Brecon Blooms - Tales of growing and arranging seasonal British grown flowers

Wedding Flower Chatter - Part 2, Choosing a Florist

2012-05-14T13:14:00.000+01:00

Late spring flower selection

Following on from Part 1 - What's my wedding flower style....

Here's Part 2 - how to find a florist.

Now that you've decided on your the overall style and theme of your wedding, trying to find a florist that is on the same wave length as you can seem like a daunting task. So here are a few tips to get you started on the right track....

Do some floral Miss Marple style investigation first!

Poirot style moustache - check!
Newspaper with eye holes cut out - check!
Columbo style cigar in hand - check!
Sherlock Holmes style hat complete with ear flaps - check!

Go and research and do a bit of investigation on florists in your area, look at their website, Pinterest boards/blog/facebook page etc, if they have a shop pop in and have a look around, go to local wedding fairs and meet local florists, get recommendations from friends and family and so on. Whichever way you go about being a 'flower dectective' you will instinctively know whether a florist has a similar style/vibe to you.

Florists are like artists - and all have different styles and tastes.

Start and look for a florist well in advance
Many florists are booked many months and even years in advance especially during popular times of year such as Christmas, Valentines and the summer wedding months.

Have a few flower ideas/inspiration
Flick through a few magazines, photos from friends weddings or draw some sketches of the sort of thing you're after for your wedding flowers. They say a picture says a thousand words... so when you meet a florist take along any photos of flower styles you like as they will help the florist understand your style and tastes and also give them an idea as to how 'flowery' you like things. It sounds obvious to state this but consider how flowery or foliagey you like things - the more flowers in a vase/jug/container, the more things may cost.

Don't be too set on certain ideas or flower types
When considering flower types it's best to bear in mind the time of year. Peonies are glorious, romantic flowers but alas they have a very short season and are unavailable at certain times of the year. A good florist will recommend flowers that are in season but will give you the same sort of bloom look. For example, if you're getting married in Spring but you have your heart set on Peony flowers, then you could have some wonderful Peony flowered Tulips instead. You'll achieve the same sort of look but with flowers that are in season.

Also consider your venue: hanging flowers from a high beamed ceiling may just not be possible, especially if your venue is a listed building.

Try and be flexible with your wedding flower ideas. It may be that things cost more than you had imagined: your idea of having flower garlands wound around the staircases, an archway of flowers or buttonholes for every guest may well blow your flower budget out of the water!

There will always be some compromises when turning your wedding day dreams into reality. A good florist will help and guide you as best they can so it's important to bear this in mind.

What's your budget?

Have a rough idea of your flower budget before you meet with any florist. Ask about any additional costs that may be involved such as delivery charges, set up costs, and things such as ribbons, container hire, etc.

Meeting a florist

Most importantly of all is that you get along with your florist! As in life in general, you'll know if you'll like and be able to get on well with a florist.

Ask about things such as how many weddings a year they cater for, how big the team is, will the person you have met be the one doing your flowers or will it be an assistant, are they local to you/your venue.

When considering seasonal flowers ask the florist what flowers will be in season at the time of your wedding and if you have a colour theme then ask if certain flowers will be available in your colours or not.

Once you've found a florist you get on with and who you think understands your wedding day dreams and ideas then ask the florist for a written quote based on the things you've discussed. This not only helps you with budgets etc but it also helps to make sure that you and your florist are 'singing off the same hymn sheet' so to speak.

TTFN

Cathy

www.breconblooms.com

Things are growing.... slowly!

2012-05-03T13:06:00.000+01:00

To say that the weather has been against us gardeners and growers in the UK is a bit of an understatement to say the least.

In March we had glorious sunshine and temperatures of 20c and above. April in contrast has been cold, windy and very very wet. The flower plots are sodden and struggling to hold any more water. Which considering they're on the side of a hill just goes to show how much rainfall we've had in the last few weeks.

On a happier note.... things are ever so slowly starting to grow and come into flower. Thankfully the Peonies are just starting to break open their buds. They're such beautiful flowers it's a shame that they have such a short flowering season.

Peony flowers in bud - bit wet and droopy because of the rain

Euphorbia

So whilst the weather is wet, we're busy getting things in order for all the lovely summer weddings we have and dreaming of sunshine and a flower plot full of flowers.

Bye for now!

