The Flower Season
The Farm’s old walled garden is where we grow most of our seasonal flowers.
The season starts in April with an abundance of tulips and narcissi in an array of vibrant colours, often sweetly scented and all with an incredibly long vase life. Softer romantic colours follow from a crop of ranunculus and anemones in the polytunnel.
We grow all our annuals from seed, often saved seed as this means the plants are well suited to this location.
Early summer flowerings include cornflowers, ammi, orlaya, sweet rocket and cerinthe to name but a few and one of the classics of the English cottage garden sweetly scented sweet peas leading the way in abundance.
We are continually expanding the perennial beds to include amongst others ornamental grasses as these plants can tolerate the growing trend of weather extremes we are experiencing here in the UK and give us a choice of flowers to cut throughout the season.
Our English fragrant rose collection has been expanded this year with an undercover rose bed helping to protect those beautiful petals from the ravages of the British weather. Shrubs and wildlife focussed new hedgerows are maturing slowly in the other garden areas surrounding the farmhouse. A large bed of dahlias with over 50 different varieties will take us from summer though to late autumn, accompanied by rich autumnal hues of flowers including rudbeckias and chrysanthemums until the frost decides to take hold.
We have expanded growing and harvesting dried flowers for the winter months which serve us so well for everlasting arrangements and for Christmas door wreaths, which compliments our festive season with locally grown Christmas trees for sale throughout December.
Looking after the health of the soil and using companion planting to give plants the best opportunity to be strong and healthy is key to what Rosie believes is vital for encouraging biodiversity without compromising on quality and beauty.
