She's taken a few years to be happy. This is Glyndbourne. She tends to rather a weak neck, which struggles to support the heavy head. Feeding is essential. The colour is perfect peach (yellower in the image than in real life), later in the year the colour becomes paler and more creamy. We will have roses for this weekends markets, I think. #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #britishroses
I've worken up this morning feeling poorly enough to not work. If you know me that's an unusual thing. Not that I could have done much as we had 20mm of rain overnight. At flower club yesterday one of our members, who has a birthday at this time of year, mentioned that she remembers sometimes having barbeques to celebrate. So I'm looking back at this day last years photos. I'm noticing lots of tulips still in bud, apple blossom at its prime, lilac just starting and Pete and Jack in short sleeves, kneeling in the dirt, assembling a fruit cage for me. This year the tulips and apple blossom are all finished (blossom still there but past it's best for cutting). The lilac is also almost finished now. This year the dirt is mud and the short sleeves are two jumpers a coat and a wooly hat. Planning is difficult when every year the weather is wildly different. We thought digging new drains and moving to more shrubs and perennials would future proof us a bit. This year we've been flooded for long periods as the drains simply could not cope with the volume of rain we have had. A painfully huge amount of our perennials and shrubs have perished due to being underwater for too long. We've done everything we can to try to mitigate the effects that climate change is having on the farm, but some years there is nothing more you can do. I've lots of sweet williams, nigella, foxgloves and delphinium in the field to look forward to. Just need a bit of sun to bring them on a bit. I think we all need a bit of sun now! #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #stillraining
Brilliant morning this morning with the first Flower Club Group, who did amazingly well, making some lovely bouquets in hand woven jasmine armatures. I was really pleased with how they did. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #haylaneflowerclub
At Flower Club this weekend, we will be looking at the use of armatures in bouquet construction. Most of the group have had a chance over the past year to play with using wire eggs and grids to help create cascades. This weekend, we'll be going super sustainable and weaving our own armatures out of natural materials (jasmine stems here), which can also become one of the design elements in the finished bouquet. I'm already seeing a few more leafy greens in this one - some arching stems of solomons seal, or some taller twisty to echo the twistyness of the jasmine. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
If you've walked down Hay Lane recently, you may have noticed the mass of vivid pink campion in the wild flower mix between the trees in the new blossom orchard. I have seen phacelia, wild chrysanthemum, and oxeye daisy in there too, but for now, the campion is smothering most other things. It makes a good cut flower, too, and has a decent vase life. I've managed to plant (planting is quite a loose term for what I did), another 400 or so plugs this morning. It's not pretty, but I got in some scabious, cephalaria transylvanica, nigella hispanica, orlaya, ammi majus, achillea, and a little clary sage. It was a case if better in than out on the trolleys where they've been hardening off for a month and slowly dying of being pot bound and underwatered. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
The first cut of roses this year. I dont think I've ever had tulips and roses for sale at the same time. Who do I think I am, a supermarket? But I assure you these are our own English grown, garden style roses that are heading to the cool store to condition. #Aprilroses #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower
Precious few tulips left in the field right now. I'll miss them. A few 'Double Flag' and 'Estella Rijnveld', even the 'Columbus' are done. It's been the shortest tulip season ever. But it seems rose season will start early this year. Sweet Williams, cornflower and geum budding up well too. #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #aprilflowers
Lovely morning! Lashing it down with rain and thundering right now. An inside jobs day again. These tulips look better than ever now they are fully open. It's about a billion degrees in the kitchen right now. Him indoors never used to feel the cold, but since he has had the op, he needs the heating on most of the time. But it's a good test for the vase life of the flowers. The worst thing you can do is bring them straight from a cold environment into an overly warm room. Raven, our youngest dog, has her second vets visit today for a troublesome haematoma on her ear (cauliflower ear). Probably due to the fact that she is very clumsy and is constantly bashing into things, shoulder barging all the other dogs or shaking her head when standing right next to the coffee table, so banging her ear in the process. Almost like she forgets she has flappy ears. No sense, no feeling, as they say. It doesn't seem to cause her any pain unless I poke it. So I'm trying not to do that. But I am a bit of a blister popper, even though I know I shouldn't and almost instantly regret it. Does anyone have any experience with dogs and haematoma blisters? The vet said it might take several rounds of treatment, perhaps even an operation. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #vetsbills
