Monday 10th April 2023: Bank holiday Monday and it’s raining what a surprise 😂 can’t really complain though we have had some nice weather and at least the tanks are collecting rainwater for the animals and the garden.
A comment has made me think a lot about the British flower revival and availability. Let me say first that I initially spent six months researching British grown flowers how/what/when and have learnt a lot more during the last year as well. I am also aware that some in the floristry industry might feel threatened by the success of British flowers but there is no need. Firstly there is room for everyone and secondly the British flowers revival is not driven by a ‘them and us’ attitude, from everything I read and people I interact with it is driven by caring for the planet and a love of flowers and yes there is also a business to be made but everyone has to earn a living somehow. So if you are a florist reading this hello 👋 it’s good to have you here and working together great things can be achieved to lessen the impact on our planet. There is a fabulous independent florist called Winnie & Olive who only sell British flowers and foliage, 100% all year round so it is doable 🥰 The British flower wholesalers have reported a huge increase in sales this year already, a sure sign that more and more florists are getting onboard. I’d agree that it is difficult for someone who has always done things one particular way to change but give yourself the freedom to do so and see where it takes you. It is just about relearning and there are plenty of people out there willing to give advice, social media is awash with information, oh and if you want to go floral foam free there is plenty of information in that department too, including a growing army of church flower arrangers 🥰
We got plenty done today and made good progress with the flower room. I spent some time in the greenhouse and John some time doing something, not sure what 😂 but just before midday he said we were ready to go and get flooring so off we went to the DIY shop and bought flooring whoop. Quick pit stop for a bite to eat and coffee before returning home and laying the flooring. We were three quarters of a way through and late into the day when we ran out of underlay 😜 A quick ask round and my brother had some in his garage so we went over there to collect it along with a large table base that we will be using for the main work area. Obviously we stopped for a cuppa and a natter and returned home and unloaded by which time it was 9pm and time for a sit down before bed. Oh yes it was very flipping windy today, gusts of up to 40mph 🙄
Tuesday: The weather started off ok this morning a touch cold maybe but dry, I got some washing on the line and then a second lot in the machine, did some hoovering and tidying bits away and put the second lot of washing on the line. Then I spent some time making up an arrangement I had seen online, I wanted to see how well it worked in reality, I changed it a little but the mechanics work well. Lunchtime and I sat down with a cuppa and some toast and then the heavens opened full pelt 🙄 I ran outside and collected the washing as quickly as I could but I still got pretty wet ☹️ and it was cold to boot 🥶 Shelley called in with Josh and Flo for a cuppa and a catch up and then John arrived home just as they were about to go, seems like the day went really quickly.
Wednesday: It’s 8am and I am annoyed already 😂 I got up, the sun was out though it’s cold, I looked at the weather app 0% chance of rain until 10am then rain and high winds. So I get everything done, rubbish out, feed the animals, breakfast, sort out flower buckets, put the eggs out not necessarily in that order but you get my drift. I am ready by 7.55 to go out and cut flowers, I go for a wee quickly and I can hear rain on the roof! 😡 that was not supposed to arrive for another couple of hours 😝 I know it April and it’s shower month but seriously the rain yesterday was awful, the high winds the day before were awful and we have at least today and tomorrow with the same wall to wall forecast 🙄 After that John tells me it is going up to 21 degrees, give me a break, I would like some normal settle weather please if the universe is listening ☺️ The plan was to cut tulips, narcissi and anything else that looks ready, if I cut it this morning then the weather can do it’s worst because I will be doing jobs inside while the storm is raging outside.
Well it’s 10am and the sun is shining 😂 bloody weather apps! When there was a break (or what I thought would be a break) in the rain I dashed out and cut tulips, dicentra and narcissi plus some foliage ready for the flowers on Friday. They will have a good 24 hours conditioning and time to dry out slowly, if I left it until tomorrow and it rains all day that would be more difficult so it is a case do it when you feel it is right. I have also spent some time on the phone (waiting 🙄) to finalise some details of our up coming holiday 🥰
The wind picked up a bit 🙄 blowing a hoolie lol. I sorted out some lamb feeding bits that we will no longer be using and put those up for sale, I had to give them a wash down first as they have been stored for a good few years. Next job was to put back together a bookcase my sister was getting rid of, it is for the workshop and I haven’t decided yet if it will have books on it or baskets for keeping things in.
