Monday 6th February 2023: The temps dipped to below freezing again last night but the sun is out so that makes you chirpy. I jumped in the shower after breakfast and when I came back to the kitchen John told me the horse had got into the front paddock. They are only allowed in there when it is electrified so that they donāt eat my fruit trees that have been growing for five years. I dried my hair in quick fashion and went out to get hay and get the horse back where it belonged, I needed to find a spare rail as it had been broken during the escape to pastures new, not greener as it was all frozen just like the rest of the paddocks. When I got back inside after getting that done I felt my hair, some of it was frozen where it hadnāt quite dried š I was only out there for a maximum of 15 minutes.
Tuesday: Another frosty frozen morning but I was up early to get some tribute flowers done for a customer first thing then once I had done that and then the eggs plus feed the cats and dogs I sat down with tea and toast š
I got some hoovering and polish done and then the girls arrived along with Oscar and we went out for a walk. The sun was shining though it was still on the cold side but nice enough. We saw a small herd of around 10 deer in one of the fields, they all stood watching us from afar but you could still make out the stag with his antlers standing proud above all their heads. I think they were red deer, they looked dark in colour rather than pale like fallow deer but we were quite far away so couldnāt be certain. They were definitely big unlike the muntjac that we always see plenty of when we are driving around the lanes.
I have another natural heart to make but this time it is for valentines to hang on the front door ā¤ļø
Wednesday: It is like a Winter wonderland out there this morning, very cold but very beautiful. The fog is heavy and white and everything is frozen in time, beautiful frozen spider webs hanging everywhere š The horses were vocal when I took their hay out to them, it was only 7.30 but I am sure they were saying āabout time tooā.
Not sure what I am going to do today, I am hoping the sun will come out and burn off the fog but itās pretty heavy so I donāt know if that will happen. It is very cold out there so I am not planning on any outside jobs at the minute š
Almost midday and the fog is worse I think š and it is still freezing out there so I have spent the morning working on business posts and ideas for the flowers. I have a few orders coming in which is fabulous but itās always a good idea to generate future work š My head is buzzing with ideas and I often think about going on a floristry course but I also think that I love having the unrestrained free flowing ability to create things how I want to and not how itās taught, the jury is still out on that one š¤Ŗ
The sun broke through mid afternoon āļø better late than never.
I have had some ranunculus corms soaking on the windowsill, I planted some in autumn outside in the tunnels but I kept some back just in case. The mice love to eat the corms and the weather reeks havoc with the foliage so I hedged my bets and saved some for spring planting. I planted them up yesterday into a shallow tray of soil and covered them, they are in the kitchen and hopefully I can pre sprout them before planting out in a few weeks time. Thatās the plan anyway, ranunculus are the most beautiful flowers and it would be nice to get a really good crop this year so I am trying everything. I dug up a couple of stinging nettles that had taken hold on one of the raised beds. I couldnāt dig it out when everything was growing madly but I also had a job to cut the flowers near the stingers š¤Ŗ so I have waited until all the foliage has died back and then dug them out. Itās surprising how quickly they become a strong plant very often growing away nicely through winter when everything else has died back. Nettles are of course a good indicator of fertile soil so thatās a bonus but even so I donāt want them there.
Thursday: Not frozen this morning yay š I had looked at the weather and the sun will be out and so I got three loads of washing done so that I could get it on the line a d dry as much as possible outside. I also made two heart bases for flowers that have been ordered for this weekend, working with natural materials mean you never get exactly the same thing twice, thatās what makes them natural and bespoke.
Friday: Up early to get the Friday flowers all arranged, wrapped and then out for sale. Once I finished that then tidied away and got all the other jobs done I just had time for a cuppa before Oscar arrived. I looked after him today while Charlie and Macca had some r&r which was Maccas birthday present.
Saturday: Not frosty this morning š and some average temperatures for the time of year forecast today. Once again after getting all the morning jobs done and putting flowers out for sale I got on with an order for a year that is being collected later. I also did one yesterday that will be going on a door for valentines ā¤ļø
I spent a very happy few hours in the greenhouse š first of all cleaning down the shelving, sweeping away cobwebs and dust, sorting any rubbish and putting things away neatly. Then onto potting up some plants that had arrived at the end of last year and I hadnāt got round to doing. Luckily they are fine and there are actually signs of growth on them all, they are all perennials that will be part of the flowers for cutting. Flower farming is a combination of annual flowers which tend to be quick growing, bright and showy but short lived, perennials which are slower growing but flower over a longer period and of course come back each year. Then there is foliage which is generally perennial (evergreen & deciduous) but takes an age to get to any size which is where herbs come in, quicker growing, perennial and they smell amazing š„° Many gardeners grow a combination of all these the trick when you are āfarmingā them is to make sure you have successional sowings and blooms, easier said than done š¤Ŗ
Sunday: Another decent day weather wise though we didnāt get much done outside. A quick food shop first thing followed by coffee and breakfast out, back home to unpack the shopping and get a few things done (I canāt even remember what) John tided up some bits in the front driveway and then once finished we went to the garden centre as there were some seeds I wanted to get (and I also got some I didnāt even know I needed š) I could not believe the price of seeds, mostly I save seed from what I grew before but there were a couple of annuals that I couldnāt get seed from because I left it too late. I do have a good selection of collected seed though and I think I might package some to put out for sale. Once back home we sat down for a cuppa just as Shelley, Martin and the children arrived followed not long after by Charlie, Macca and Oscar. Charlie had come to collect a heart that I had made for her for Valentineās Day, this one will hang on her front door. Shelley and Martin had been over to Diddly Squat Farm, we have been binge watching the second series. Sadly I am not shocked at the way the planners and some of the locals have treated the whole situation. They need to look beyond the fact that he is a celebrity and wether you like him or not he is doing a fantastic job sticking up for British farming. Planning have thwarted him at every turn and the ridiculous situations and procedures that farmers have to follow regarding TB, bird flu, moving dirt from one area of the farm to another borders on hysterical except we know that itās not funny because farmers are going under. We need to take a good long look at farming in the UK, remember back during the war when the country really needed them and their skills to keep everyone alive well itās not beyond the realms of reality that the same could happen again š
frieslandfarm (flowers) 