My neighbouring farmer, Richard Cook, tells me not to get stressed by things I can't control. Like the weather. It's good advice. So I'm trying not to focus on the fact that I've lost over 200 hundred aquelegia plants, due to the flooding, which should have been my next main crop (some were destined for a display at Chelsea). Trying not to focus. But it smarts a bit. Instead, I am trying to be thankful that the camassia coped with the wet very well, and the sweet mignonette survived the winter and is throwing out a few early flower spikes. The second photo shows our new Beauty of Moscow lilacs. The plants are too young to cut from, but I am in love with the colour, perfect for wedding work. The third photo is sorbaria. Another new plant to us. I learned about it from @carolsiddorn, who sent some down for the King's Coronation last year. I think you'll agree it's ferny and beautifully coloured foliage is stunning. The butterflies love its small white flowers, too, a real winner. #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #springflowers
It's going to be an early and short tulip season this year. They'll be done and dusted soon. But I'm enjoying working with them while I've got them. It's a very strange year, climate wise, so far. I've given up even trying to predict which flowers might be ready in which weeks. Records from past years are of little help. Florists and brides take note! This year, we are just going to be living in the moment flowers wise, I think. The second photo shows my favourite Estella Rijnveld tulip. Not many people like her with her showy red and white markings alongside flashes of green. But I will always grow her, even if it's just for me. I do love my flowers to be dramatic. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers #tulipseason
Beautiful bunches with some of this weeks new lilac crop heading out to the shed. #bedfordfordshiregrower #britishflowers #bedfordshireflowerfarm
Thank you to everyone who made time to read my post yesterday. I'm truly amazed by how caring my customers are. Two customers had indeed got the wrong payment details (well done for your insight, Pete). I received many, many messages from people, not only double-checking their payments but also with messages of support and complimenting the flowers. I was reminded once more why it's lovely to run my business from home in the middle of my local community. I feel we have a very personal relationship with many of our customers, which extends beyond the supply and demand of flowers. The threatened frost last night did not materialise, so the lilac that has just come into bloom is still lovely and will be making its way into some of this weeks bunches and buckets. My second favourite blossom after crab apple. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #lilacblossom
After two sell out markets I've been out this morning and cut another mahoosive armful of tulips. So I'm running a tulip special in the flower shed today. One bunch £8 or 2 bunches for £15. I'll be doing straight variety and mixed variety bunches so you can have fun choosing the ones you like best. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #tulips #tulipspecial
Two days off at market at this time of year and everything grows! The first picture is new trial (for us) aquelegia 'Swan Pink and Yellow.' She's pretty cute. The next pic shows rosebuds showing colour. My May brides may not get the tulips or lilacs with everything being early this year, but there will be roses. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
All set up here at Bromham Mill with our speciality tulip and narcissi bunches. Tulips £8, scented narcissi £4. All grown up the road in Stagsden. #bedfordfordshiregrower #tulips #britishflowers #locallygrown #bedfordshireflowerfarm #marketlife
Our Spring Bouquet offering is now live on the website, please form an orderly queue just like the tulips! The link to buy is in our bio. Have a wonderful Sunday friends & don’t forget to treat yourself to something fabulous from our garden 🌷 #flowerdelivery #springbouquet #localflowers #tulip #tulipbouquet #onlineflowershop #onlineflowers #biggleswade #biggleswadebusiness #biggleswadeflorist #ickwell #northill #southill #florist #haynes #shefford #langford #bedford #glorist #flowerfarmer #bedfordshireflowerfarm #cuttinggarden #flowersfromthefarm #flowersfordays
Thank-you Cranfield! We had a sell out day, and started selling some of tomorrow's bunches, too! The weather shut us down early with strong winds, making it dangerous for those of us outside with gazebos. But just look at this snapped off flower head that didn't make it into today's bouquets. It almost looks painted. We will be @makers_onthemove market at Bromham Mill tomorrow. Still going to be windy, but hopefully the site will have bit more shelter! #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #marketlife