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com

Wedding flower chatter - Part 1, What's my style?

2012-04-25T10:01:00.000+01:00

With all the decisions that need to be made when it comes to planning your wedding it can feel as though you've stepped into a strange world where everyone speaks a different language. Especially when it comes to wedding flowers!

Words such as candelabra, pedestal, hand tied, vintage, sheath, rustic, exotic and so on, are bandied about by those of us in the know, which regularly leaves brides and grooms thinking.... "What are they on about?!"

So to help all the couples out there that are trying to decide on what sort of wedding flowers they want, here's part 1 of my guide on choosing your wedding flowers....

Autumnal hand tied wedding bouquets

First of all you need to decide on what your wedding flower style is. Think about the overall style and theme that you want to achieve and go from there. Are you having a country garden style wedding or exotic and elegant? Your choice of flowers will vary depending the theme you've chosen and what flowers are in season:

Compliment and match your theme

Country garden or exotic and elegant? Your choice of flowers will vary depending on the theme you've chosen and will generally fall into one of these categories:

Classic Romantic - pretty in pink, pastel shades and softer colours and candle light will help create a celebration of romance.
Glamour all the way - flowers of just one colour will bring a sophisticated touch to your wedding day flowers. Choose your colour and then compliment with a touch of sparkle or a contrasting ribbon or container.
Bold and bright - the bolder and brighter the flowers the better. Go for vibrant and exotic colours such as cerise pink, orange and lime greens to achieve a wedding that will stand out from the crowd
English country garden - a mix of colours and flower types will create a natural country garden 'just picked' wild flower feel. Add some chintzy china, bunting and floral fabric to your venue decorations for that laid back mid summer country fete effect.
Vintage nostalgia - combine your flowers with antique jewellery and retro touches from the era you've chosen. 1950s tea party? 1920s art deco sophistication? Consider the era and match your flowers to keep the look.

Consider the venue and the time of year

When thinking of how to decorate the venue think about the venue's own style. Is it a marquee on the lawn of a country house? A chic and modern hotel? A barn? Or an historic tudor building? Go with the venue's style rather than against it. Orange barn walls, as an example, will clash with bright pink or deep red flowers.

Think about what the weather could be like on your wedding. In the UK it could be anything from cold and snowy to hot and humid so bear this in mind too. For example, Sweet peas on a boiling hot summer day wont last long once cut so try and be flexible on your flower choices when choosing British grown, seasonal flowers for your wedding.

Most importantly of all

And don't forget this bit.... think about your own style and personality. If you love skydiving then try and incorporate this into your flower style by, for example, wrapping a piece of parachute cord or parachute silk around the bouquets or flower containers. If you're into gardening then you could use some old wellies as containers. Like stamp collecting? Then glue stamps onto the vases or containers. Use your imagination and inject your personality and character into the day. A good florist will come up with ideas and help you to add your personaility to your flowers.

The possibilities are endless and after all it's your wedding!

Part 2 on 'How to chose a wedding florist' will follow shortly.

TTFN

Cathy
Brecon Blooms

6 weeks and counting till The Jubilee

2012-04-19T09:51:00.001+01:00

It dawned on me this morning that there are only 6 weeks until The Queen's Jubilee weekend and our stall at Hay on Wye's 'Jubilee Fair on the Square' as part of the Hay Festival.. Eeek!

Following on from the stall's success last year, we will be there with the lovely Chloe from BareBlooms with a stall full of lots of flowers and flowery related things. Exciting stuff, especially as it's another outing for us as member of The Flower CoOperative which was set up to help and support local flower growers and to 'bang the drum' about how wonderful British grown flowers are.

Some of Chloe at BareBlooms' super flowers

Now it's a time of growing and fingers cross(ing) that all our flowers will be in bloom in time and that the weather will be kinder to us than it was last year during the 'Fair on the Square.'

If you're going to the Hay Festival over the Jubilee weekend (June 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc) then please stop by and say hello. We'll be right in the middle of Hay on Wye at the Market Square. You won't be able to miss us from the festival site if you walk into town. We'll be the ones with a big colourful stall full of flowers.

The Flower CoOperative

Meanwhile there's still a mountain of work to do such as potting on, sowing yet more seeds, weeding and maintaining the plots not to mention lots of wedding flowers too.

