Annuals for florists to use as cut flowers

The main annuals that I use as a wedding florist for cutting

One of the main subjects that florists wanted to know more about on my giveaway was annuals. What to grow and any tips.
So, I thought I’d share on a blog what I’ve been growing over the past 7 years and my favourites that are easy to grow and don’t require much care.
I start a lot of them off in autumn so that I have some earlier flowers to use in weddings but as it’s currently April I’ll share what I’m sowing now.
I don’t have a lot of space and I’m not a ‘grower’ so I choose annuals that give me a lot of filler flowers. I don’t use them as part of my wedding flower budget but I do use them in weddings if I feel that the budget hasn’t gone as far as expected, or on shoots so they don’t cost me a fortune and on Instagram to fill in on the times when I don’t have weddings.

Mass of Ammi used at a photoshoot

I can’t give you a date when I start them because last year it was probably around the start of March but this year I’ve only just tentatively started in the past two weeks because it’s been so cold. I do have a 6 x 8ft polytunnel but you can start them in your windows or once before I had the tunnel, I made a makeshift greenhouse with things I had in the garden. I used pallets to keep them off the floor that were covered in cardboard, then bricks to make sides that were covered with fleece with glass on the top. It’s just to give them some protection and warmth for the first few weeks before the last frosts have passed which can be up to the first week of May!

Cornflowers and Ammi. Photo taken by Oxi photography

The annuals that I grow can just be planted straight outside and they won’t mind the few frosts. I’ve read that this can actually give much better stronger results but I have found that I’m too much of a control freak and I like to know what’s going on and to be able to see them and care for them.
So, to what I’m sowing now. About two weeks ago I started Ammi, Cerinthe, Cosmos, Cornflowers, Field scabious and Linaria. The last one ‘Linaria’ was a new one that I tried last year and I just loved it enough to do again. The other one that is new for me is Agastache Rugosa (Korean Mint) I actually planted this into my borders rather than my cutting bed last year. It was such a beautiful flower and the bees absolutely loved it so this year I’ve sown more but it’s really just for me and the bees, I doubt I will cut from them.

I only grow around 10 of each of these because I don’t have enough space for any more but that tends to be enough for what I need. I’d love to grow more but my kids aren’t quite old enough yet for me to get rid of their climbing frame and dig up the grass for more beds. One day!
My biggest struggle with growing is Easter holidays! In normal times, we go away for a few days with the kids and this is usually when the seedlings are at the prime time for needing looking after and either covering with fleece on freezing nights or watering lots on hot days (another reason why I’d like to try directly sowing outside)
I also tried Zinnias for the first time last year and found they were incredibly hard working and gave so much! I won’t sow these until the middle of May though and I plant them in the tunnel as they are more tender than the others.
Lastly, some tips that I’ve learnt over the years. I have a small three tray heat mat and it really helps to just get them going when March temperatures can be so erratic. If you can be patient then wait until the Spring equinox (which was 20th March this year) before you start sowing. That’s when the days officially start getting longer and you will have a much higher chance of success.
All of the annuals mentioned at the start germinate within a week if they’re at the right temperature and sown at the right time and the Ammi, cornflowers, field scabious and Cosmos all need staking. Put a big stake in when you plant them out and tie them in as they grow otherwise they all start squashing each other once they get taller. Although one year I just didn’t get around to staking my larkspur (haven’t mentioned them here as I sow them in autumn) and look what it meant I could make with them.

Larkspur, Calendula, Covent garden Gyp and Roses all grown in my garden used for an instagram photo

Once planted out, other than tying in, they don’t need much care. They benefit from regular watering because their roots don’t go very deep and a weekly feed always helps along with deadheading but to be honest I don’t always get time to do this and they’re fine (they will just be better if you can)
As I grow these annuals each year I make sure that I collect the seeds in Autumn because why would you want to pay for more when you’ll have lots!

Finally, if I do have any flowers left that I haven’t been able to use then, I dry or press them.

