Last November, I did the seriously back-breaking job of digging two long trenches in my new allotment that obviously hadn’t been dug over for several years: pulling out all of the weeds, and filling it up with lots and lots of lovely tulips. At the time, it felt HARD!! And one had to wonder whether it was all going to be worth it, toiling with my spade in the icy Chiltern air. Continue reading Tulipmania 1
It’s been quite a while since I last updated my blog, not least because so much has been going on!! I got a new greenhouse last autumn which I have been busy pottering around in, and sowing endless trays of seeds ready for this spring and summer. Christmas came and went in a cornucopia of festive wreaths and decorations. I’ve been working with florist friends on weddings and events. And I think most exciting of all, I’ve now been able to extend my growing space out substantially so that I can grow many more flowers, with much greater diversity that I was able to last year. So, yes, a lot to catchup on!
It’s that dahlia that time of year again…… All those midnight excursions into the garden with my torch and chopsticks to remove slugs finally seem worth it as my cafe au laits bloom into their giant fluffy and dishevelled loveliness.
But my garden dahlias are nothing compared to the dahlia show I went to last weekend at Chenies Manor, Buckinghamshire. It was a glorious Bank Holiday Monday with the sun beating down on hundreds of dahlias of all shapes, colours and sizes. Chenies Manor itself is a beautiful building, parts of it dating back to Tudor times. It’s the sort of place I would love to gambol around the gardens in a floaty lace dress accompanied by a chap playing Greensleeves on a lute to me. Nice slice of Victoria sandwich too!
I’m actually going to not go on too much about it because, as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words, so I’ll just show you a lot of stunning dahlia photos instead. Enjoy!!
I have been a little tardy in writing this blog for bluebell season has been and gone near me in Buckinghamshire. However, whilst they were in full bloom, I did get the chance to raid my garden and bring some of these beauties indoors. We have blue, white and pink ones although I chose not to use the pink ones in this arrangement. Continue reading One hundred years on…and you still make me smile
Last weekend was the first time I’d been able to get out and collect a bunch of floral goodies completely from my own garden. There’s a real mix of colours and textures out now and actually the arrangement I created here says more Summer to me than Spring. Hot reds and yellows, coupled with deep blues remind me of the circus and is probably not my usual style. But you know what? It’s bright, it’s jolly and it’s fun!!
You’ll remember from my first post last week that I told you about my Bloom Carousel 2016 Challenge where I will be creating flower arrangements using unusual vases, rose bowls and other vintage bits and bobs. You can find out more about the challenge and the ‘rules of the game’ in my earlier post Here
So at last….ta da…. the Challenge is underway. Bet you’re gripped to your seats, huh? This week, I am using a pale pink Depression glass fan style vase which has its own removable flower frog – no need for floral foam here! This blushing beauty has survived intact since the 30s – you can see that it is very characteristic of the time.
Continue reading Bloom Carousel Challenge: Cheerful flowers using a Depression Glass Vase
bloom carousel 