Search Results

Lesson #5 Grow perennials - they will probably save your bacon To say that perennials have saved my bacon on many an occasion is no exaggeration. I think I've said this previously but no matter how well you plan out your annual sowing schedule something will invariably not go to plan.I have had many a tray of seedlings wither and die because I just haven't got round to planting them out. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes it might be something out of your control like a flock of revelling pukekoes who break through the protective netting of a freshly planted row of seedlings and pluck them out of the ground. On one memorable occasion torrential rain flooded my cutting garden. Wading through the lake and seeing the tops of my flowers floating around like seaweed was a dark day at MFC indeed. I lost a lot of dahlia tubers and lily bulbs. So you get my drift. Things can go wrong and invariably will go wrong which might leave you short on annual flowers when you desperately need them. This is where the perennials can shine. These gentle souls are like green angels. Many disappear underground over winter and then quietly come to life when you're busy in the greenhouse juggling seed raising mix and seed trays. They put on growth and some will literally double in size in a year. Then they will send out their buds and merrily flower away without you doing a single thing. If you pick the right ones you can get a perennial that flowers during the "Hungry Gap".That time of year when the tulips, anemones and ranunculus are over and the autumn sown annuals haven't quite started to flower. Flower farmers can often overlook perennials in their early years of growing because they can be quite pricey. However, if you start your perennial collection early you can build it up over time so your wallet doesn't take such a hammering. You can also take advantage of being able to propagate from your plants and increase your stock each year.These are just some of the reasons why you should consider growing perennials and this post will hopefully inspire you to build up a collection that will become your own green safety net. I'll list my top eight favourites to start you off. Hellebores The lenten rose, as it's sometimes called, is an enchanting perennial. They form big clumps of useful foliage that doesn't die back and produce a beautiful nodding bloom in the cooler months when flowers are at a premium. Readily available at garden centres in an array of colours from white, to cream to a deep burgundy. They don't require any maintenance but I do ensure that they are weed free so that their growth isn't inhibited. The trick to getting a reasonable vase life from hellebores is to wait for the seed pods to form in the centre of the flower. At this point they are ready to pick. If you pick them before this stage they tend to wilt rapidly. Searing the ends of the stems can also help. Valerian I planted valerian in my Nuttery about six years ago. I was gifted two little clumps from a friend's garden - one white and one pink. Valerian flowers in September and I love mixing it with tulips. Be warned though because Valerian will romp away and spread itself far and wide! From my two little plants I now have multiple clumps and have got to the stage where I'm digging it up to control it. I forgive it for being so rampant though because of it's generous gift of beauty at the start of the season. Peonies Peonies are often overlooked by flower farmers because they only flower for a short time and they take up quite a bit of space. They then sit there for the next eleven months doing nothing at all! However, if you have some space to dedicate to these voluptuous beauties then I would strongly urge you to give them a go. They flower for me at the end of October into November just as the roses are beginning to unfurl. You can increase their season by picking from each of the main colour groups. Corals flower first, then the whites and pinks and finally the reds. My all time favourite is Sarah Bernhardt. She has the floofiest petals like an old fashioned dress with heaps of petticoats underneath. I also love the delicate scent of a peony and the way they start with the tightest of buds opening out with such drama and fanfare. Best picked at the "marshmallow stage" when they are still in bud and "give" a little if you squeeze them. Sedum Autumn Joy Sedum is another very generous perennial. From one gifted plant I now have about 40. It's easy to propagate. Simply put the spade through it, dig up a clump and replant. Each clump sends up many, many stems. The joyous thing about sedum is that it can be cut when it's green, then again when it starts to turn pink and finally as it turns burgundy. It makes an excellent dried flower and has a very strong form so adds an architectural element to a design. The bees adore this flower as it provides a nice sturdy platform on which to perch and drink the nectar. Drought tolerant. Alchemilla mollis (Lady's mantle) This perennial forms a mound of beautiful fan shaped leaves and then sends up the most gorgeous froth of lime green yellow flowers.The stem length is good enough for a bouquet and they are an excellent filler as well as being complementary to most focal flowers. They also dry really well and keep their colour so a great addition to a wreath or dried arrangement. You could quite easily plant a few in a group or slot them into any little spaces you may have in your garden. They also keep their leaves over winter adding interest to the border. Echinecea One of the most cheerful perennials that I grow with it's daisy shape form, bright pink petals and crazy bulbous centre. The petals do bruise easily but they can be plucked off and the interesting centre can become a statement in a bouquet. Another drought tolerant plant that can be propagated in the same way as sedum for a generous display. Achillea Achillea is one of my all time favourite flowers. It multiplies in size every year creating clumps of frond like foliage and the most beautiful array of colours from November throughout the season. I often get the odd flower over winter too but not in any great quantity. You can buy the seed in colour mixes of every hue. Such a useful perennial to have on hand for filler in bouquets and an excellent vase life to boot. I have had some success drying achillea. Some varieties keep their colour too. Eryngium (Sea Holly) This perennial is so useful in many ways. It starts to develop it's blue thistles in December and can be pretty much harvested all at once and then dried. If picked when very blue it will generally keep it's colour once dried and will add real interest and an architectural grace to any arrangement. It is also very drought tolerant which is a huge bonus. So perennials are multi faceted : they fill the hungry gaps in the year, they pretty much look after themselves and are environmentally friendly as they don't require much water. They will also enable you to create really interesting bouquets. Everyone knows a rose or a lily but not so much the perennials. Adding a few of these lovelies into your bouquets will make them so much more interesting and memorable. Next time....... Lesson #6 - Grow shrubs and trees in your first year Lesson #7 : Grow herbs for scent and greenery Lesson #8 Don't be too tidy in the garden and you may get a nice surprise Lesson #9 - Grow some uglies and discover their beauty

