Monday, March 27, 2017

How to cultivate beautiful cut flowers in the smallest city gardens

Caroline Plouff

They serve her well, because she is a bespoke florist as well as a planting designer. Her sage-green potting shed is where she creates bespoke bouquets and hand-tied bunches picked from her garden, supplementing them out of season with dawn raids on the New Covent Garden Flower Market.

“I’m on a mission to get everyone growing their own cut flowers,” says Duster, who presses the point in her book, Urban Flowers: Creating Abundance In A Small City Garden.

“It’s so easy. Just buy a few seed packets and get sowing. Through trial and error, you’ll find what works best. You don’t need a big garden. Most flowers I grow are fine in pots, crates and window boxes

caroline plouff

RANDOM GARDENING
Duster belongs to the random school of gardening, because she covered most of her back garden with gravel, so that everything would self-seed and pop up everywhere, which it does, especially the foxgloves.

Aside from half-hardy annuals, which she starts about now in sheltered trays, she sows hardy annuals by pushing aside a bit of gravel, scattering the seed and pushing back the gravel.

Germination is quick because the gravel keeps the ground warmer. I fit a lot in because I space the seeds more closely than recommended.”


Her stalwarts include Black Beauty opium poppies, which she grows for their showy seedheads, clary sage, cornflowers and ice-green nicotiana. Cosmos is renowned for pumping out flowers all summer, and Punsters choice is bright pink Antiquity.

For impact, she grows the huge allium Globe master and displays them solo. Roses she grows in deep pots. “My favourite is Blush Noisette, which has small, fragrant, pale pink pompom heads. It’s important to use compact varieties in small spaces, so follow the breeders’ advice.”

FRAGRANT FOLIAGE

Foliage is more important than flowers. “You always need much more foliage than you think you’ll need. A lot of green in a bouquet makes the composition look natural.”


Her leaf list is acid-green Euphorbia oblongata, which needs stems seared in boiling water to stop the sap irritating skin, evergreen ferns, Alchemilla mollis and florists’ favourite, Bupleurum rotundifolium, which even has a little green flower.

For More Information:- Pattie Barron

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Edwards proclaims today Agriculture Day in Louisiana

caroline Plouff

BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY)Governor John Bel Edwards signed an official proclamation on Monday declaring March 21, 2017 Agriculture Day in Louisiana.

National Ag Day is also being celebrated in communities and schools across the country today.

The day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America and Governor Edwards says a great debt is owed to the hardworking men and women who raise the quality produce and livestock that all Louisiana families depend on daily.

“Given the two historic floods in March and August, 2016 was a difficult year for many farms, both large and small. I hope that proclaiming Louisiana Ag Day demonstrates our appreciation for the important work being done by this industry to keep our families healthy and productive, especially when that work is most challenging.” said Governor Edwards.

Louisianians depend on a consistently strong $13 billion annual agriculture industry, with about 60% of Louisiana’s agriculture income generated by crops and 40% by livestock and livestock products.

In terms of income generated, the top five agricultural products in the state are sugar cane, rice, cattle, soybeans and cotton.

For More Information:- Dusty Crochet

Thursday, March 16, 2017

8 tricks to make your cut flowers last longer

Fed up of binning your bouquet after only a couple of days? Here’s how to keep your flowers blooming beautifully for longer. 
Caroline Plouff

Besides emptying the little sachet of food that comes with the bunch into your vase, there is a surprising array of tips that can help your roses, daffodils or lilies look their best for longer.

We sniffed out some of the strongest – and strangest – tricks to keep the wilting at bay…

Give it a drink

Head florist at Apple yard London Lauren Probe rt, said: ""There is an old trick to keep your flowers looking gorgeous and fresh and you won't quite believe it.

"As an alternative to flower food put a drop of vodka into your vase of flowers and add water,  it's a surefire way to make your flowers last longer as it keeps the bacteria at bay."
 