Thursday: The weather is good enough for me today, dry and intermittent cloud 😁 it was a busy morning. After all the usual jobs the next thing was to sort out the flowers I cut yesterday, also sort some I still had waiting to hang for drying. Once that was done it was outside to cut rhubarb and take that down to the pub, it was a pleasant walk down and back again. When I got back Dave arrived with some more honey and we had a chat about a few things that we will probably be doing in a couple of months time. Introduction to bee keeping workshops and as time goes on maybe even full courses plus we talked about charcoal making and possible workshops for that as well, ooo it’s all going on 🥰 In-between all that it was answering messages about flower bunches and bouquets, looks like it will be a good week. The flowers here are really getting going now, the tulips are coming up beautifully as are the narcissus, following closely behind are the allium and everything is beginning to burst into leaf (still a couple of things I am waiting to see if they survived) I did sow some seeds on a trial basis, the trial being to see if they actually come up before sowing more 🙄
I also ordered some spring bulbs today! Yep I have got my order in already otherwise if you leave it too late you can’t get what you actually want. I couldn’t get my head around using bulbs in cut flowers because the bulbs get discarded, the reason for that is because once the flower is cut there is no way to make energy to send back down to the bulb so it won’t flower the following year. You can cut the stem and leave some foliage behind and although it might flower the following year it will be a smaller flower with shorter stem. My plan though is not to compost all the bulbs but to leave them somewhere for a couple of years and see what they do. I have an area in the garden that is suitable under a sycamore tree and have already begun to ‘dump’ bulbs there. One of two things will happen, firstly absolutely nothing and they will either rot away or get eaten or secondly I might end up with an area full of flowers 🤷♀️ While I was online and as John came home we discussed what we needed to make the top of the table and the work surfaces (unbanded, new scaffold boards) and ordered that as well. I feel like to today has been a productive day and I still have flowers to make up this evening 🥰
Friday: Fridays are always a bit frantic lol, lots of messages back and forth, flower collections and social media to keep an eye on. Then there is the record keeping of what, when, where, who for, I had deliveries arriving today mostly for farm activities and kitting out the flower hut (that’s what I am going to call it) I also tend to spend Fridays working out any future workshops, planting, and doing relevant posts, it can be quite exhausting and sometimes I don’t know if I am coming or going 😂 but it is all enjoyable.
John has mostly been home today doing the last few bits to the inside of the flower hut, I can then move everything in there and start using the space to create, once the wood arrives for the table top that is 🥰
Saturday: It is Charlottes birthday today and also one of my sisters, we worked all day up to the point where it was time to go out and visit birthday people. Most of the work was on the flower hut, we had put some doors in and then decided that they were not a great fit and so took them out and put some different ones in. Both lots were bought second hand from the same person so apart from time the cost was nothing. We popped into my sisters then went up to Charlottes for paella and cake plus watch the grand national while we were there. It’s a shame about the protestors, I would always say that if you have ever worked with horses then half a ton of horse cannot be made to move if it doesn’t want to let alone run. The horses are bred for running and looked after far better than a lot of people are, holding up the race is not good for the horses themselves as they are full of adrenaline at that point and waiting to get going.
Sunday: Another day another birthday so we will be out again later today. Meanwhile we are busy getting as much done as we can, me in the garden, potting up plants, taking cuttings, planting plants into the ground and John working on the outside of the flower hut. There was metal profile sheeting on the outside but the powder coating had deteriorated over the years so it has been taken off and will be replaced with rough feather edge boarding which should look nice.
While we were out late afternoon John asked if I’d let the pony out today, no why, oh it was out in the field earlier, um maybe you should have told me when we were there 🙄 On our return I went out to the field to find her chomping away on the nice grass, somehow the electric clip had come off the fence. It was probably during the windy weather as a bucket that I used to cover the extension lead had rolled off catching the clip I imagine. She is pretty good so it would have taken her a couple of days to pluck up courage to get out and she was definitely still in there this morning lol.
That is another week done, I have done a lot but I have a lot to do, this time of year the job list gets very long and I need to get ready for our holiday to. By the time we get on holiday we will definitely need it and we physically have to go away, we can’t have a week off and stay at home otherwise we never rest 😂
frieslandfarm (flowers) 