November news from the farm
And a very fine All Saints day to you all.
Let’s start with a challenge. Spend an hour or two this weekend foraging your garden for ingredients for a posy or a little wreath and make a small creation in memory of someone who made a difference to your life. Never mind Halloween, let’s remember the saints whose influence helped us all grow up to be the people we are. I’ll be making a little something in memory of my grandmothers, one of whom really was quite saintly, and one who certainly wasn’t, but whose joint influence I treasure: when I’m good I credit Granny, when I can’t resist a little naughtiness, I smile and remember Gran.
Talking of wreaths (I know – clumping segue) online we have two wreathing demos and a Christmas tablescape demo coming up so do book a place and be inspired. Skills you learn at our demos can be applied to much more than the immediate session and are well worth booking. Please remember that our YouTube Club members get 10% off all our workshops and demos.
The first week of November is always busy here, not only with dahlia lifting but usually also with tulip planting. The bulb order is arrived yesterday and this year it looks very different – fewer tulips and more ranunculus. I have a ranunculus and anemone growing demo coming up for which I have a few put early to sprout pinging up their tight green fists in the greenhouse as I type. Also coming up our online dahlia session which will help you decide whether to lift your tubers, and if you do how to store them, as well as going through processes for splitting and propagating next spring for more stock to keep you smiling all through next summer.
Meanwhile I’m happy to report we are almost half booked for next season’s wedding and event flowers. While our wholesale business is growing year on year, our core flower growing sales are still flowers for you to arrange at your wedding or special occasion. Why should I keep all the fun of the floristry to myself? The older I get the more I realise that what customers want is to be the creative while my job is to be the reliable supplier of top quality cut flowers and foliage – so do get in touch to pre-order flowers for you to arrange yourself with friends and family to help.
And remember, if you’re uncertain about the floristry and would like to learn more to build your confidence, do book a place on as many of our floristry online demos as you like. Nicola has been hard at work collecting the demos into bundles so that you can book two or three to suit whatever you’d like to learn at a discount.
And for the people who really want to get into the detail of how to cut, condition and arrange flowers, do look at our three day floral retreat next June – a deep dive into using garden-grown, chemical free flowers in sustainable floristry: no floral foam, effective sustainable mechanics, and the best way to use fresh-from-the-garden flowers in floristry. We do appreciate that our three days workshops are expensive, so we’ve arranged a way that you can pay in tranches to spread the cost.
And, just a thought, all our workshops at Common Farm and online make truly wonderful Christmas presents.
So do enjoy making something for all your saints this weekend. I hope the activity will bring back happy memories, inspire a quiet time for reflection, and if nothing else give you an excuse to release a little serotonin thanks to the application of hands to leaves, practising fine motor skills, and getting creative with the results of spending a little quality creative time with your garden. Then I’ll think of you too as, creative time enjoyed, we all flex those biceps clearing the dahlias and making space for tulips, ranunculus, all that lovely spring colour.
Happy gardening all!
Georgie x
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