Oh, and the apple and pear blossom is out at last. Which is great news as we're hoping to use blossom and Lily of the Valley in a Bride's bouquet this weekend.

Pear blossom

Now the sun is trying it's best to make an appearance and the flower plots are a calling me.

Toodleoooo

Cathy

Help Support the Busy Bees

2012-04-04T10:00:00.000+01:00

Hello All,

Can you believe it is snowing outside as I type this. Yes, you read that correctly. It's snowing!

Last week we were bathed in glorious spring sunshine and temperatures over 20c and today it's 2c and snowing. Oh the delights of the British weather.

Anyway, enough about the weather....

The guys that make the lovely Rowse honey have launched a campaign to 'Help the Busy Bees.' We're in full support of helping our honey bees so please, please write the bees a 'Thank You' and Rowse honey will plant a flower in your name.

Say thank you to the Honey bees

Click on the picture above to be taken to Rowse's page say you can write the bees a Thank You message

Our lavender plant thanking the bees

So if you would like to follow the Thanks Busy Bees campaign you can do so via Twitter using #busybees or via the Rowse Honey facebook page or click on the first picture in this blog and it will take you to the appropriate page.
Without the bees' help we wouldn't have enough little creatures to pollinate our trees and plants, not to mention the lovely honey they produce.

TTFN

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com

Spring Wedding Flower Ideas

2012-03-23T09:09:00.000+00:00

Hello,
What with Mothering Sunday and a wedding this weekend just gone, it feels as though I've been in a constant flowery swirl for the last few days. Now the weekend is over I feel a little bit lost and frankly cleaning the house and catching up on chores is the last thing I want to be doing.

So, I've decided to post some pics of some Spring wedding flowers to give all the brides to be a few ideas of the gorgeous seasonal British grown flowers that are available during February, March and early April
.

A selection of tea cup posies using scented Narcissi and Anemones

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Bouquets of Narcissi, Anemones, Tulips

The other added bonus with Spring flowers is that many of them are gloriously scented. From the heady scent of Early Cheerfulness Narcissi to fragrant Hyacinths.

So, if you're a bride or groom to be and are thinking about having seasonal locally grown flowers, please feel free to drop us a line Contact Us to have an informal flowery chat.

Now, we're at the peak of lambing season here on the farm so off I must trot to go and lend a hand with the feeding and general lambing duties.

TTFN

Cathy

Wedding Fair... and cows calving

2012-03-12T08:28:00.000+00:00

Morning,

Yesterday was wedding fair day. So with the car packed high with pots, jars, jugs, buckets and flowers galore we set off to the Barn @ Brynich to set up the stand for the day.

Well, to say that the sun shone down on us would be a bit of an understatement. It was a gloriously sunny day which made everyone at the fair happy and cheery even if the stall holders were inside for most of the day, we could see the sunshine.

Now the best thing about wedding fairs for me is without doubt seeing and meeting all the brides to be, their Mums, friends, bridesmaids, family members and sometimes even grooms. Having done a couple of fairs now I've noticed that when 'the groom' does make an appearance at a wedding fair they usually have a look of wanting to be somewhere else upon entering and immediately head to the caterers for a cup of coffee and copious pieces of cake and biscuits. There they stay whilst their bride to be floats serenly between all the stands gathering up information and talking to suppliers with an excited and happy glow on their face.

Now most people seem to think that it many brides to be spend years and years planning their perfect wedding. In my experience that's not always the case. Each 'happy couple' is as different as the next. They have their own style and tastes and their own way of planning and organising. From super organised and methodical to last minute and frenetic. One thing however is always the same... the glow and look on each bride's face when she is talking to people.

A little piccy of the stand at the wedding fair

When the fog clears this morning I'll be out taking photos of all the individual bouquets and arrangements which I'll be posting on the website www.breconblooms.com and on our Facebook page and blog too.

On the farming front 'the farmer' has been busy with calving and lambing and the usual day to day jobs when it comes to looking after animals.

Daddy Bull with one of his babies

So here's to a happy wedding season to everyone involved both happy couples and suppliers alike and also to a good lambing and calving this Spring.

Cathy
Brecon Blooms

Is it Ranunculi, Ranunculus or Ranunculuses?