Herbs Growing my own herbs is quite possibly the most life affirming task that I do. It's not even a task. It's pure joy. Being able to pop out and get a handful of parsley and mint for a salad or a couple of borage flowers to decorate a cake or pop in a drink is such a simple pleasure. Most herbs will grow quite happily wherever they are placed. Lavender just needs a sunny spot, free draining soil and a good haircut at the end of the season to stop it getting too woody. Parsley will flourish in a sunny spot too and, if allowed to, will set seed and produce new baby plants in a very obliging fashion. Coriander can be very prolific if in grown in cooler temperatures. It struggles a bit in the heat and will "bolt" overnight which means it produces flowers and seeds which can make the leaves bitter. Generally though there is a long list of herbs who are quite unfussy and who will reward you with tasty flavours to add to your culinary efforts. Of course it doesn't stop there. Herbs can be used to repel moths, deter flies, scent your undies drawer and of course, to make an aromatic smoke stick. What is an Aromatic Smoke Stick Aromatic Smoke Sticks or Smudge Sticks have been used for centuries by ancient civilisations around the world in spiritual and religious ceremonies.There is evidence that Buddhists, Pagans, Christians, Hindus and the Egyptians have all used the burning of aromatics in their practices. It's important to be mindful that the term "Smudge Stick" has deeply sacred, religious and cultural significant to indigenous peoples. I prefer to use the term Aromatic Smoke Sticks since I purely use them for personal use. I tap into the plant's essence without attaching any religious or cultural significance to my practice. Burning aromatic leaves releases the plant's essential oils and together with the smoke creates a mystical sensory experience. I love the energy that burning botanicals creates. I like to clear the energy in my house every so often. Everything is made up of energy and releasing aromatic smoke energy can really make a positive difference to the atmosphere of a house. The antimicrobial effects of herbal smoke are well documented and we all know how powerful essential oils can be so burning aromatic botanicals is a lovely way to embrace the power of these plants in a very soothing ritual. How to choose herbs for your Smoke Stick Choosing which herbs to use is the fun part. I'd highly recommend growing your own so you can be sure they haven't been sprayed with anything. You will also have the freshest smoke sticks using your own freshly gathered herbs. Otherwise see if your friends and family grow herbs and ask to use theirs. You can always make an extra smoke stick as a gift to thank them. Image : Rosemary Which herbs to use Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) I love to include Rosemary in my smoke sticks. It has such a pungent scent and dries beautifully. If you pick it when in flower the purple flower heads look really pretty too. Rosemary requires free draining soil and 6-8 hours of sunshine to thrive. They enjoy a warm, humid environment and cannot withstand extreme cold temperatures. I grow the upright variety for it's lovely straight stems.Rosemary is said to purify spaces and protect them. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) This herb is the smell of summer for me. Pesto, Salad Tricolour and a lovely addition to a Smoke stick. There are lots of basils to try. Kings Seeds has most of them including sacred, cinnamon, dark opal and Thai. Why not try growing a few different varieties to mix it up a bit? Mint (Mentha) There are so many different mint varieties to choose from. Over the years I've grown chocolate mint, basil mint, apple mint, peppermint and spearmint. All of these would work in a smoke stick. If you harvest in late summer the mint will probably have gone to seed so will have a pretty flower head to include. Image :Purple sage in the foreground and Bergamont in the background Sage (Salvia officinalis) Traditionally smudge sticks include white sage which can be tricky to obtain here in New Zealand. I am nurturing along a little white sage plant that my lovely neighbours gave to me so hope to be able to use some next year. It's important to only take a little from a plant otherwise they may fail to thrive if you keep picking away. I use purple and common sage in my bundles. These seem to grow faster that the white sage. I also enjoy using Pineapple Sage. I always marvel at the strong pineapple scent of this sage! It always raises a smile when I rub the leaves to release the fruity smell! It makes a really nice tea and if you add some of the red flowers the water turns pink. The last sage that I grow is Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) which is a truly beautiful plant with it's tall spires dotted with blue flowers. Definitely worth sourcing one of these for the garden if you have space and adding into your smoke stick bundles. Image : Russian sage in the foreground, Pineapple sage in the middle and Rose geranium on the right Bergamont (Monarda) Bergamont is another must have for me. It attracts bees as well as being extremely handsome in the herb bed. It has multiple purple blooms along each stem and will flower all summer until the first frosts. Another pretty addition to a smoke stick. Rose Geranium I reply on Rose geranium a lot. I use it in bouquets as a scented filler which is especially welcome in the late summer months when the flowers have little scent (I'm looking at you zinnias and dahlias). It also has a really interesting leaf. It's very easy to grow from a cutting or scour your local garden centre for plants. They're becoming really popular and easy to find. Lavender (Lavendula officinalis) Lavender is of course well know for it's aromatic scent and relaxing properties so is no brainer to include in a smoke stick. Lavender requires full sun and free draining soil to be reminded of it's mediterranean origins. Rose Petals (Rosa) Just a few scented rose petals look beautiful in a smoke stick. I try and use red petals so they keep their colour. David Austin's Munstead Wood is a good choice but generally any scented rose will be perfect. I add these to the outside layer of the stick. They can be a bit tricky so tie in so take your time. This is by no means an exhaustive list. I hope you can see that gathering local herbs can result in a beautiful aromatic