These are my main stay annuals for cutting that are easy to grow, require little care and give lots! I think that the best thing to do is to start. You’ll find what you like and what you want to grow again next year. I hope that’s helpful and if you have any questions then just ask.

Linaria Maroccana

Mass of Ammi in my rebrand photoshoot

Ammi, Cosmos, Field Scabious and Chive flowers

Ammi, Cosmos, Field Scabious on a photoshoot

Dried and pressed larkspur petals

Spring flower photography

Making my own backdrop for flower photography

I always want to do better, I love learning new things and I’ve been seeing a lot of stunning backdrops used on Instagram for flower photography. Until now I’ve always used a wall inside or out to photograph against. So, I thought that I’d give one a go. Now, it would obviously be easier to go on a course but, well, that costs money, so I looked at a few you-tube videos. There’s only so many that I can watch before I feel like I’m being told the same thing in different ways but not how to actually do it and I find that the best way to learn is to just give it a go!

I had a cheap canvas that I’d bought last year and had taken some photos on but as an amateur I find White so hard to photograph. It always either glares on blurs or both.

I heard in lots of the videos that the backdrop needs to be ‘primed’ first before painting. Now, my experience in art is very limited so I didn’t really understand what that meant but it seemed that a canvas is already primed so I just started painting.

I had some normal house tester paints in the shed and as the canvas was small thought they would do. As it’s Spring I thought pale Blue and Yellow would look pretty with the undertone of Green suiting the flowers. I had seen people using rollers but I didn’t have one small enough and so thought a big brush would do the job.

DIY painted backdrop for flower photography

I decided to paint a very very watered down mix of the Blue all over the canvas first using the brush and let it dry. It was a bit too pale and so did another coat. I then watered down some Yellow and tried to paint areas over the top.

Erm, well, that didn’t quite work. I just ended up with lots of lines and it looked a bit ‘muddy’

DIY painted backdrop for flower photography

So, then I tried ‘dabbing’ instead of painting. With some kitchen towel, I used the watered down mix and lightly dabbed it just on the Blue areas. It probably took about another 3 coats to but I eventually started getting closer to the look I wanted. I then also did the same with the Yellow and just lightly dabbed over the areas to try and achieve a look that I liked. I wasn’t really too sure what I was aiming for because it’s not something I know anything about so I just kept going until I liked it.

Would I recommend going on a course. If you have the money then definitely yes! Or, would I recommend just giving it a go. Why not! Next time, I’m going to try and be a bit more confident with more colour and see what happens and I’m sure that the more I do it and the more I experiment, the more I’ll make sense of it. My patient side completely enjoys the process of trying and learning. My impatient side just wants to know how to do it well now!

Here are the final results and as a bonus, I also found a new function on my camera for close up photography.

Spring flower Epimedium

Spring flower Pulmonaria

Spring flower Ribes Sanguineum

Spring flower Brunnera

Spring wedding at Wick Farm, Bath

A March wedding that was abundant with Spring flowers

Dusky Pinks, Pale Purples, Creams and Ivories. There was limited foliages used here to create a romantic floral dream.

Sophie knew what she wanted. She was an event planner and so used to organising. The wedding was to be full of blooms and the decor was to suit the country style barn with vintage crockery and home made bunting.

Alex was Welsh and so worn a tiny Narcissi daffodil that we fastened with a little fern as a back ground so that it would be fully visible.

Wick Farm is the perfect venue for a country dream. It’s a beautiful barn that has been decorated with such an eye that it mixes simple chic with English charm perfectly. It’s always a pleasure to decorate and there are so many options and ideas that work well.

The tables were arranged in one of my favourite ways with each being full of different items. A mix on each of vintage china, cut glass vases and old fashioned bottles. Some also included primrose plants and forget me nots which just added to the charm.

Planning

All the sophisticated Spring favourites were included here. Lilac, Anemones, Ranunculus, Paperwhites and Hellebores with just a few plants and herbs in the table arrangements.

They had bouquets, buttonholes and table flowers. Budget required approx £800 - £1000.