2012-03-05T15:36:00.000+00:00

Afternoon All,

Now I'm hoping that one of our dear readers may be able to help clear up a little debate that we've been having whilst planting oodles of Ranunculus corms/bulbs...

What is the plural for Ranunculs? Is it Ranunculi, Ranunculus or Ranunculuses?

Ranunculus blooms

Whichever way, we've planted hundreds of these gorgeous flower corms in preparation for the lovely brides wedding flowers that we are booked to do this summer. Orange ones, Pink ones, Red ones, Yellow ones, White ones. In fact I think we've covered nearly all colour options. We've even planted a gorgeous variety (Pink Picotee) which has white flowers with petals tinged with pink.

If you haven't guessed already I'm a big fan of Ranunculus. Maybe it's because of the full almost double petal like blooms, the bright and happy colours or the strong stems which make them ideal for flower arranging, not to mention that they last nearly two weeks in the vase once cut!

So from these somewhat ugly looking corms/bulbs come these (little heard of in UK) plants which flower their little socks off all summer long.

Ranunculus soaking in a bucket of water

When planting Ranunculus I like to soak the corms/tubers overnight in water. This helps the corms swell and I find it gives them a little bit of a head start when it comes to germinating and sending out the first shoots of growth.

I plant them bananas pointing down at approx. 2inches deep in well drained soil and in a sunny site. Ours are in the polytunnel at the moment to give them a kick start and help them to flower a touch earlier than if planted outside.

Ranunculus in ground

Then I cover them over with compost. This is mostly so that I can see the rows that I've planted as I'm terrible at planting in straight rows (even with a guide line.) So the difference in colour between the soil and the compost gives me a guide when it comes to weeding. It doesn't matter if I'm planting or sowing, I always cover things over with compost so that I know where the rows are.

Then I lay the drip hose (my favourite time saver) on the top and leave them to grow into wonderful colourful plants full of gorgeous flowers. Then stick a plant label in at the start of the row as my memory is terrible and I always forget to write things down in my planting book.

Drip hose over Ranunculs bulbs

And that's it. My simple guide to planting Ranunculus. You don't need acres of space to grow these fab little plants. In fact, they look smashing in pots on a patio or by your front door to bring a splash a colour to your garden.

Now fingers crossed that things grow as they should, the slugs and snails don't nibble the tops off and the mole that seems to have made the polytunnel his home doesn't dig them all up, we should have bunches and bunches of Ranunculus in flower by the end of May. So look out for them in our bouquets and bunches and for sale by the bunch on our stall at the Brecon Outdoor Markets during the summer months.

Cathy
Brecon Blooms

The flowers (and lambs) are coming

2012-02-28T09:24:00.005+00:00

Morning Bloomers,

Here on the farm things are starting to feel a little more Spring like. There are a few flowers in bloom outside and the first of the lambs have been born. Not to mention the glorious weather we had over the weekend.

Tete a Tete in a sheltered position by the wall

Primroses with morning dew on them

On the flower front we're gearing up for Mothering Sunday, which is on Sunday March 18th for those of you who forget these things. We're busy tending to our Spring flowering baskets whilst keeping our fingers crossed that there will be enough flowers in bloom that week to use in our special Mother's Day bouquets and bunches. Over the next few days I'll post more details about our Mother's Day offers with plenty of photos.
We also have wedding flowers to grow in time for Mid March for the wedding of a wonderful couple who are getting married at the Barn @ Brynich in Brecon. It's a bit nerve racking at the moment, hoping and praying that the weather doesn't turn cold and nasty again. Fortunately we should have plenty of flowers in the tunnel by then but it doesn't stop me from worrying.

March is also busy as we're going to be attending a wedding fayre on March 11th at the Barn @ Brynich. This wedding fayre has lots of lovely wedding suppliers present that are all local to the Brecon area. So for all of you Brides to be please pop down to this free event. I'll be posting more details on here and on our Facebook page over the coming weeks.

Well back to the seed sowing and potting on of seedlings and little plants whilst in the warmth of the polytunnel.

Cathy
Brecon Blooms

PS Here's a photo of some new born lambs just to make you feel particularly Spring like

February frosts

2012-02-14T11:30:00.000+00:00

Hello Bloomers,

The first Narcissi to bloom of 2012

Well February started off a bit on the chilly side, there was snow on the Beacons, frost on the ground and sub zero temperatures for days on end. This weekend however, the milder air came our way and it almost feels as though Spring is on it's way. The birds are tweeting and flitting about and it is proving difficult to resist the temptation to start sowing seeds.