smoke stick so just go with what you can find. Image : From left to right Rosemary, rose Munstead Wood, Bergamont, Rose Geranium, Purple sage and pineapple sage How to make an Aromatic Smoke Stick Before you even pick up your snips take a moment to set an intention. This could be gratitude or simply appreciation for the herbs you're about to harvest. This is a lovely mindful activity so don't do it if you're in a rush. I always make a few extras to gift to friends so send them a few good thoughts while you're at it! Gather together all the herbs that you have collected. Strip off some of the lower leaves to make a handle. the strong stems of rosemary make great handles! If using rose petals you can leave these to the side at this point. You will need a length of twine five to six times the length of the herb bundle. Take your length of twine and wind it around the handle and tie a very firm double knot. The herbs will lose water and shrink considerably over the next few weeks so make sure your knot is secure. Make sure you leave a tail of string. You will use this to tie off with once you have bound the herbs together. Now start to wind the twine upwards. I use one hand to grip the herbs and gently squash them down and the other to wind the twine. Remember to wind very tightly. If there are some floppy herb ends at the top you can bend these over and down and catch them in the twine as you wind. This produces a lovely neat round end. Alternatively you can just leave them as they are or trim them down a bit. Totally up to you. As you start to wind the twine down the herbs you can start to add in any rose petals. I add them to both sides. This is a bit fiddly but you can add in a few at a time and it's so worth it for the look and scent. When you reach the bottom you can tie off with the loose end of string that you used to tie the first knot. Leave your Smoke Stick to dry in an airy sunny position well away form moisture. If your bundle is particularly generous be careful to ensure that the inside is fully dried before using. If you bend some of the herbs and they snap it's a sign that they are ready to be used. Before igniting your Smoke stick think about the intention that you have, the reason, for releasing these aromatic herbs into your house. Maybe you've just moved house and you wish to cleanse the space and welcome in a new chapter of your life. Maybe a member of your family has been ill and you wish to invite health into the home or maybe you wish to shift the energy in your house and promote positivity and joy. Take your time to visualise this then simply light the end then extinguish the flame. I have a paua shell that I use to catch any ash but you can use a ceramic saucer or a bowl. If you live in New Zealand have a look at the beautiful hand made smudging bowls from Cushla Herbalist They are beautiful and would add a real sense of ritual to your practice. Starting at your front door walk around your house in a clockwise direction allowing the smoke to drift into corners and cupboards. If you have an upstairs you can do the same once you've made a compete circuit of the downstairs. As with any form of fire please do extinguish the Smoke stick fully after use and be very careful as you wonder around your house! I'd love to hear from you if you are inspired to make a Smoke Stick and use it in your home. Enjoy experiencing the wonderful power of herbs in this way!

Lesson #4 : Who is your market? This probably should have been the first lesson really. Before you even sow a seed you should have a fairly clear idea of who will buy your product. I have to admit that I had pretty humble aspirations before I began growing. Initially it was to be just for me. I wanted to be able to pick flowers for my house throughout the year. When a friend saw the size of my plot she suggested I might sell the excess from a flower cart at my gate. At that point I don't think I'd even read Georgie Newbury's book How to be a Flower Farmer but she too started by selling sweet peas from her gate. Perhaps I googled it and saw a gate sale set up in America. Anyway I thought I could just pop some flowers out and let people buy them through an honesty box system. It did kind of work too. I attracted quite a lot of repeat customers and generally they all left the correct amount of money - some over paid and some under paid so it all came through in the wash. It was also a great way to trial different types of posy and bouquet. I made up little tin cans wrapped in brown paper and twine and filled them with seasonal flowers for grab and go flowers which proved to be popular. I learnt so much in those early months about the vase life of different varieties. I hadn't really thought about vase life before sowing and the cart obviously had no air con. In the summer the heat was pretty brutal so if a flower survived I knew it was a keeper. I kept a close eye on the flowers, checked on the water, checked the wind hadn't blown them over and regularly emptied the money box. And then the theft began. Mostly they tried to steal the money obviously but sometimes they'd steal the flowers. Friends advised putting up a dummy camera to deter them. They suggested leaving the gate open but I didn't want to put my dog or children at risk. In the end my heart just wasn't in it. At the time I felt pretty upset. This was after all was my business plan (!) However, as with many lessons in life, it turned out to be the best thing that happened to my business. It made me actually sit down and rethink my plan. I looked for other sales avenues and I began approaching florists. The flower world opened up and so did my market. lorisF Florists So have a really good think about your market from the get go. As a newbie grower you will probably want to start small. Maybe approach your local florist although if you are growing garden variety flowers have a quick look in the window first. If it's full of helium balloons, teddy bears and artificial flowers then perhaps try elsewhere. Look for the florists with fresh flowers outside and a fresh flower bar brimming with all kinds of blooms within, fresh, vibrant house plants and pretty dried floral work on the walls. These florists will really value the scent of your sweet peas, the freshness of your achillea (and the multitudes of hues that you grow it in) and they will love the unusual varieties that they can't get from the wholesalers. It can take time to build a relationship with a florist. Don't forget that they know what sells and where they can make their margins so it will pay to listen to them as you will learn a lot. I've been so lucky with the ones who have helped me. Patiently talking through pricing, popular colours, how much they need foliage just as much as flowers. It was such an eye opener and a whole new world. Point of Sales opportunities You might also want to sell at a local shop or cafe or even a petrol station. One of my best sales spots