All the stunning photos below are by Kat Hill

Photography by Kat Hill

Photography by Kat Hill

Photography by Kat Hill

Photography by Kat Hill

Photography by Kat Hill

Photography by Kat Hill

Spring wedding at Pennard House, Somerset

A glorious sunny March wedding

This was the last wedding that I did a year ago before the official lock down of 2020 began and it was a wonderful one!

Rosie contacted me by email saying that she loved some of the images she’d seen of my work on social media (it doesn’t get much better than that!). She sent me a pinterest board of images that had caught her attention which gave me a good starting point to understand what she liked before we talked.

Rosie wasn’t completely sure how she wanted her flowers to look but during our chat she mentioned that they were off to New Zealand for a couple of months and that she would love to incorporate their travels somehow. I always think of New Zealand as luscious and Green so Ferns seemed an obvious choice (and one of my favourite foliages to use) .

It also became apparent during our talks that both Rosie and Nick were keen to keep things as sustainable as possible. At this time in March, it can be tricky to find enough interesting flowers and foliages to make a wedding but I assured them that my processes are as sustainable as possible when it comes to putting it all together, using moss and chicken wire to arrange with rather than plastic floral foams.

Rosie showed me photos of bouquets that were pretty and delicate, not oversized or too unruly. Ones that had a botanical feel with textured foliages but that were still romantic and elegant. We went with a simple Aikto Rose for the buttonholes to fit in with this minimalist chic. This is quite often my Rose of choice over blousey ones because it holds up to all those hugs!

My favourite staircase was decorated to create a warm welcome as you enter the coach house. I just love this staircase. Every time I decorate them it feels exciting and every time it looks different depending on the season which brings me so much joy.

They married at Pennard Church and opted for pew end flowers in a trailing shape (my favourite style) It was the first time that I had arranged flowers in this shape without the use of floral foam and it took a bit of head scratching to figure it out. I always enjoy a challenge though and absolutely loved the outcome.

It is always so lovely to be at Pennard House. The staff are all so helpful and friendly, the grounds are stunning and it has such a relaxed calm feel.

Rosie and Nick were a wonderful lovely couple and their families were so kind on the morning which just makes the day so much more! I’m so pleased that they choose me as their florist.

Planning details

Roses ‘Quicksand’, ‘Caffe Latte’ and ‘Majolica’ were the main focal flowers which were then mixed with Spring flowers like Anemones, Ranunculus and Viburnum. The foliages were kept to a darker Green to add the botanical feel.

They had bouquets, buttonholes, pew ends and the stair installation. Budget required approx £800 - £1000.

Photography by A tall long legged bird

Photography by A Tall Long Legged Bird

Pennard House staircase

Colourful micro wedding at Wick Farm, Bath in Somerset

A micro wedding in 2020!

This was my second wedding of 2020 and to be honest I wasn’t expecting it. The couple were supposed to be getting married in July, they were supposed to be having lots of colourful English garden blooms, they were supposed to surrounded by lots of friends and family.

They had originally decided to postpone to July 2021 but then they had a change of heart, they just wanted to be married, they didn’t want to wait any longer, they decided to do the legal bit now and then have a mega party when its possible. I completely understood, my own wedding was arranged and organised in 5 weeks, sometimes you just want to live for the here and now!

The flowers that she had wanted in July were completely perfect. Lots of English grown, seasonal blooms, Foxgloves, Peonies, Roses, Delphiniums, Snapdragons, Scabious, all in a colourful mix to look like a naturally growing English country garden. She still wanted this fresh vibrant colour scheme in December but I knew that it would be difficult to achieve. We discussed by email what else she could have that had a wild garden feel and in the end settled on a much more simple affair of something similar to White Anemones, Burgundy Roses and Eucalyptus with fillers and other foliages.

Trouble was that I knew deep down that this wasn’t what she wanted. So I phoned her to talk it through. She sounded fine but just a bit flat when we were talking about the flowers. Now, I want my couples to be happy with what I do for them. I want my brides to be in love with their bouquets. I want them to look back on photos in years to come and say, yes, that is me, that is my style, that is what I wanted.

