Mid week flower faffing - The Joy Of Cutting Garden Flowers.

A jar of cottage garden blooms and my photography addiction.

It’s my little slice of calm in what feels like the endless chaos of home improvements, to come into the garden- pick and arrange a simple jar of flowers ahh and breathe.

A summer arrangement to celebrate the cutting garden. Usually I prefer a muted colour palette but I always grow a few summer brights to mark the season. Dahlia Negroni Sunset is the star of the show here with plenty of cosmos for the supporting act and some star guest appearances from some sweet peas that I didn’t order, the colour was a complete mix up but I’ve decided to go with it. Mix ups happen, I once ordered 30 Cafe au lait dahlia tubers in my wedding growing days, these to my horror once blooming on my allotment turned out to be bright red pom-poms despite coming from a reputable supplier. There’s nothing to be done, that’s gardening! But the joy of flicking through seed catalogs in the winter months and ordering dahlia tubers is something I look forward to every year. There’s a promise in that joy - new beginnings, something to grow and nurture and then bring inside to freshen up the house.

Garden grown flowers always have that delightful tangle of wildness to them that reminds me of my childhood, I love a sense of nostalgia- but then to be able to capture an image now in seconds on your phone still blows my mind. Images are important to me to document the changing seasons, my changing gardens and the flowers I grow, it’s like keeping a notebook/diary but in picture form. Photography is my passion and flowers are my muse.

I once had a conversation with a traditional florist who told me she hated cosmos, of course everyone’s entitled to have their own likes and opinions but I felt like I’d been slapped round the face with a soggy microwaved croissant, our friendship somehow fizzled after that. Cosmos for me are my favourite supporting flowers, it’s the way they move, tall and elegant. When picked in bud they will pop open before your eyes and give you a lasting display of happiness. My particular preference is one called fizzy rose picotte, it’s easy to grow from seed and each plant will vary in colour and stripe although predominantly they are pink and white. I’ve grown most varieties including the cup cake but I always come back to this one.

I say it every time but I adore a garden gathered arrangement. If you’d like to join me in my garden to pick flowers and enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee then please visit my website, places are available to book.

I hope these pics have inspired you to start thinking about growing a little patch of flowers for cutting next year. If you have friends that you think would enjoy my garden ramblings then please feel free to share my posts.

On other news I’ll be having a ceramics update to my website tomorrow.

Emma x