Year: 2023

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Autumn

The flowering season is fast coming to an end. The only flowers in my garden now are the Strawflowers and Dahlias.

The Strawflowers are still producing beautiful blooms but come a few more weeks and I’ll be pulling them up. As for the Dahlias, I’ll be lifting and storing in a week . Last year I did this but sadly lost a few tubers in the cold snap we had, so I’ll be bringing them into the garage this winter as I don’t want to lose the ones I have as I was so pleased with them and they dried so well.

In the greenhouse the Ranunculus are busy growing. They were a little slow so but I think it was too warm for them, so now it’s cooler they have been fast to sprout!!

I’ve been busy sowing all my hardy annuals in the greenhouse. So the Larkspur has germinated, the Ammi, Hares Tail grasses, Briza Maxima and my new ‘Bowling Ball’ Poppies which I’m super excited for next year!

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Dried Wedding Flowers

Why Dried Flowers Are the Perfect Choice for Your Wedding

Dried flowers are becoming an increasingly popular choice for weddings, and it’s easy to see why. Not only do they offer unique beauty, but they’re also incredibly practical—especially for couples planning destination weddings. Since dried flowers can be prepared ahead of time, you can easily transport them without the stress of sourcing local florists.

They’re also an ideal option for autumn and winter weddings when fresh blooms can be harder to come by. As someone who values sustainability, I only use flowers I’ve grown myself in Norfolk, right next to the stunning Norfolk Broads. If I need to source other blooms etc I turn to British flower farm growers. Each summer, I carefully cultivate flowers to dry and craft into stunning arrangements for your special day—so you can rest assured knowing they’re homegrown and thoughtfully produced.

Looking for a bouquet with texture and character? Dried flowers offer an exciting range of seed heads, grasses, and unique shapes that fresh flowers just can’t replicate. Plus, they serve as a lasting keepsake, preserving the beauty of your wedding day for years to come.

And for those with hay fever, dried flowers are a dream—they’re the perfect choice for allergy-free celebrations!

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Drying Flowers

As August approaches, the garden is in full bloom, and I’m picking flowers every day to dry. The Paper Daisies are starting to wind down, with their blossoms much smaller now compared to when they first bloomed in June. Soon, I’ll be pulling out the last of them.

The Strawflowers are the main star of my wreaths, and they’ve just begun to produce beautiful, large blooms on long stems. I prefer to wire most of my Strawflowers, as they work so well in wreaths that way. This year, I’ve grown a wider variety of colors, and my absolute favorite so far is the ‘Salmon Rose.’ It’s a warm, inviting hue that will look stunning in both bouquets and autumn wreaths.

My drying wall is currently overflowing with flowers, and there are many more to come. That means plenty more wreaths and bouquets are on the horizon!

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Keep It Natural

Why Choose Natural Dried Flowers?

As June rolls in, the garden is bursting with life, and the Paper Daisies are stealing the show. These beautiful blooms are really starting to thrive, and my drying wall is quickly filling up with clusters of pink and white daisies, creating a stunning display.

I pride myself on air-drying all the flowers I grow, never relying on chemical dyes. I’ve always found that nature provides all the color I need—after all, who really wants purple Wheat or pink Bunny Tail grass? Beyond that, chemical dyes are harmful to the environment, and many of those brightly colored flowers you see in stores are often imported from overseas, particularly China. In a time when sustainability is essential for our future, I encourage you to skip the artificial, dyed flowers that flood the supermarket shelves.

All of my dried flowers come with zero air miles, no dyes, and no chemical bleaches. For the occasional bleached grass or seed head, I simply leave them to the sun and let nature do its magic.

The vibrant pink hues of my Paper Daisies, which you’ll often find featured in my designs, are entirely natural. These flowers are truly remarkable—they retain their colour so beautifully when dried. It’s proof that, when it comes to flowers, nature really does know best.

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Growing Annuals

It’s April and I’ve planted out all my Autumn sowed hardy annuals, which included Larkspur. Last year Larkspur certainly got the better of me! I’d tried to grow it before in the past with no success and since starting my small dried flower business I felt Larkspur was a flower I needed for bouquets.

So I stored my seeds in the fridge for a few weeks, this is called Stratification, which I hadn’t done in the past and it turned out that it was quite important! I sowed my seeds in March and waited…and waited. Nothing apart from the odd one. So back to square one and started again, still very poor germination. I really didn’t know what I was doing wrong. Consequently I didn’t have many Larkspur blooms, although the few I did get were beautiful.

I figured out from various reads and advice that the best way was to sow them in the Autumn and over winter them in the greenhouse. Which is exactly what I did. I had fantastic germination and who would have thought that these little seedling could survive -8C temperatures? but they did. Apparently Larkspur quite like a cold spell, and they certainly got that.

They are all planted out in the beds now and will soon be flowering, and finally ill have beautiful Larkspur for my dried flower bouquets.

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Its March!!

Its hard to believe that it is March already, although the weather at the moment feels more like the depths of Winter!!

In the greenhouse all my Autumn sowed hardy annuals are getting to the stage were they need planting out, but I’m going to keep hardening them off for a few more weeks. I have Larkspur, Nigella, Nigella Oriental’s, Briza Maxima and Hares Tail Grass.

The Spring seed sowing is now fully underway with lots of varieties of flowers that will dry beautifully and although its turned cold they are doing really well in the greenhouse under their horticultural fleece. Its early days and I’ve only just started to prick out a few.

The Ranunculus’ that were started off in the Autumn are growing lots of new growth and soon they’ll be some incredible bloom’s, even the later sowed corms are doing so well and will be ready to plant out when this cold snap has passed.

Happy gardening eveyone

Sue.