So, I suggested the idea of colourful dried flowers and sent her a photo. She suddenly relaxed and I could hear the excitement in her voice again. This is my job, to find flowers and styles that you really want, not what you think you should have.

Social distancing was still in place between families not in the same bubble so, the tables became a big square in the middle of the room with an empty space in the middle. The obvious place to concentrate the flowers was here. Where everyone could see them. I knew from our talks that she quite liked the idea of rainbow flowers so this is how I arranged them in an ombre effect with one colour merging into the next.

Picture by https://bristolcontemporaryphotography.com/

Picture by https://bristolcontemporaryphotography.com/

I absolutely loved the feeling of the barn at Wick Farm. like this. It felt intimate, cosy and so special. I was pretty envious that I wasn’t on the invitation list!

The other completely total amazing thing about a micro wedding, is that your photographer has the time to get some incredible and interesting shots that probably wouldn’t have been possible in a normal situation.

Picture by https://bristolcontemporaryphotography.com/

Picture by https://bristolcontemporaryphotography.com/

Picture by https://bristolcontemporaryphotography.com/

A micro wedding doesn’t mean that you have to compromise, it doesn’t mean that you have to give up on what you wanted. What it does mean is you can have lots of fun and there will still be as much magic and love as any other wedding.

I cannot wish Georgia and Tom enough luck and love in their lives together.

I love my job. I love weddings!

All of the amazing photos here were taken by Charlie https://bristolcontemporaryphotography.com/ and Georgia’s make up was done by https://www.ellehitchens.co.uk/ who always seems to do the make up for some of my favourite brides.

Christmas wreath making. How to create your own!

Christmas 2020 has seen a revival of the door wreath. A circle of evergreen foliages to represent eternal life and strength. There are so many wonderfully amazing different techniques and styles that you can use but like anything, I have found my own way and will share it here along with some beautiful document style photos taken by my friend Oxi https://www.oxiphotography.co.uk/

My wreaths have always had a very organic wild feel but this year rather than sticking with the traditional wired technique that is used across the floristry industry, I decided to make them completely compostable too. They are more often made on a wire circular frame and everything being tied on with reel wire but these are made with a circular base of Willow and everything being tied on with string.

I have been lucky in that a neighbour has a Willow tree that is slightly growing out of control and so she was happy for me to help myself. Other materials that can be used instead for the frame are Hazel, Birch, some types of Clematis, Virginia Creeper, Cornus, Larch , basically anything that that easily bends and isn’t brittle.

You grab a bundle, maybe 8-12 lengths and take the longest length you have first. Wind it into a circular shape and then use the thinner end to wrap around and around. It should hold itself already, if it doesn’t then your piece may not be long enough so either cut another or use a little string to tie it. Then working in a clockwise pattern add more and more pieces in.

If some pieces feel a little stiff then just manipulate with your hands to bend it gently before using. The more pieces you add in, the bigger and stronger your wreath will be. If you want to use the base for dried flowers or only a few sprigs of foliage then you’ll probably only need about 8 lengths. If you want to make a massive luxury version then you’ll probably need about 20 plus. This really does depend on the material you’re using but once you’ve done it will feel really fairly strong.

Once you are happy with your base then you have a few options. You can either use moss which is a favourite because it feels so natural and earthy (but please search for certified sustainable supplies - you can ask me) straw, which works really well for keeping it light or you can tie directly onto the base. The main purposes of the moss or straw is that it one keeps the foliages damp and alive and two stops the foliages slipping on the framework. Once you’ve chosen your method, you can then tie with string onto your frame. If you use jute string then it keeps the wreath compostable. Just tie the string on to the ring first then take handfuls of moss and wind the string around it tying it at the end.

Now comes your choice of foliages. If you use evergreens then you know they are going to last the Christmas period, so things like, Conifer, Ivy, Pine, Spruce, Cedar. You can also add whatever else you fancy, things like, Birch, Larch, Berries, Viburnum, Teasels, Feathers, Holly if you’re brave enough!