Since the OH has been out of action, I've been doing his morning chores. Feeding the dogs is quite depressing at the moment, as the paddock where they are kenneled is a wet, muddy mess. I've no dry or clean trousers left, as the girls seem intent on covering me in mud as they complete their morning zoomies around the paddock. Well, Merlin no longer zoomies, just plods, but Peri still zoomies enough for a hundred dogs. She is named for the Peregrine falcon. A good name for her as speed is her forte. Even more depressing is the rain gauge photo. Every morning, I send a photo of the amount of rain we've had in the last 24 hours to him indoors. All farmers like to phone each other daily, sometimes more than once, to discuss the rain. It's mostly irrelevant now, really, because it's so wet that there is no chance of doing any spring land work at all for the foreseeable future. For us on the flower farm, it's a similar picture. This will have a huge knock-on effect with the amount of flowers I'll have available in June and July. The beds, even in the new field, are a wet mess. I saw a post yesterday with the dialogue from Forrest Gump about the different types of rain he experienced when posted to Vietnam during the rainy season. I'll leave you with that dialogue from the movie, one of my all time favourites. “One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain...and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night...” #bedfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #rainwatch
Edit - found a broken label in the middle of the row. It is Parrot King! One of the tulip varieties in the field is not what I was expecting. But I love it! Does anyone have any idea what this beauty is? It's a parrot type, that's all I can be certain of. Shed now fully stocked with £15 market bouquets for the weekend! #bedfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers #tulips
It's like a scene from the apocalypse in some of the narcissi rows this year! A plague of slugs, due to the mild winter and super wet conditions, have eaten every flower and are having a good go at the leaves. As we try to follow organic principles where we can, I am awaiting the plague of birds and toads to eat the slugs. Fortunately, we have plenty of narcissi in the new field, which are relatively slug free, and I've harvested enough for our bunches and markets. I have never seen so many slugs in one place before. 3mm of rain overnight. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #slugmageddon #rainwatch
What a mad year for growers. I've lilac starting to bloom. This is the earliest I've ever seen it. Last year, we cut the first batch on the 25th of April, and I always think of it as a May crop. It might all be done and dusted by May. But even though the blossom is early, spring planting is late. I've yet to get a single annual planted out in the main field. It is just too wet. We had another 1.5 mm of rain overnight. Not loads but enough to negate the effects of the dry days we've had. This is certainly going to have a knock-on effect on harvest dates. I'm trying not to get stressed and just roll with it. I think perennials will play a larger role in any future plans. #bedfordfordshiregrower # #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
Happy April the 1st! It's no joke being a flower farmer. Having sold out of every stem that was ready on Friday, we had an unusually dry, sunny, and warm day on Saturday. Anyone that's grown tulips in the wild - i.e., outside where conditions are governed by Mother Nature, knows how quickly tulips can go from tight buds to fully open. We've family here for Easter and I had thought I might take the weekend off, but walking the field yesterday, I knew I'd need to work today to harvest the tulips and narcissi, which had decided it was now or never when they saw the Sun on Saturday. So now I'm trying to wash tulips in the kitchen sink (still have burst pipes on all the outside sinks) while the family get breakfast ready around me. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #happyeaster
As you probably know, as well as growing thousands of flowers for cutting each year, Jack and I love growing our own veg. You probably also know that I love cooking and trying new foods. So we do grow a lot of the more exotic veg alongside the cabbages and broad beans. This year, I gave Jack some Bolivian giant achoca seeds from @realseeds. I thought there were five seeds in the pack, but we've six plants. One seed must have had twins. These beauties will be big vines and will need to go in the polytunnel. But I've also got an awful lot of okra, long bean, and aubergine, which will need tunnel space too. And let's not forget Jack's peppers and chillies. Or my cucumbers. Hmm, we may need to get another polytunnel just for the veg. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #growveg #growyourown