So, tomorrow is Valentine's day and alas we do not have enough flowers in bloom at the moment. All the Hyacinths and Anemones we had growing especially for the most romantic day of the year have all been sold and/or used. We have lots more things due to flower in the coming weeks but as it stands today the plots are looking more than a little bit bare.
On the plus side, the first of the Narcissi has bloomed in the tunnel. Fingers crossed with the longer days and warmer temperatures we'll have a tunnel full of Narcissi ready in time for our March weddings.

By March we should (she says with everything crossed whilst touching wood and holding some lucky heather) have Tulips, Narcissi, Anemones, Hyacinths and if we're really lucky, the first of the Iris will all be in flower in the tunnel.

Out on the flower plots on the other hand, things are still a good few weeks behind. We should have the first promising shoots showing from the masses of bulbs we plants back in the Autumn - this however does depend on whether our new fencing manages to keep the hungry ewes out this year. Last year, the majority of our Spring flowering bulbs had the tops nibbled off by a couple of hungry ewes which put the flowering season back a good few weeks!

The only thing in flower at the moment round here are the last of the Snowdrops and some lovely Crocus.

We should also start to see the new shoots and leaves appearing on our perennial plants. So here's to a lovely mild and sunny few weeks to help the plants and flowers burst into life.

Just one last little note before I go and make something warming for lunch.... we're currently updating our website and Facebook page with lots of lovely new pics and photos from our 2011 season. So please keep checking the website if you fancy a bit of a nose at our piccys.

Bye for now.

Cathy

Brecon Blooms

"I'm A lonely little Petunia in an Onion patch"

2012-01-13T15:46:00.001+00:00

Hello everyone,

Firstly a belated Happy New Year to all our readers. It's been quite a few months since I last updated the 'ol blog but one of my New Years' resolutions is to write more blog posts and actually remember to publish them. So fingers crossed I'll get round to writing this blog more often rather than being distracted by sowing, growing and cutting flowers, and well..... the chaos that is life in general.

This year has already started at lightning speed. Orders flying out the door, numerous wedding flower consultations and bookings, and the selecting of 'things to grow' this year and we're only in mid-January. This year is set to be a cracker and I can't wait to tell you all about the lovely plants and flowers we will be growing on our flower plots in the months to come. I'm useless at remembering to take photos but I hope to have plenty of pics for you to look at as and when things start to grow.

As today has been the nicest day of the week I've managed to peak my head out of the polytunnel and do some chopping and weeding and general winter tidying on the flower plots. Having spent quite a while in the polytunnel of late, whilst it's been raining, I quite often find myself singing along to silly little tunes that pop into my head.

I think it must be the tippy tap tippy tap of the rain bouncing off the plastic sheet of the polytunnal roof which sends me into some sort of trance and my mind wanders.

A self seeded Calendula in flower in
the tunnel in January. Yes, January!

Now dear readers, there has been this song (well, more of a little ditty really) that has been going round and round in my head. It's a song about "A lonely little Petunia in an onion patch" and how the poor Petunia spends her days crying and sobbing. The trouble is I can't remember the rest of the words so I inevitably end up just 'noo neee noo'ing' my way through the rest of the tune.

So whilst my version of the 'lonely little Petunia' has an awful lot of 'noo nee noos' and la la laaaas in it, the worm song on the other hand I seem to know off by heart. So here it is (just in case you're wondering.....)

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
think I'll go eat worms...
big fat juicy ones, little slimy skinny ones,
hope they don't have germs!

Nobody loves me, everybody hates me
Think I'll go and eat worms
Long ones, short ones, fat ones, thin ones
See how they wriggle and squirm

I bite off the heads, and suck out the juice
And throw the skins away
Nobody knows how fat I grow
On worms three times a day
Ohh...nobody loves me.

And, on and on it goes until you drive yourself crazy with it. Please don't blame me for this song! I once heard Michael Ball sing it when he was doing his Sunday lunchtime Radio 2 stint, and well it stuck. So blame him.

Hmmmm.... I think I spend a bit too much time on my hands.

Anyway, enough of silly little songs that I sing to myself whilst tending to the flowers and plants here on the Brecon Blooms flower plots and here's to a wonderful 2012 to everyone. Hope you all have a great one.