is my local BP petrol station of all places. I've seen florists and growers sell from cute, retro caravans, at the local butchers and even from the back of a bike and at the side of a road. In the early days it's worth trying a few places to find your sweet spot. I was so lucky to get my first job with my local cafe. I asked if I could make up flowers for their tables and I've been doing this for five years. They told me very early on how much the customers loved the flowers so I started selling flowers outside the cafe. It became a useful spot for selling off gluts of flowers like tulips, Christmas lilies and dahlias during the growing season and this proved to be a very easy way to create cashflow and also feel part of the community. I got spin off work from selling here too. Consistency is key if you're going to build up a customer base although pop ups for selling gluts of product can work well too. Local Markets One of my favourite selling points was at a local market. It was a three hour market on a Saturday morning and promoted a very local, artisanal, boutique vibe. For the first two years I did really well here and sold out most weeks. The market started in November and I used it to sell Christmas wreaths and Christmas table decorations, bags of pine cones aswell as bunches of blooms. It was pretty inspirational and got me to stretch my floristry wings too. I never imagined I'd be doing floristry but people assume that you can make a bouquet when you grow flowers so it seemed like a natural progression. After a good few years of going to workshops and learning from florist friends I ended up taking and passing the NZ Floristry Certificate Level Two. While I don't think this is necessary it definitely gave me confidence in my floristry abilities and was a bit of an eye opener too. I am very much a seasonal and sustainable florist and use the least amount of packaging that can get away with. Learning the traditional floristry skills didn't make me want to change my ways. I think it's really important to stand firm in your beliefs as a small business owner. It's not easy though especially when you're at the beginning of your journey but stick with it. Being authentic is important. The market also provided me with a lot of spin off work and I could advertise my workshops for free. I said "Yes!" to most opportunities that came my way. This is exhausting but is a great way to realise what you want to do and what you really don't want to do. For me weddings was a path that I didn't want to follow. I did a few and, while they were really successful, I found that the head space they required was way too much! I found that other areas of my business suffered and I was slipping away from my sweet spot. I do the odd special bridal bouquet and that suits me. Anyway, a market will probably put a lot of opportunities your way so well worth the effort. It will give you the chance to put your face to your business which is very important especially if your main customer base is local. Like all good things though I decided to end my market days. The main reason I stopped was the market had got a lot quieter and I wanted to reclaim my Saturday mornings. Like I say. It's all about finding the sweet spot that suits you, your life and what you want to get out of your business. Don't be scared to say no to things that aren't serving you. Businesses are constantly evolving which is how it should be. Flower Grower Collectives You may have noticed that lots of Flower Grower Collectives have sprung up all around New Zealand in the last couple of years. The first one based in Auckland was pioneered by my good friend Christy Ralphs of Nourish Gardens. I have to admit when I first heard about it I was quite interested to see how it would work. Fast forward a couple of years and we now have a small one located in Hawke's Bay. We learnt a lot from our first season and are looking forward to developing our Collective and providing more of what the florists want. We've already decided to change the day and time to suit the florists' work schedule. We also decided to open to retail to expand our customer base. We just adjust the price accordingly for the second half of the market when retail customers are allowed in. There are definite benefits for these markets and they would be a great place to start if you can find one in your area. There's also nothing quite like having some fellow flower grower friends. They will have your back and are a great source of support and inspiration. Social Media Of course the power of social media is a wonderful way to kickstart your sales base. My instagram journey was a slow one. It was all pretty new to me. I also find it really annoying to have to record so much of my daily work life. It kind of ruins the moment or the flow for me. I think I'm dating myself here but it's how I feel. But in order to create an online presence I had to get over that and make a stab at showcasing my business. If I have learnt one thing it is this. Be authentic. Don't try and be like someone else who you might admire on social media or who you think is successful.. Be you and unapologetically so. People will relate to you and want to follow you and find out more. I also don't think it's all about the numbers either. Obviously it depends on what you are looking to get out of it. Having huge amounts of followers, likes and comments may get the dopamine hits coming but they may not lead to sales. Having a local base who follow you to see where you sell your flowers and subsequently go out and buy them is what you really want. So don't get hung up on numbers. It goes without saying that Instagram can be the most inspiring place to be and a wonderful way to network but it can also suck the life out of you! Don't let it! Comparison is the thief of joy after all. See it for what it is. A tool to sell your flowers and connect with other growers and your customer base. Next time : Perennials and shrubs