1. Cut the stems

Tesco Head Florist Michelle Buck explains: "Cut your flower stems at a 45degree angle. This creates a larger surface area for the flowers to drink"

2. Hairspray
It sounds bonkers, but hairspray works on flowers the same way it does on your hairstyle to keep them looking fresh for longer. According to Serena ta Flowers, you need to take the flowers out of the vase first, then spray the undersides of the petals and hang them upside to dry, before returning them to the vase.

 3. TV ban

While you might be keen to catch up with Alan Titch marsh on the box, keep your blooms away – putting your flowers too close to the TV will harm them, as the heat given off from these and other electrical appliances will dehydrate them. Ideally, pop them in a cool place where they get plenty of light, but not direct sunlight, which will wilt them.
 
4. Feed them Sprite

It’s a bit of an urban myth, but clear fizzy drinks like Sprite and 7-Up can prolong the life of your flowers, according to US scientists. Susan Han, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s plant, soil and insect science department, recommends a three-to-one ratio of water to soda, but with a couple of drops of bleach to stop bacteria from growing.

 5. Clean the vase

Bacteria is the biggest baddie when it comes to bouquets, so make sure you thoroughly clean out your vase before placing a new bunch in it.
 
6. Keep fruit away
Michelle says: "Keep fresh flowers away from ripening fruit, it gives off a gas called ethylene and will cause your flowers to lose their longevity."
 
7. Pop a penny in

You’re bound to find one down the back of the sofa – so next time you get given a bunch of flowers, drop a penny in the vase – the copper is thought to stop bacteria from growing.
 
8. Bleach them

Sounds crazy, but Michelle explains: "Did you know that Gerber's are quite susceptible to bacteria. If you do not have suitable flower food you can use a tiny amount of household bleach in the water."

For more Information:- Kate Whiting

Thursday, March 9, 2017

UK cut flower produce behind 10% of UK sales, research finds

Market research published by Royal Flora Holland has found that UK home production of cut flowers is at 10% of overall sales.
Caroline Plouff


Some 62% of flowers sold in the UK are from Holland, 7% from Africa, 11% from South America and 10% from other countries.

By comparison Germany is 48% self-sufficient in cut flowers, France is 29% self-sufficient and the Netherlands 58% self sufficient.

Researcher Tine Niezink said: "As Germany produces a lot of flowers and plants within its borders, it's fairly easy for the Germans to respond to trends like 'local products for local people' and sustainability."

For More Information :- Matthew Appleby

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Caroline Plouff | why flower subscription services are blooming

Online florists cater for those who want fresh flowers delivered all year round, not just on Valentine’s Day


On February 14 doorsteps across the land will brace themselves against a nausea of red roses and the villainous grins of the teddy bears roped to them. Once a year, like unhinged maharajas, we summon garlands from around the globe — Belgium, Kenya, Ecuador — then plonk them next to the radiator to wilt. Valentine’s Day roses dunked in anti-fungal pesticides somewhere outside Bogotá are not love; they are subtext for “it’s remarkable how long we’ve tolerated each other”. They are for the mistresses, the desperate and the lazy. True love flowers all year round.

In recent years there has been a rash of online subscription services itching for customers to commit to a lifetime of muddy vegetables and organic coffee. We can subscribe to regular crates of free-range bacon (artisan heart attacks in a box) or weekly cases of wine (bottled dipsomania). Ordering repeat deliveries of fresh-cut flowers may once have felt as decadent as Cleopatra demanding her bed of rose petals be refreshed incessantly by slaves; it is now an increasingly widespread proposition.

All week Alice Strange slips through the rooms and corridors of her clients, imparting a drift of flowers in her wake. Blossoms and magnolia; delphiniums and peonies in soft colors and romantic accents. “I go to bed at eight,” she says “wake up at four, leave at 4.15 and am at the New Convent Garden market by 4.30 to buy flowers for that day.”

After working at designer Martin Brudnizki’s studio in London and the florist Wild at Heart, Strange conceived a bespoke service that married interior design with florist, and struck out on her own. “I could never understand why you would pay for an off-the-shelf arrangement when you could pay the same amount for something tailor-made,” she says. “Someone might love pink flowers that look amazing on their own but in a home look really average.”