All the best.

Cathy

PS Don't forget you can keep up to date by following us on Facebook and Twitter and by signing up to our newsletter at www.breconblooms.com and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.

Brecon Blooms
www.breconblooms.com

Cuttings and bulbs

2011-10-06T08:05:00.001+01:00

Hello All,

Up with the lark this morning as it's a busy busy day ahead. Bulbs need to be planted, cuttings need to be taken, orders to deliver, the list goes on and on.

They say that Spring is the time for reinvention and new projects but somehow this year it all seems a bit topsy turvy for us here at Brecon Blooms. We've just launched our new website, complete with webstore. It's still early days but things will be updated and changing regularly whilst we add new products and photos. So please spare a few minutes and check it out www.breconblooms.com

Aside from the new website, we're also about to launch new products, there's wedding fayres to organise,lots of lovely customer weddings, and I daren't even mention or think about the Christmas word just yet.

So as a light reprieve from all the non gardening jobs that seem to take up more time than is necessary here I've decided that today is going to be a day of gardening.

Cheeky cows! Peering over the hedge to see what we're up to

Taking cuttings I always love to do. Cuttings of Chrysanths will be the first job today, then Margerites, Penstemon and plenty of other hardwood and softwood cuttings. Then focus will turn to preparing the ground for all the lovely lovely bulbs that we have. There's getting on for 2000+ bulbs we need to plant. Some will be forced gently in the polytunnel, some will be planted outside for cutting in the Spring for Valentine's Day and Easter bouquets, and a favoured few will be planted up and cosseted and nurtured for our Christmas bulb baskets. Anemones, Alliums, Hyacinths, Narcissi, Crocus, Tulips... I love bulbs.

So as a little pick me up for all the hard work that lies in store for me today, here are a few pics taken around and about during the sunny weather last week.

A pic of our neighbours is just above to the right. They like to know what's going on.

Below is Cosmos Purity. We use a lot of this in our bouquets. It's dainty white flowers make a great contrast against the showier more diva like flowers such as Dahlias and Peonies.

Cosmos Purity

And a happy looking butterfly sunning itself on some Sedum. Sedums are great for attracting insects to the Autumn garden. Hundreds of tiny little flowers provide plenty of food for them.

A butterfly sunning itself on some Sedum

Must crack on and get off to the flower plots and start the days work.

Is this what they call an Indian Summer??

2011-09-30T16:21:00.000+01:00

Hello All,

Well, I've given in, the sun and the heat have beaten me. It's about 25C here in Brecon today and I've declared it far too hot for tending to the flower plots let alone even venturing into the polytunnels. This year our summer has consisted of a week of sun in April/May, followed by four months of cold damp rainy drizzly suppposed summertime weather and now glorious sunshine and high temperatures.

So instead I've spent the afternoon tinkering on the computer and resisting the temptation to order yet more bulbs. I think the few thousand that need planting is more than enough. But for me, looking through a bulb catalogue is a bit addictive. I can while away hours on end flicking through each page, marking the things I'd like to grow, crossing out the things I don't like, turning over the corners of pages of interest, compiling a big long list of things to order etc and then the sorrowful task of having to rein myself in and not order 15 different types of Pink Tulip. Who in their right mind wants to grow so many different varieties of pink Tulip? Well, me for one.

Anyway, anyway.... over the summer we've been extremely busy here at Brecon Blooms. Weddings galore, Christenings, (sadly) Funerals too. In fact we were so busy with orders at one point that we almost ran out of flowers completely. Thankfully though with a little TLC and a good water the plants recovered and were back in bloom again within a week or two.

A recent bouquet of Autumnal flowers

At the moment we have plenty of Dahlias, Cosmos galore, Sunflowers, Chrysanthemums, Zinnias aplenty in the tunnels, Godetia, Scabious and still a few Cornflowers, Roses and Snapdragons.

On the plots we've been busy splitting and dividing some of the large perrenials, taking cuttings from things such as Penstemon and other soft wood plants, digging over the bulb beds and of course weeding a plenty.

Fingers crossed the sun will start to cool in a little while and work can continue on the flower plots. I wonder if anyone has ever got sunburn in Brecon at the end of September before? Good job we have a few Aloe Vera plants growing in the tunnel - the sap makes a great AfterSun lotion.