It's so hard to begin this post because there are so many things I wished I'd known before starting the journey of creating a Flower Farm. I'd read The Cutting Garden by Sarah Raven and was so smitten with the idea of having a garden filled with flowers purely for picking that I re created her design and filled it with rows of flowers. My first surprise was that I didn't get flowers for months and then when I did I had enormous quantities of blooms and nowhere to sell them.I wanted to add dahlias to my collection but had missed the correct time of year to order them. You get the picture. I was as green as Kermit the Frog when it came to growing flowers to sell. Bear in mind that I started growing in 2015 just before the wonderful information from Floret was readily available.Her early blog posts were a life saver for sure. Hopefully the next few paragraphs will be helpful to the Newbie Flower Farmers amongst you and will save you making the mistakes that plagued my early years. I'll just touch on a couple thoughts per post and try and create a little series for you. Lesson number #1 : Sow in Autumn for early Spring flowers The concept of sowing seeds in autumn was a light bulb moment for me. I didn't realise that I could sow in autumn, plant out in the field over winter and then enjoy early crops of flowers in spring. The first year I successfully completed this I was overjoyed. It meant I could have stock and cerinthe in my tulip posies and not only that I discovered that cornflowers and ammi majus were two to three times as tall and abundant as their spring sown cousins. Here is a list of Hardy annuals that I sow every Autumn to help you along. Cornflowers Ammi Majus Daucus carota Stock Tanecetum Icelandic poppies Strawflowers This is by no means an exhaustive list but it's a start. Basically any seed labelled as a hardy annual will stand a good chance of surviving a winter in the field. Together with bulbs you will have a good start to your Spring plan. What bulbs would I recommend? Tulips are an easy one. Make sure you opt to grow the "fancy doubles" rather than the singles. These are sometimes called peony tulips. I think when growing speciality cut flowers it's important to choose flowers that are a bit different from what you may find in a supermarket. It'll be easier to sell something that a customer may not have seen before or that is not readily available in your location. Incidentally the photo above depicts the first rows of flowers that I ever planted. My early plantings went into the Sarah Raven inspired Cutting Garden which turned out to be very difficult to maintain. I soon learned that growing in rows and into weed mat was a much more efficient way of growing a large crop. The very bushy crop in the middle was a crop of cornflowers with (I think) Ammi majus planted next to it. The netting was there not to protect the flowers but to protect a fig crop that we grew once upon a time. I since learned that my rows were WAY TOO LONG for me to deal with! I'm at the stage where I'm actually downsizing my farm a bit which includes making these rows shorter so they're much easier to tackle once a crop has finished flowering. Lesson #2 :Learn how to successionally sow Again this lesson was something I had to learn the hard way. That first Spring I sowed up a storm. I was so passionate about flowers that I wanted to grow everything! I think I must have sown about eight different types of sweet pea - all at the same time! Sweet peas are such a prolific flowerer and I ended up with so many stems I just couldn't keep up with them.I also didn't tie them in properly so had quite a few vines slump into a messy tangle. These mistakes in themselves weren't showstoppers but when I compared my efforts to Floret I did feel like a huge horticultural failure! I journaled regularly (and still do) about these failures and wow I beat myself up a lot! I didn't realise that learning by experience, while annoying and costly, is actually the best teacher of all. As well as sweet peas I grew a shed load of cornflowers in blues, pinks, purples and the fancy mixes. Cornflowers are one of the most fiddly flowers to harvest and I had a long row of them! I didn't even get close to harvesting even a quarter of the blooms so they quickly went to seed. This was also in the day before dried flowers had made their triumphant comeback. I could have hacked the plants back and hung upside down for drieds but it just wasn't in my remit at that point. So I learnt that to sow little and often is the key to a continuous (or fairly continuous) flow of flowers. I say fairly continuous because you can have the most well planned out sowing schedule but there will always be something to trip you up along the way. That might be a huge slug attack that reduces your beautifully planted sweet peas to stumps overnight (been there). It might be the freak hail storm in November that flattens your painstakingly planted and netted (twice) cornflowers and ammi majus (been there too). The trick is to do your best but expect a few hiccups throughout the season. I keep a separate sheet in my Planner Spreadsheet entitled "Things I must Achieve Next Year" and if I've had any crop failures they go on the list and become top priority. This has worked pretty well for me and keeps my focus when there are a million things to remember. Lesson #3 : Start Small to grow Big This is the first thing I will tell a new flower grower. I wouldn't recommend rushing out and buying a greenhouse or a walk in chiller. I also wouldn't recommend trying to sow every cut flower seed even if you are desperate to grow them. I'd invest in some weed mat, some irrigation and keep my annuals to a modest amount but make sure I sow some for Spring, some for summer and some for Autumn. I'd consider adding a few perennials to the mix and maybe a few shrubs for foliage. Just to get that going is harder than it looks but definitely do-able. You'll also be more likely to have some successes which will encourage you to keep going. Keep really good field notes throughout the season. Include dates for when you sowed, when you planted out and when it flowered. Were there any insect issues? Did it require staking? How prolific was this variety? How easy was it to grow? In time this information will help you to weigh up whether a crop is worth sowing. Phlox is one of the most beautiful flowers. I love it's colour palette (creme brulee and sugar stars varieties in particular) and it's scent is second to none. However, it's hard to get any kind of decent stem length and it's fiddly to harvest if netted which it needs to be as it's a bit of a flopper. So you will need to weigh up whether such a fussy flower works for your business model. My final thought would be to consider why you want to grow flowers? Do you want to make a profit? Do you want to give away the excess flowers to friends and neighbours? Do you dream of picking armfuls of flowers as per pinterest and Insta posts? Your initial reasons for growing flowers will help to guide you on your journey so be sure to write these reasons down. They're important. You may find yourself veering off this initial path which is to be expected. But if you find yourself really unsure of where you're going next you can always return to the beginning and remember the WHY that compelled you to start this venture which will help you keep your balance. Next time....... Lesson #4 : Who is your market? Lesson #5 Grow perennials - they will probably save your bacon Lesson #6 - Grow shrubs and trees in your first year