Unlike the blossoming of letterbox subscription services, which leave the customer to configure a bewilderment of stems, Strange selects, trims and arranges the flowers, pairing them with the interior design of each house. “Flowers should never be viewed in isolation, they’re part of a surrounding — whether that’s a garden or an interior,” she says. “Styling interiors with flowers is like building layers on a canvas; flowers are the final accent of color needed to finish the picture.”


The high-note screams of bright color blooms are notably absent from Strangers arrangements. Her style is singularly her own, informed by the muted tones and impressionistic paintings of St Ives artist Winifred Nicholson: a pot of primulas and the promise of an open window, a grace of pensions on a marble mantelpiece. “Nature has an amazing way of arranging itself,” says Strange, who is inspired by the hedgerows of Lincolnshire where she grew up. “You only have to look at the countryside to know what textures and colors work.”

For More Information: - Jenny Lee

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The Best Sweet Peas For Cutting


Lured in by their perfume as a child, Roger Parsons has been growing sweet peas for more than 30 years. He now holds a National Collection of 1,300 varieties of Lathery odorous and every year he grows 200 or 300 different varieties. He is always on the lookout for standout characteristics – an ­unusual color, a very long stem, a higher than average number of flowers, or a noticeably longer flowering season.

Drawing on the National Collection’s gene pool, Parsons has bred for these ­attributes, hybridizing again and again, and has produced many sweet pea varieties ­including some that are now famous. One of his favorites, which he has sold for years, is ‘Aphrodite’, a ­beautiful pure white, perfect for wedding bouquets. He also bred ‘Frances Kate’, named after his daughter, a blue striped form which we’ve grown and loved in my garden at Perch Hill for the past three years. This is Parsons’s favorite striped variety.

Last summer, in the walled garden at Parham House in West Sussex, Parsons trialed 50 sweet peas. He had sat down with Tom Brown, the head gardener, and together they made a selection with the aim of finding out which would make the best cut flowers to be picked and ­arranged to decorate Parham House


Parsons and Brown selected from the Spencer varieties first. These were traditionally bred for cutting, with long, straight stems and lots of large ­flowers. Parsons also wanted to show off the ever-­increasing range of ­different characteristics you now get with sweetmeats, so he also chose a few of the more recently bred multi flora types, some of which are patterned with stripes, some flakes, some bi-coursers and some hot-off-the-­breeding-bench acacia-leaved types.

The multifloras were quite something. Most sweetpeas in my garden have three or four flower heads to a stem, but these had five or more, and Parsons says he’s counted a few with up to 12. This not only means big ­impact, but also that each stem gives you a longer show – both in the garden and as a cut flower. The lowest bloom might be fading after a few days, but the upper ones will just be starting to open, so these multifloras have almost double the average vase life.


Anything with Bouquet in its name (I loved ­‘Bouquet Crimson’) hails from this group, so they’re worth looking out for, but Parsons’s top recommendation is ‘Malory’, with flowers in a ­coral, orange-pink, usually six blooms to a stem. For the new and exciting, acacia-leaved form, Parsons chose ‘Jacko’. This sub-group has no tendrils. Flower arrangers love to hate the sweet pea tendril because they latch on to the stems above and bend them down, creating those irritating “knees” we all know too well because they make the flowers ­impossible to arrange. 

If you’re growing for cut flowers or the show bench, tendrils must be removed to prevent stems being discarded, which is a huge job. Without tendrils you have to tie sweet peas to their supports, but the stems won’t become distorted.  

The Parham trial was planted in a 150ft south-facing bed on the edge of the walled garden. Every individual ­variety was grown on its own silver birch 7ft dome, with wood harvested in February and March from the estate. En mass, they looked magnificent for months and went down very well with the visitors.

Sweetpeas have never fallen out of favor with gardeners, but with breeding programmers such as ­Parsons’s they are taking on a whole new lease of life and are once again one of our most popular flowers. The multi flora sweet peas may not give you quite the room-filling scent of the older forms, but you can pick a jug of cut ­flowers that will last a week and take pride of place on your kitchen table. 

For More Information:- Sarah Raven