Have a lovely weekend. For those of you in the UK lets all try and enjoy the sunshine as much as we can before our 'proper' Autumn/Winter weather sets in. At least the washing is getting dry out on the line!

Cheerio.

Cathy

The wedding season has begun... and Nettles the calf!

2011-06-20T15:33:00.000+01:00

Hello All,

Things here at Brecon Blooms have been super busy in recent weeks despite the rubbish, cold, rainy, drizzly weather. And yes, I do know that I grumbled (a lot) when we had the dry spell back in April! But it's June now and I'd like to see the sun for a few days and possibly even see the thermometer get above 15degrees C. A part of me thinks that I may be asking for too much.

Anyway..... the wedding season has well and truly begun and is now in full swing. So much so that over the coming months there are times where we wont have enough flowers on our plots. Thank goodness for The Flower Co Operative that we are a part of. Fingers crossed the lovely 'gals' that are members of the Co-Op can help us at when we run short.

Just in case you don't know - The Flower Co Operative is a group of local (British) flower growers and freelance florists that believe that 'British is Best' when it comes to flowers. Details of The Flower Co-Operative can be found here www.theflowercooperative.co.uk

We've had a number of wedding flowers to do over the last few weeks. It's a real pleasure to work with couples helping to make their 'big day' ideas come to fruition.

Here are a couple of photos of bouquets we've done of late. Of course, each one is made up of locally grown, seasonal flowers.

Nettles the calf

As well as lots of Bloomers things, on the farm the cows are still calving. The fields are full of lots of cows and their babies - mostly they've been sheltering under trees and hedges to try and get out of the rain and wind. But one lucky calf was born when the sun was shining - his mother then made sure to find him a nice snug spot out of the wind where he would be safe and sound. Admittedly he had made a nest in some nettles but he seemed content enough asleep in the sunshine whilst his mother grazed nearby.

A week ago the sheep on the farm had their summer haircut. The shearers arrived at 8.30am and for the next 8 hours or so, organised mayhem ensued as each Sheep had their 'haircut.' Much rolling of wool, penning of sheep, and eating of cake later, the job was finished and the sheep were happily back in the fields nibbling on the grass. Thank goodness that is one job that only needs doing once a year!

In the polytunnel it feels like a never ending job of weeding and watering and hunting down slugs. On the plus side there are lots of lovely flowers in bloom a little earlier than if they were outside. At the moment we have Dahlias, Zinnias, Dianthus, Pinks, Margeurites, Gypsophillia, Sweet Williams, Gazanias, Lavender, Delphiniums, Roses and Astrantia in bloom.

Outside, the Sweet Peas are just about to flower - fingers crossed we get some sunshine and the wind stops blowing and battering all our lovely Sweet Pea plants.

Meanwhile, when it does rain it gives us an excuse to sit down, have a nice cup of tea and look through the Autumn bulb catalogues that are dropping through the post box on a regular basis now. I do love a good bulb or seed catalogue.

Cathy

Brecon Blooms

www.breconblooms.com

Fair on the Square at Hay Festival

2011-06-01T12:14:00.000+01:00

Hello Bloomers,

Apologies for the distinct lack of blog posts during last months - we've been so busy with wedding flowers, thank you flowers, and of course our stall as part of 'The Flower Co-Operative' at Hay Festival's Fair on the Square that computer'y things and paperwork have taken a bit of a back seat. Not to mention trying to keep up with weeding and tending to our plants.

So along with our friends BareBlooms www.bareblooms.com , and Grove Farm Flowers as part of the co-op, we turned up early on a very windy and blustery Sunday morning to set up our stall. Buckets and buckets of flowers where everywhere. Beautiful posies and arrangements, seed kits, and jugs full of blooms. The tables were full.

We had a super time, spoke to lots of interesting people and our flowers seemed to go down really well. Even if we did spend most of the time trying to stop the wind from blowing everything over!

The Flower Co-Operative hope to be doing more things in the future, and the website will be ready in the next week or so. So check back at a later date for more information, or visit our website www.breconblooms.com as details about 'The Flower Co-Operative' will be on there.

Other news.... the farmer is busy getting ready for shearing the sheep. The cattle are all out in the fields grazing and laying in the sunshine, and the crops have certainly perked up a little bit now that we've finally had some rain.

