Shots have now turned into Salad Shots. These were inspired by watching Rosy merrily chopping up great big bunches of fresh herbs that she grows outside her back door - no faffing about picking off individual leaves for her! This one includes wild oregano, lemon oregano, Moroccan mint and fennel; all organically grown, freshly picked and delicious, so chop chop!
April
I did say in my Winter Blog that your first spring jars would contain some of the transparent honesty seed heads; can you spot them?
No sooner do I use them all up when along comes so much sunshine that the the garden explodes, with everything flowering at once. I'm cutting, arranging and delivering just as fast as I can; oh and it's peak seed sowing time too! I do remember to pause and enjoy all the beauty though: plum, cherry, pear and apple blossom, black hazel, a dozen different narcissi, hyacinths, cowslips, forget me nots (I love forget me nots) and things that I forgot I planted!
Treats
After my summer and autumn Flower Shots I just had to create a spring one! I would also encourage everyone to make their own flower shots, using a tiny jar and anything at all from the garden. Studies have shown time and again that flowers can reduce feelings of stress and anxiety so why not put some on your desk today?
Miniature daffodils, tulips and narcissi. Prettier than a stress ball!
Spring
The third year of Edwardian House Flowers! My season starts in April but what a lovely surprise to have customers contacting me before then to see what I could bring them. I always seem to find something; just need blossom, green buds, catkins and a little imagination!
The thing about seasonal flowers is that they are always worth waiting the twelve months for. And here comes the first harvest of the year - hellebores.
Walking past my house, you may have noticed that my front garden is filled with them. And here too is Lily, keeping a watchful eye. Growing cut flowers in an unpredictable climate means that you are never quite sure what's going to happen, so let's see what this year will bring!