Collecting seeds is one of the most mindful activities that I do. Spending a bit of time snipping dried pods as the last days of summer draw to a close is like putting a full stop on the season and preparing myself for the cooler days ahead. It's this kind of mindful living that I strive for - not easy in the chaotic and busy world that we live in. At the moment New Zealand is on Lockdown to try and flatten the curve of the Covid-19 disease. To live in the moment is the best way to deal with uncertainty. Thinking too far ahead can lead you down a rabbit hole of dread and fear which isn't useful or healthy. So pop outside and see what you have in the garden. Vegetables and herbs will also be setting seed now and will be ripe for collecting. Autumn is the traditional time for seed collecting as summer blooms fade but you can save seed throughout the year as flowers finish and set seed. Don't be too hasty to keep a tidy garden otherwise you'll miss lots of opportunity to save seeds. Allow flowers to create a seed pod and let those last blooms linger to provide food for bees and insects. It's best to choose a sunny day for seed collecting. Avoid first thing in the morning when dew might still be on your plants. You want everything to be bone dry otherwise your seeds might be subject to rot or fungal issues. Always carry a pen, snips and a variety of old envelopes or paper bags when you set out. Make sure you write the name of the variety on the bag because otherwise you will probably forget. I also write the date on the bag or envelope too. While seeds can last a good two to three years you will get a better germination rate with fresh seed. This is really evident with tricky varieties like Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis) which needs to be super fresh to germinate (and even then it's pretty sporadic). Another top tip is to choose the very best quality seeds that you have. If you are choosing to save sweet pea seeds for example that you have enjoyed and picked all summer long you may only be left with some small specimens that are a shadow of their earlier siblings. If you save their seed you will be saving an inferior seed. Therefore it's best to save a few of your earliest blooms when they are at their absolute peak, let them go to seed and save these ones to ensure more quality blooms. To do this I put a tag on one stem and leave those ones to bloom and pick from all the others. Once it's seed pods have formed I save them. Obviously if you don't pick your sweet peas too hard then they'll be fine to use once pods have formed. Once you have collected your seed you might find a lot of chaff is mixed in with the seed. This is just plant material that falls off or out of the dry plant as you collect the seed. It's a good idea to separate the seed from the chaff as much as you can because it can harbour pests and disease. You may find lots of insects running around as you sort your seed so it's a job to do outside! Keep those insects out of your seed packets too as they can cause mischief. Once your seed is safely stored in a labelled bag it will need to be stored in a cool, dark and dry place. They are the main points for seed saving. See how easy it is? I'll go through a few examples of seeds that I save to give you an idea of how to find the seed. Some are easier than others. If you are a complete seed saving beginner I'd recommend starting with nigella, poppies, sweet william and larkspur. These will all form pods when the flowers have finished. As they dry completely you will notice tiny holes appear in the top of the pod. Simply snip off the pod and tip upside down into your envelope or bag. The seeds will just tumble out in a very satisfying manner! For other ways of seed saving read on. Moluccella laevis (Bells of Ireland) Saving the seed of Bells of Ireland is akin to witnessing a mini miracle. Dramatic? Maybe! Let me explain further. Each bract on the bells of Ireland contain four seeds. You will need to be very careful when handling these plants because there are spikes beneath each bract and they are very sharp. Peel open the bell and you will find a circle of seeds. The amazing thing is that you can break this circle up into four distinct triangular seeds. It's like a little pie. A natural wonder. Saving seeds from this variety will really increase your chances of germination as it's best sown fresh. Zinnia You might be forgiven for wondering where on earth the zinnia seeds are when you look at the flower. They have been very cleverly engineered indeed because their seeds are found on the end of the petals. Simply wait until the petals brown off then gently pull a petal and you will see the little arrow shaped seed. Trim the petal to just leave the seed. you can always trim the petals first if you're saving lots of seed to save a bit of time. I should mention that zinnias may not grow true to type. This means they may not look identical to their parent. Make sure you only select seed from the best zinnias. I grow the Queen Lime series and these are notorious for throwing out strange variations so unless you like these variations don't save them! Scabiosa The scabiosa flower makes the prettiest seed pods. It's quite amazing how such a delicate flower can produce such fat, sturdy pods. Each pod is made up of many, many seeds and they can be easily extracted once fully dry. Just use your fingernail to prise them off. The scabiosa in the photo is the Black Knight variety. The Scabiosa starball variety seeds look just like mini shuttlecocks. Strawflower The biggest problem saving strawflower seeds are the ants! Ants love strawflowers so don't be surprised to see these little critters running for their life as you start saving the seed. I snip off a few blooms once the flower has lost all it's colour and has developed a fluffy centre. I then pull the fluff away (you may see tiny brown seeds attached to the fluff) and then tip the seeds out from the centre of the flower. Carthamus Carthamus will go completely brown when it's ready for seed collection. It's then just a case of breaking open the pod that was once the flower. You will have a crumble of chaff but look closer and you will see the seeds. You should get a few per pod. Enjoy taking time out to save seeds. I encourage you to experiment with the varieties you save. You'll be surprised how many seeds a flower can contain. The only flower that has evaded me is Statice. I haven't been able to save seed form this flower. Perhaps it's the variety I grow? Perhaps I'm looking for the seeds at the wrong time. Let me know if you can help me with this :)