Bringing Spring Bouquets to your door in Ivy yesterday was joyful, we have had so much lovely feedback about the flowers, I hope they bring sunshine into your homes this Easter, it feels good to be back!🚚🌷😊 #bedfordshireflowerdelivery #ivytheflowertruck #biggleswadeflowerdelivery #biggleswade #florist #glorist #flowerfarm #flowerfarmer #bedfordshireflowerfarm #biggleswadeflowerfarm #bouquetclub #walledgardenflowers #shefford #langford #cardington #bedford #potton #southill #ickwell #northill
Up early to sort out todays orders, thank you. I've a few spare bunches of ranunculus mixes out for sale today. Next weekend back to normal, and we will be at our first markets @cranfieldmarket on Saturday and at Bromham on Sunday. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
We sold out early today. Apologies, but everyone wanted flowers, and it was super busy. I'm so happy everyone is loving the selection of British flowers. Pulling tulips in the rain, caked in mud and battling gusty wind, was not much fun. But the messages I've received today from customers, old and new, have been lovely and make the hard work worthwhile. 'So glad you are back! My two bunches are stunning. Looking forward to many more beautiful flowers. Thank-you!' 'They are stunning!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍 Thanks again. I really appreciate your time in growing such beautiful flowers ❤️' 'Hi Jane. I just picked up three (the last three!) market bunches wanted to message and say how pleased I am with them. So beautiful for the Easter weekend. I’m a new customer and so pleased to have found you.' Thank-you all! #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflorist
We are open for flowers for your Easter weekend! #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
We will be open for Easter flowers from 8 am tomorrow morning. Thank-you for all of the orders so far! There will also be some regular £15 market bouquets available for last minute gifts and Easter decoration. The colours this year are stunning. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshireflorist #springflowers
Thank-you to all my wonderful customers who dropped by over the weekend to grab a bunch of flowers. I kept bunching, and they kept selling! We sold out fully by lunchtime today. We will be closed until Thursday. Easter bunches and bouquets will be available from Thursday early doors right through until Easter Sunday. Our regular market bouquets will be £15 and I'll also have a few £25 or £35 hand-tied bouquets available. Messaging to reserve a bunch is always a good idea. Demand has been quite high so far. #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #britishflowers #locallygrown
I meant to take a photo of the broom before I made up today's bunches, but I forgot, and all that's left in the house is this one stripped sideshoot. In one of our local flower farmer meet-ups, I was speaking with another grower who has a dry, poor soil. A completely different challenge for growing to the challenge of our wet heavy clay. This white broom is always in demand. We grow it in the polytunnel to get an earlier crop - and also because it likes it on the drier side. This is one crop that does prefer poor soil and copes well with drought. If you are on a thin or sandy soil, growing roses, peonies, or dahlia is going to mean enriching your soil annually with lots of well rotted organic material, such as good farmyard manure. And watering. A lot. Very time-consuming. Finding a crop that does well in the soil you have without too much help is always a bonus. So if your soil is a little dry and sandy, broom might be worth a go. The native yellow form is a bit of a thug and great for spring oomph, but as always, the cultivated lemon, white, and pink forms are the ones the florists love. Are there any more suggestions for good perennials or shrubs that will cope well in a dry sandy soil? Let's start a list to help other growers out! #bedfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #grownnotflown
And we are off! A rocky start this year. Floods, deer eating the tulips and camassia, mice eating everything else. Slugs galore munching on the baby plants and narcissi. But despite mother nature throwing it all at us, we do have flowers for this weekend! Tulips, anemone, narcissi and ranunculus all conditioning in the cool shed now, ready for tomorrow's bunches. #bedfordfordshiregrower #Bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
The flowers are blooming & if you are in our Bouquet Club then very soon your Spring bouquet will be winging its way to you in Ivy the Flower Truck! Hurrah ! Then we will be opening the online shop for bouquet orders, this year we will be offering farm collection , delivery for bouquets as well as farm gate sales, dates to be announced! Spring is officially here! Hurrah!! #flowersforsale #bouquet #biggleswade #bedfordshireflowerfarm #biggleswadeflowerdelivery #localflowers #farmfreshflowers #haynes #ickwell #uppercaldecote #bedfordshireflorist #northill #broom #southill #shefford #langford #bouquetdelivery #britishflowers #springiscoming #spring #anemone
