British Flowers Week 2016

My social media feeds have been completely overwhelmed this last week with beautiful photography and exquisite writing, all highlighting the wondrous beauty that are British flowers. The reason for this explosion is that up and down the land flower growers, florists and enthusiasts have been celebrating British Flowers Week. A fabulous week designed to celebrate British flowers to their fullest and raise awareness of the beauty and potential of homegrown flowers amongst the public. This week has been about inspiring as many people as possible to appreciate locally-grown flowers in favour of imported ones. There have been workshops, events, open gardens, markets, pop-up shops, demonstrations and competitions, all with the purpose of sharing the message of how fantastic freshly-cut British flowers are!

You can visit the website to find out more and see what has been going on all week – http://www.britishflowersweek.com

Back at Ginger House Garden the week has given us the opportunity to get creative with all our homegrown flowers. The flower fairies really were working their magic as our ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peonies opened especially for British Flowers Week – filling the air with that heavenly scent that only peonies can do! We’ve learnt so much about cutting and conditioning them, they truly have been fantastic and a joy to behold!

Now that the annuals are well and truly getting into their stride, and the perennial border is ripe for snipping, there are more opportunities to be creative and try “faffing” with a wider variety of flowers and colours. Although everything seems to be so bright and electric on the patch at the moment, we can’t help longing for some softer peaches and corals – note to self: better colour planning needed for next year! Instagram is a constant source of inspiration and this week especially it has been alive with British cut flowers taking centre stage.

During the last week there has been some wonderful articles and blogs written by journalists, growers and florists alike. These excellent pieces of writing highlight how fantastic British flowers are and why British Flowers Week is so vital:

• British Flowers Week: the ladies who bunch reviving home-grown flowers http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardening-events/british-flowers-week-the-ladies-who-bunch-reviving-home-grown-fl/
• British flower power: how home-grown blooms can compete with cheap imports https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/11/british-flower-power-how-home-grown-blooms-compete-with-cheap-imports
• British Flowers in British Flowers Week 2016 http://www.firenzafloraldesign.co.uk/journal/2016/6/13/british-flowers This fabulous journal piece is written by Fiona Pickles of Firenza Flowers, she eloquently explains why she uses and promotes British flowers.
• http://www.gardensillustrated.com/article/british-flowers-week-2016 Gardens Illustrated have posted interviews with both growers and florists, offering great insight into why they grow and use British flowers.