As I write this blog we are in a very strange position. Covid19 has swept through the world and here in New Zealand we are on Day 1 of Lockdown. It's a scary time for most of us. Lonely for some and just downright strange. So, unable to sell my flowers or hold workshops at the moment, I am making the best of things and have decided to start my blog going again and to put together a few posts that will hopefully inspire you while you're house bound. The first activity I want to talk about is pressing flowers. An old fashioned past time that I used to do as a child and with my children too when they were younger. You don't need specialist equipment so read on and I'll show you how. How to press flowers and leaves You might think that you don't have any flowers in your garden to press but take some time to go outside and really look. Don't discard leaves or tiny little buds. These will all press well and add interest to your project. Here are some plants that you may have in your garden already that make great material for pressing. Ivy, fennel, herb flowers like oregano, jasmine, marigolds, acers and roses. But this is just a list to get you going. Try anything you see. It's all about experimenting and seeing what happens. Take a piece of A4 paper and fold it in half. You will arrange the flowers on one half of the paper and use the top half to fold over and protect them as they dry. When preparing flowers you will need to take a sharp pair of scissors and cut the stem off as close to the back of the flower as you can. You're aiming to get the flower to sit as flat as possible on the paper. I like to snip off individual flower heads from fennel. Tiny parts of flowers look fabulous pressed flat. Make sure you leave space around each flower or leaf. Once the half piece of paper is full carefully slide the paper taking care not to disturb your flowers into the pages of a sturdy book. Select a book that isn't too precious to you just incase the flowers leave marks on the pages. Carefully fold over the top half of the paper then fold over the pages of the book and the cover. I usually add two lots of flowers per book. Then I stack a few books on top of it as the weight will speed up the drying process and keep the flowers in place. You can leave flowers whole or for a slightly more botanical look you can cut them down into separate parts. I cut a marigold down completely in order to press it's individual parts. They are quite bulky flowers so if you press them whole cut as close to the back of the flowers as you can without breaking it apart. As you fold over the paper make sure you flatten the petals as you go. I try to fill spaces with leaves and smaller flower parts so I get as much on one page as I can. Don't forget to include leaves. I've used some eucalyptus and jasmine leaves along with verbena bonariensis on this paper. This page includes not only the leaves of the acer but also the tiny winged seed pods and some tiny parts of a grass variety cut into pieces. You can really appreciate the details when pressing flowers. Things that you might not notice whilst walking by. So there you have it. A pile of pressed flowers which I'll leave for a week before I check them. I'll write another post once they're ready and show you what they look like. I hope this has inspired you to pop out into your garden and cut a few blooms to press too. #covid19lockdownactivities #slowliving #pressedflowers2020 #myflowercart

It's World Earth Day today and it seemed as good an excuse as any to break my blog writing drought. Being green is a subject close to my heart. I joined Greenpeace in my early teens and my first greenpeace walk was to Save the Whales. I wore the t-shirt and everything :) I remember making my mum and older sister use this very sticky "Ozone-Friendly" hairspray (remember this was the eighties when hair was impossibly big!) much to their disgust. Ozone depletion is a concern for many countries and now I find myself living in a country with serious concerns about ozone depletion. Seems like it's going to take more than a change in hair spray. I've taken my tree hugging tendencies with me as I've moved through life and now I'm seeing all kinds of news stories about the state of our oceans that I was fighting to protect 20 years ago. It seems that sadly it's got to a point where we can no longer turn a blind eye. So what has this got to do with flowers? Many consumers aren't even aware of the amount of chemicals that their flowers have been treated with before arriving in a vase in their home. We are very consumer aware about the origins of our food and whether our fruit and veges have been treated with chemicals yet flowers and chemicals haven't entered the public consciousness yet. Or at least this issue is just beginning to be talked about. Just recently a friend admitted that she wasn't concerned about flowers being treated with chemicals because she didn't eat them. Fair point but what's the first thing you do when you get a bunch of flowers? Sniff them? Yes of course you do and if these flowers have been dipped in fungicide you will be inhaling those chemicals. Then you'll unwrap them from the plastic, touch the stems to snip the ends and those chemicals will be absorbed through your skin. Then, once the flowers have had their day you may responsibly compost them and add that compost at a later date to your vege patch. The chemicals then enter the food chain and you will consume them through your carefully grown veges. Not all flowers are grown this way but it is always worth asking where your flowers come from and what chemicals they may have been exposed to. So what can we do when buying flowers without turning our lives upside-down? Buy Local This is a really easy one. If you can possibly buy local and support your community then do this. Not only are you reducing car/air miles but you are also more able to actually build a relationship with the local business and you'll be able to ask where your flowers come from and whether they've been sprayed with harmful chemicals. Many florists support local growers (and thank you to those who support me) and proudly advertise this. Of course not everything can be grown in your local area so sometimes florists will have to obtain imported flowers. It's all about balance and it's all about choice. Also It's very tricky for growers to be totally organic because it's very difficult (impossible in some cases) to source organic seeds, tubers, corms and bulbs. Look for Spray Free and you'll be pretty safe in the knowledge that these blooms will not have been in contact with harmful chemicals. Buy Seasonal This is a no brainer to me. We've been encouraged to buy fruit and vegetables seasonally and it makes total sense. They taste better because they're being grown when nature meant for them to be grown. Who has ever eaten an imported strawberry in mid winter? Disappointing right? It barely resembles the strawberries grown in summer. No taste and half the size. Then there's all the electricity used to grow it in the first place. There's just no point. It's the same with flowers. Don't ask your florist for dahlias in Spring or tulips in Autumn. Enjoy the huge variety of flowers as they bloom throughout the season. It might be a case of stepping out of your comfort zone and trying a bloom that you're not familiar with. I hold various workshops throughout the season and love to introduce new flowers to people. Look out for my seasonal Pick n Mix bunches available from next Spring. An easy way to try new flower varieties that you may come to love. Avoid plastic wrapped flowers Flowers