Are you ready to start sowing seeds to add a splash of vibrant colour to your garden in 2024? Look no further than asters! These beautiful flowers were NEW to me in 2023. Not only are easy to grow but they also bring a burst of late-season colour that will dazzle your senses. I'm dialling up our focus flowers in 2024 and plan to include shades of purple, pink, apricot and white. Last year I grew them in our polytunnel. I plan to addsome to our PYO plot this year to determine where they grow best. So....if you'd like to see them when in full bloom, head our way during our PYO & wholesale season. Wishing you a terrific Thursday 😊 Rachelle 💚 Seeds sourced from @plantsofdistinctionseeds @chilternseeds #AsterAdventures #bloomsofjoy2024 #flowersofinstagram #pyoflowers #bedfordshireflowerfarm #merriflowers #flowersfromthefarm
I feel like I'm finally ready to get back to work - although for now, it'll probably be mornings only. Pete did his first solo walk this morning. A mile or so down to the neighbouring farm (with a coffee break in the middle) and back another mile. So, improving now. I'll be spending afternoons with him on physical therapy and mental health (which is really just getting out of the house for a change of scenery and gentle walks), as good for me as it is for him. I'll be selling plants as well as flowers this year, which is exciting. And we are hoping to re-open for flower sales on Saturday! There are no plants yet, but they are all being nurtured in the greenhouse and looking good. There has been a flurry of book sales this week too, as the weather has brightened a little, and people have started seed sowing in earnest. This has been most gratifying, especially after a quite challenging time for us where being able to earn a living has been the last thing on our minds. The royalties are miniscule, but every little helps right? #haylanegrowershandbooks #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers #britishgrower
The first Anemones are starting to bloom in the tunnel and they are exquisite ,the very best bulbs sourced from @greenandgorgeousflowers , they will be followed by the beautiful Ranunculus , our online shop will be open soon and this year we are excited to announce that farm gate sales are coming! Visit our website to sign up for our newsletter to be first in line for availability of Spring Flowers #farmfreshflowers #britishflowers #bedfordshireflorist #bedfordshireflowerfarm #biggleswadeflowerdelivery #flowersforsale #biggleswadeflowerfarm #bedfordflowerfarm #oldwarden #cardington #shefford #ickwell #northill #broombedfordshire # #uppercaldecote #southill #flowerstand #farmgateflowers #anemone #anemones
March flowers. We've worked really hard over the past couple of years to increase the amount of early blooms we grow for the Valentine's Day and Mother's Day markets. This year, due to circumstances beyond our control, we will not be open for Mother's Day. We've a stressful couple of weeks coming up. But I'll have lots of flowers just for our own house this year - cherry, plum, spirea, almond, hellebore, winter clematis, narcissi, hyacinths galore and the first of the anemones. If I need a distraction, I'll be able to work on some of the spring designs Ive got in my head. #bedfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers #blossom #springflowers
Not long until we harvest beautiful flowers like these. This year we will be offering farm gate sales, local delivery, garden tours, flowers for parties & weddings as well as taking Ivy The Flower Truck out on the road to local events! We have doubled our growing space which means so many more gorgeous flowers for you to enjoy. Hurrah for the flowers!! 🌸💐🚚 #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshireflowerdelivery #biggleswadeflorist #biggleswadeflowerdelivery #flowersfromthefarm #shefford #henlow #haynes #oldwarden #cardington #langford #ickwell #northill #ivytheflowertruck #southill #bouquetdelivery #britishflowers #gardenerflorist
You know how in winter you forget what summer is like? These flowers seem a long way off right now. Having had enough of the continual wet and mud and enough of waiting for the hospital to ring, we last minute booked a cottage in Cumbria, and we are taking a short break. Of course, as soon as we booked the hospital rang, so I rushed Pete in yesterday for his second set of pre-ops. We are MRSA free and good to go. His op date is the 4th March. We will now be closed for Mothers Day as that is the weekend I should be fetching him home if all goes well. Apologies to my regulars - I highly recommend @rosehipbespoke in Cardington and @elworthy_flowers, who will be offering lovely British bouquets. We are still heading up north. As always, Dave, the farm worker, will be here looking after the animals. Please don't expect him to make up any flowers. # #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflorist
Sweetpea Update: 6 Weeks of Growth! Can you believe the incredible transformation in just 6 weeks? Our sweetpeas have shot up, showcasing nature's marvellous journey from seed to seedlings. As we marvel at their progress, it's nearly time for an important step in nurturing these beauties – pinching out their tops to help promote bushier growth and even more abundant flowers. Join us in this next phase of care next Monday! Let's all make our gardens burst with sweetpea in 2024! Wishing you a marvellous Monday Rachelle 💚 PS. We still have 2 spaces left on our March Lady Gardeners Club. Closing Date to book = 25 Feb. DM to reserve your space! #SweetpeaJourney #GardenGrowth #GreenThumbTribe #gnf #underthefloralspell #bedfordshireflowerfarm #ladygardenersclub
Mothers Day prep. It's three weeks until Mother's Day. But prep has already started. Flowers from British wholesalers are, as you would imagine, much in demand at this time. So orders for extra flowers need to be in early. Mothers Day is a moveable feast, and so you can not guarantee the same flowers will be available as we were ready last year. However, the blossom, which is one of our main spring crops, is also highly variable, as a warm, mild spell can bring the blossom out up to three weeks earlier than in a colder year. These bird cherry branches have been cut and brought inside, where they should take about two weeks to start to open. We've also got ornamental cherry, almond, and spirea blossom on the verge of opening outside. I'll cut most of those a week before Mother’s Day to ensure they are perfect for the bouquets we will be sending out. But of course, I'll be checking them often to see how they are coming along. The polytunnel narcissi should also be ready, as should the first of the anemones. Fingers crossed. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #britishflowers
A very busy flower filled weekend 💐💐 Yesterday, I made some lovely snowdrop long and low table centrepieces for my cousins @sian.m.king baby shower. And then today, I have potted up lots of flower babies and made room in the greenhouse for my heat mats, ready to start sowing more seeds in the evenings this week. Jamie and I have also been planting some new hedging, splitting my mint bed to make it bigger and moving my cold frames to a new temporary location to capture as much light as possible. I have also been admiring the blossom on the trees. The cherry in particular was looking absolutely lovely today. #busy #bedfordshireflowerfarm #behindthescenes #flowers #local #sustainability #pottingon #snowdrops #babyshower #cousinlove #seasonal #springflowers #spring #blossom
International Women's Day / Mother's Day 2024! I cancelled Christmas, I cancelled Valentine's, but he still hasn't had his op. I've decided we cannot afford to cancel Mother's Day as well, we've still got bills to pay! We were already pre-booked for an International Women's Day Event two days before on the 8th March @bedfordheightsuk (date for your diary, watch this space!) To simplify things we are offering just three options this year - £17 hand-tied bouquet of flowers, simply wrapped in kraft paper. £30 luxury boxed bouquet in a vase and transport box. £12 jam jar posy of flowers. As always it's all British - expect tulips, narcissi, alstroemeria, anemone, blossom (not roses, lilies and carnations). Our order books will fill up quickly, so please give us as much notice as possible if you'd like to order something this year! Thank-you. #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshiregrower #britishflowers #grownnotflown #bedfordshireflorist
It's false spring in the polytunnel. Unseasonably warm days have led to a spree of seed sowing and potting on. The bulbs in the polytunnel are growing well. But outside, it's a different story. The old flower field is underwater and has been for over a month. Two years ago, we spent £4k getting new drainage installed under the field. But even the new drains can't cope with the rainfall we've seen recently. We had another 4 mm last night. The new field is not completely flooded, but it is completely sodden. With our soil type, we have to be fair weather gardeners and keep off of the soil until it dried up a bit. There's a reason Bedford was known for its brick making. Just mix the soil here with water, compress it a bit, and voila, a brick! We've not been able to do any autumn clearing, bed prep, or weeding since the first heavy rains hit here on the 18th October. Half the dahlias did not get lifted. The tulips and new roses did get planted in a brief dry spell the week before Christmas. Other than that all we've done is pruning the established roses and coppicing dogwood. The flooding also means all of the mice from the fields have relocated to the dryer polytunnel and greenhouse. We've got on top of the ones that were munching in the anemone and ranunculus in the tunnel, but the greenhouse mice are clearly a smarter breed and continue to drive me insane. It's carnage! #bedfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #falsespring #claysoil #fairweathergardener #flooding
A little February miracle , just two days after being tucked up into their new home in the @haygrove_garden_tunnels I spy a little Anemone bud, a good omen for the season, updates to come on the first flower of the year! Hurrah! 🙌🏼🌸 #firstflowers #anemone #polytunnel #polytunnelgrowing #bedfordshireflowerfarm #flowerfarmer #microflowerfarming #februaryflowers #bud # #gardenerflorist #biggleswadeflorist #oldwarden