This can be a really lovely thing to get the kids involved with. Go on a walk in the countryside or woods and see what you can all gather.

If you’re feeling confident then you can just tie all of your material directly on to the ring in the same way that you added your moss, but you’ll have to pull it pretty tightly and tie it well to ensure that it all stays put. Or, alternatively, you can tie lengths into bundles by taking 4-5 various stems and tying them together., before adding to the ring. You’ll need approx 15 - 20 of these bundles to cover the ring nicely. These can then be tied on again working in a clockwise motion. I say clockwise but this may be because I’m left handed and so anti-clockwise may suit you more.

If you want to add any additional decoration like ribbons, cones, baubles, dried fruit slices then save these until last. Feed wire into and out of the decoration to create a hair pin with the wire. This can then be pushed it wherever you want. If you have a thick moss base then this may be enough to hold it but if it’s thinner then use wire that is long enough to pull through to the back and twist the ends together. Don’t forget to push the end back into the wreath so that it doesn’t scratch your door.

And, it’s done! Your wreath is ready to be hung on your door and enjoyed throughout the Christmas period. You have made your own unique compostable door wreath!

Happy Christmas xx

Rebrand from 'Walled Garden Weddings' to 'Copper Green'

Way back in January I decided that this was the year that I was finally going to set my sights on the rebrand that I had been thinking about for 4 years.
I had never fully embraced the name 'Walled Garden Weddings' but during my time at ‘The Walled Garden at Mells’ it made sense.

Now to find a new name.  I thought I had come up with the perfect one 'Verdant Revelry' (hang on, I'll get there) so I arranged a meeting with Katie at Edie and Chalk to talk through ideas. She was perfect! She listened intently to me and the vibe I wanted whilst guiding me down a path to really understand where I was going. When she sent me the brand guidelines, I jumped for joy 'yes, I said, yes!' She had embodied everything that I wanted, but, there was still something not quite right. I still wasn't totally convinced about the name. It just didn't roll off the tongue! So, back to the drawing board. My original choice had been 'Verdant Green' but a Google search bought it up as a gardening firm, arghhh! I still liked 'Verdant' and I still liked 'Green' so I literally went through a dictionary and thesaurus until I hit upon it. 'Copper Green', I said it again, then I said it to my husband and it was the first time that he hesitated rather than saying 'nope, next'. That's it! I've got it!

 Now you can’t have a sparkly new website and beautiful logo and not have a set of cohesive photos to go with it so, I decided to arrange a shoot.  I’ve been mulling this over in my head for a long time so I had a fair idea of how I wanted it to look.  I had met the ‘Saint sisters’ a few years ago when doing flowers for Alex’s wedding and knew that they were a perfect fit.  Alex couldn’t because it was getting quite close to her giving birth (and baby Bella is so very cute) but Sophie was up for helping me – yeh! I’d also met Elinor @huncho earlier in the year when she asked me to provide some flowers for a Winter shoot and I instinctively knew that her photography would work perfectly.

I got in touch with Sophie at Wick Farm which is a beautiful wedding venue to ask if it would be possible to do it in her hay barn.  Sophie is the kindest type of human and it felt so right to hold it somewhere that felt familiar and safe.  One final piece was missing and it was a bit of style! I had met Imogen at Luck and Lace previously and knew that her strength was making spaces look memorable and special.  So now, everything was set!  As Elinor @hunchco was shooting I knew that it was going to be perfect.  Everything was as sustainable as possible, Imogens super stylish collection of hire furniture and impeccable taste sat perfectly,  Sophie @saintsbyname and her gorgeous mane of hair looked incredible, the beautiful vintage pre loved wedding dresses from Kate at heartfeltvintage couldn't have been more perfect and a bucketful of more focal homegrown flowers came from Cobi batch cottage flowers to sit alongside my garden offerings and top it off.

If you are considering a rebrand then go for it.  It is so much easier to put yourself out there when you have a brand that fits you perfectly!