do not need to be protected by plastic. In some instances, in the heat of summer, the plastic wrapping can even assist in reducing the life of the flower as it heats up in it's own little plastic greenhouse. Tell your local supermarket that you don't want plastic but prefer brown paper. sometimes, when I'm selling bunches at my local market, customers ask for the bottom of the stems to be wrapped. I don't have plastic so use brown paper. However, If you don't like bare stems that are a bit damp when transporting home in your car just keep a basket or box in the boot of your car. Pop them in and there will be no water splashes on the upholstery. Boxed flowers do look lovely and are very convenient but the flowers are bunched into plastic water bags and this creates unnecessary plastic. Being green does requires a bit of pre planning and habit forming. I've got into the habit of putting my re usable grocery bags straight back n the car after my grocery shop so they're ready for the next time. If you're taking flowers to a restaurant to give to a friend just ask the staff to put them in water while you have your meal.. If you're taking them to a friend's house just pop them in a container until the hostess can find time to put them in a vase. Yes it takes a bit more thought and is less convenient than a plastic wrapped bouquet in a box but think of the planet and the good you are doing. Plastic is the enemy. Avoid oasis I've ben thrilled to see the rise in popularity of dried flower arrangements which I'm sure has a little to do with the increasing awareness of the dangers of oasis (the green substance used to create certain types of flower arrangements). Oasis is full of chemicals including formaldehyde which are harmful to the florists who touch it, the consumer who breathes it in within their home and to the planet when it is disposed of after the flowers are long gone. It is a product of the oil industry and is a plastic. I've been using oasis rings for Christmas Wreaths for the last few years to meet customer demand for this particular look. However, I'm seriously considering going back to my roots and creating wreaths the way I used to create them back in the UK - a wreath form, wire and interesting foliage, flora and fauna that dries beautifully. It's all about education though. I'm not sure how well these will go down at Christmas but change has to start somewhere. Champion businesses who care I created a story on Instagram recently about the very cute Little Frimley Kitchen and their compostable/reclyclable cups/straws/cutlery/take out dishes. I saw it as a huge reason to go and support them aswell as their delicious pies and baked goods! I also supply their bakery and their sister cafe with flowers for the tables and the counters which, being spray free, I'm happy to display near food. As business owners and consumers we all have a responsibility and we can all vote with our dollar to make our point heard. So if you know of a business going above and beyond to do their bit for the planet make sure you applaud them and spread the word. Photo cred : Felicity Jones @Greenisthething If I look back at my flower farming journey I instinctively began using methods that worked in harmony with nature rather than against. I began growing flowers purely for pleasure and to encourage bees and beneficial insects to our property. When we bought our land it was an apple orchard that had relied on conventional spraying for many, many years. Slowly we ripped out part of the orchard which became our garden for the children. We planted a small woodland and sowed a wildflower meadow. We obtained two bee hives (although they've now moved to Carterton with their bee keeper!). We planted up a fig orchard (no spraying required) and planted rows and rows of flowers. We changed the lease of the apple orchard at the back of our land to an Organic company. We were thrilled when this same company leased our neighbour's land on one side and bought the land on the other side. We are now pretty much organic all around us but it's taken eight years. We have Tui, bell birds, morepork and so many bees, monarch butterflies, ladybirds and other wildlife that I just know that chemical free living is the right thing to do. I'm not an eco warrior by any means but it's worked for me and my flowers are a quality product that I'm proud of.

And.......breeeeeeeathe! It's been a long time in the planning and I can't quite believe that I've managed to fill the cart with little Grab n Go posies and larger posies plus, of course, sweet peas! The Grab n Go posies are perfect as a gift on the run because they come with their own little tin can filled with water, covered in brown paper and tied with string. A cute, eco little thank you present or something to take along to Morning Tea with a friend. This one is filled with scented geranium, scillia, sweet peas and ranunculus. Or they look lovely as a set of three arranged along the middle of a dining table. Not too tall to obscure your friends faces (nothing worse than playing Peek a Boo with a table centrepiece!) and bursting with colour and fragrance. Mix and match if there aren't three the same. Or pop one beside your bed or in the kitchen. Heartwarming cornflowers, calendular, borage and mint make a rather edible dispay! All fresh from the Wildflower meadow which is just bursting with it's first flush of colour. You can always snip a bit of mint and borage for your Pimm's too.... It's the beginning of a whirlwind adventure. I say adventure because with Nature you can't always control what happens out in the field. The Pukekoes have been having a field day plucking out many of my little seedlings and the wind is doing it's level best to flatten the skinny sunflower seedlings. Not to mention the sudden dramatic switch from Spring to Summer almost overnight! However, I still feel my heart sing when I get a minute to take it all in. It's too easy to get caught up in the rush of sowing, watering, transplanting and watering some more. So I try to take a minute or two to see what's new in the Wildflower Meadow (poppies wil take centre stage next). We had some trees chopped down recently and the trunks were made into rustic table and chairs. We've put one in the Nuttery looking out over the Peak and we sat there with the kids the other evening drinking it all in (before watching the last Harry Potter and scaring ourselves!). I spend a lot of time pottering in the Cutting Garden and the Herb Garden and it's lovely to see the geraniums and mints bulk up and last years Snapdragons burst into life again. Who knew Snaps would overwinter? Perhaps only in Hawke's Bay. I think the Lady's Mantle might survive and who knows, maybe I'll actually get some flowers from it this year! So do stop by when you see the sign and think of me watering, weeding and battling the pukekoes! Seasonal flowers make an affordable, thoughtful gift or a little treat for you!