It's Valentine's Day. As we've decided not to open for Valentines this year, I've decided to start most of the dahlias for cuttings today. I have already started a few (look at the eyes on this beauty). The early cuttings will be taken and placed on heat mats to encourage rooting, and when enough shoots are ready, we will get the mist propagator out. Even if we are away in February, I usually start a few crates off before we go, as then I have lots of lovely shoots to work with when we get back. The downside to being here this year is that I'm checking the tubers multiple times every day to see if they've magically started growing since the last time I checked them. It's obsessive and addictive. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #dahlias
News! The dahlias have started sprouting. Bigger news! I've waded through the plant passport legislation, and I'm going to be supplying plug plants and dahlia cuttings this year to other growers. So far, the plug plants I have on my list are - achillea, agastache, ageratum, amaranthus, ammobium, aster, bupleurum, campanula, celosia, cleome, delphinium, ecinacea, echinops, foxglove, gaura, helichrysum, hesperis, lavender, limonium (statice), lupin, nepeta, phlox, scabious, sweet pea. Dahlia list will be out in late March. Drop us an e-mail if you'd like to go on the mailing list. Any suggestions of varieties you'd like to get hold of in plug plant form? I'm super excited to get started. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm #plugplants #cutflowers #cutflowergrower #flowerfarmer
Stunning work today, girls! Brilliant British flowers for Valentines by our lovely group this afternoon. Who needs out of season roses? #britishflowers #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm
The Orchard Garden is starting to come together , last week the polytunnel and this week raised beds are being made , soon we will be harvesting armfuls of flowers to fill all your bouquet orders #orchard #orchardgarden #walledgardenflowers #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshireflorist #gardendesign #gardenplanning #raisedbeds #raisedbedgardening #flowerfarm #flowerfarming
Find flowers fresh from the grower in the Bedfordshire area. No greenwashing, no middlemen, just beautiful blooms straight from the field. Find out about growers who offer wholesale, retail, weddings and events, and PYO flowers across the region. #bedfordshireflowerfarm #locallygrown #shoplocal #Bedford #bedfordsmallbusiness #britishflowers #bedfordshireflorist
Sunday morning pre soaking of my 2nd round of ranunculus corms. It's hard to believe such a beautiful flower comes from these little dry, almost spider like corms. Once nice and plump in a few hours' time, I will add them to some moist compost trays and wait patiently for them to pre sprout before planting out. Once in bloom, these beauties will give me lots and lots of blooms for honesty box flowers. #bedfordshire #supportlocal #springflowers #smallbusiness #flowerfarm #ranunculus #flowers #maulden #bedfordshireflowerfarm #grownnotflown #uk #ukflowers
A snapshot of what our bouquets look like in July wild, fresh and heavenly scent brought to you by February planning & planting here on the farm. Join our bouquet club for the most gorgeous blooms you have ever seen #walledgardenbouquetclub #walledgardenflowers #walledgardenweddings #bedfordshireflorist #farmfreshflowers #flowersfromthefarm #biggleswade #biggleswadeflowerdelivery #shefford #oldwarden #bedford #shortstown #flowerfarm #bedfordshireflowerfarm
Lots of wedding prep today for tomorrow's wedding. We are keeping it seasonal and wild. Flowers include snowdrops, daisies, narcissi with a sprinkling of forced bulbs, blossom, and a few white tulips. But the real stars and workhorses will be the twiggy branches, mosses, ferns, lichens, teasels, hemlock seedheads, and ivy. All British grown, of course, and most grown here with a few extra blooms from @evolveflowers. #bedfordfordshiregrower #bedfordshireflowerfarm # #bedfordshireflorist #grownnotflown #seasonalflowers
Welcome February. This month starts busy and gets busier. We've a lovely wedding this weekend (been making these adorable little daisy kokedamas in prep). Then, an early start to the propagating. Waking up dahlias and chrysanths, sowing of some of the hardy annuals and planting one last round of ranunculus and gladioli. Thanks for all of the enquiries about Valentines flowers. I'm afraid we've decided not to do bouquets this year. Pete's still waiting on his op (now been moved to the urgent list) and I just couldn't take the risk that he'd get called in the week before Valentines with me having a gazillion orders on the books. Although our lovely local florists always have my back, it's too much to need to ask them to be ready to pick up my orders on one of their busiest days. For alternate gifts - we are hosting the Valentine's flowers workshop and afternoon tea next weekend (2 spaces still available) and still offering vouchers and flower subscriptions. Happy February, everybody! #February #bedfordfordshiregrower # #bedfordshireflowerfarm # #bedfordshireflorist #daisies #weddingseason
Thank you for connecting with us here @thewalledgardenflowerfarm during our insta takeover this week. There are so many lovely growers & flower lovers in our community & we have had a marvellous time meeting you all.! Here on the farm we are prepping our new orchard garden ready for our polytunnel which is being installed in just a week, exciting times! Please come & follow our journey @thewalledgardenflowerfarm to see where this flowery journey takes us, you will be very welcome. Have a wonderful Sunday and thank you to @flowersfromthefarm for championing the beauty of British flowers 🇬🇧🌺🇬🇧 #flowersfromthefarm #britishflowerfarm #britishflowersrock #britishflowers #walledgardenflowers #flowers #flowerfarmer #flowerfarmers #flowersandotherstories #flowergarden #cuttingarden #englishflowers #englishflowerfarm #bedfordshireflowerfarm #biggleswade #oldwarden #bedford
Here is a flower hug for you from @thewalledgardenflowerfarm 💐 This is our third growing season , it took a while to narrow down what gives us the most joy and this is it! English garden flower bouquets delivered to loved ones. A bouquet is the most beautiful gift and I never tire of the look on peoples faces when they receive one! So here is a posy just for you on this gloomy Saturday!💐 So I would like to know.. what do you feel when someone gifts you flowers…? #englishgardenflowers #flowerdelivery #flowerdeliveryservice #flowersmakepeoplehappy #joy #happiness #flowerfarm #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshireflowers #deliveringhappiness #walledgardenflowers
Happy Friday everyone from @thewalledgardenflowerfarm it might be cold & dark out there right now but pictures like this keep me going through the long days of Winter. In my happy place harvesting armfuls of flowers for bouquets. I can’t wait for days like this to return, have you noticed that every evening it is just a tiny bit lighter. Hold tight my friends Summer is coming & will be filled with joyful flowers yet again 📷 @eva_nemeth #summerdays #summerdreaming #flowerharvest #britishflowers #flowersfromthefarm #englishflowers #flowerfarmer #flowersandotherstories #flowerfarmersyear #bedfordshireflowerfarm #flowers #flowerstagram #gardenerflorist #florist #growingflowers #walledgardenflowers
If I HAD to select our favourite flower, it would be within the world of Delphiniums! Known for their towering spikes of vivid blues and purples, these enchanting flowers add a touch of elegance to any cut flower garden. They don't appear within our PYO plot but if they are behaving they do appear within our flower subscriptions and mixed buckets for floral events. I have a few more favourite flowers. I'll share these with you over the coming months. #meettheflowerfarmeruk #flowersfromthefarm #flowersofinstagram #bedfordshireflowerfarm #DelphiniumDreams #GardenGems
I was thinking today about what I love most about being a flower grower and right up there at this time of the year is the excitement you feel planning the farm for the coming season , sorting the seeds and mapping out the farm. As usual there are far more in there that I will ever grow, thanks to Instagram! I am a self confessed seed addict which in comparison to my @toast addiction is considerably easier on the purse. 📷 @eva_nemeth #seedaddiction #seedaddict #helpplease #flowerfarmersyear #flowerfarmer #flowerfarming #flowergram #flowergrower #gardenerflorist #britishflowers #bedfordshirebusiness #biggleswade #oldwarden #bedfordshireflowerfarm
Hello from Rachel @thewalledgardenflowerfarm and this image was taken high on a hill by Sarah @simplybyarrangement on a murky day in Yorkshire. As I enter the third year of growing flowers having never gardened in my life, head in books and learning all I could from Erin @Floret on all things growing & flower farming I made the decision to join Sarah on her Carefully Crafted Career Course and it has been life changing for me, I knew that floristry was the next step to take & under Sarah’s expert eye, to my amazement I created this rather gorgeous urn as my first project as she drank tea and I guzzled Coca Cola we brainstormed business ideas and had a rather splendid day. I return in April for more floral adventures high on a hill in Yorkshire #selfimprovement #gardenerflorist #urn #urnarrangement #alwayslearning #bedfordshireflowerfarm #bedfordshireflorist #biggleswade #biggleswadeflorist #flowerfarming #flowerfarm
What drives us to grow flowers , the ‘why’ , the engine that drives us to sow & nurture beauty to enjoy & share with others. As we get closer to sowing season I love to look back on last Summers flowers that brought happiness to many , so when it is cold and the rain is bouncing off the greenhouse roof I will remind myself that soon the flowers will be here & all will be well. What are you looking forward to seeing in your garden this year? 😊🌺 @thewalledgardenflowerfarm #flowersfromthefarm #flowersofinstagram #flowerfarmersyear #flowersmakepeoplehappy #flowerfarming #flower #summerflowers #flowerstagram #bedfordshireflowerfarm #flowerphotography