Right had best go and see how the flowers are growing on the plots. Sorry for a brief post, more will be coming in the next few days with lots of lovely photos of flowers and recent bridal bouquets.

Cherry Bye!

Cathy

Bluebells and Lilac

2011-05-06T14:30:00.000+01:00

Afternoon Bloomers,

Well we've finally had some rain. Not much rain, but rain all the same. It arrived around lunchtime yesterday and stayed for a few hours. Just enough to give all our plants a little drink.

In amongst watching the Royal Wedding last Friday and continuing with seed sowing, watering, taking cuttings and potting on, some of our flowers have peeped their little heads out a little earlier than normal. We've already had the first of the Sweet Williams flowering. Our Alliums have been in bloom for a couple of weeks now and our Peony plants are covered in buds that are just starting to burst open. All in flower and it's still the first week of May!

Usually our first Peonies are in flower towards the end of May ready in time for all the lovely June weddings. This year after all the warm sunshine everything is a good few weeks ahead of itself. Which is good in some ways but it could pose a few problems in June and July when the typical wedding flowers such as Peonies are all but over. Mind you there should plenty of lovely Sweet Peas, Larkspur and Cosmos ready at that time.

Other flowers in Bloom this week are Bluebells in the wood and our Lilac bushes. Both these flowers have a lovely scent, and if you're lucky enough to catch the Bluebells in the wood on a sunny afternoon, their lovely scent gently wafts (is waft even a real word??) in the air. It really does make for a very pretty scene down by the river.

Other exciting news is that the drip hose is still working a treat. How exciting I hear you say! Well, it's exciting stuff for us here at Brecon Blooms because we can spend more time on the fight against weeds happy in the knowledge that all our little plants in the polytunnel aren't dying of thirst. And, hats off to the farmer he's come up trumps during this spell of dry sunny weather - he's been using his water tanker/bowser to provide a much needed source of water for our outdoor flower plots. 20-30mins of water gently sprayed out of the tanker and the plots have had a jolly good watering. As a certain Meercat would say "Siimples!"

So off I must go to get on with some quotes and to make a start on the bouquets for a wedding this weekend.

Cheerio

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com

Busy as a bee...

2011-04-13T11:12:00.000+01:00

Morning Bloomers,

Naughty lamb stood on Mum's back

By crikey it's been a busy few weeks here. We've had a super busy Mothering Sunday, lambing has pretty much finished apart from a few stragglers, and we've been sowing and potting on like little troopers.

The flower plots are covered in nice straight lines where seeds have been sown and the seed trays are all organised and labelled up too. Now, whilst this might not sound all that impressive or something that a person would normally 'go on' about, for me it is a bit of a triumph. Every year I try my best to sow in lovely straight lines/rows and each year end up with wonky skew wiff lines/rows - I've used rake handles, the edges of planks and the highly technical 'stick your finger in the ground and try and walk in a straight line' technique. All to no avail.

This year is going to be my year of mastering growing in straight(ish) lines. I say straight(ish) because well.... I can barely walk in a straight line sober! Call me clumsy, gormless, and a bit of a klutz but falling over my own feet is a regular occurrence. This year on the flower plots it's going to be different - I have a new gadget. It's so simple really - two foot long sticks/dibbers with a piece of long twine tied to each end. Why I hadn't used one before I don't really know but if it's good enough for builders to use to build walls etc, then it's good enough for me to try and get me to sow in straight lines.

We've also had another piece of wonderful equipment installed in the new tunnel - drip hose! Brilliant stuff is drip hose. We have it running off rain water (no mains water for us on the flower plots) from a little stream that runs close to the tunnel, and off it goes, slowly slowly dripping water to the roots of our tender plants and young seedlings that are busy growing in the tunnel.

So, with my highly prized (inherited) straight line device and the drip hose doing it's job in the big tunnel, things on the flower plots should be a little easier this year. Fingers crossed.

"What ya doing?" - Pups looking through fence to the plot

Right, enough about straight lines and drip hose.

Other news is that there's litter of puppies on the farm. Six little bundles of fluff that roam about as though they own the place. And when they're not pottering about the place they've been busy sleeping in the sunshine...

Life's hard - Lying in the sun fast asleep

So as you can see, during the last week or so of lovely spring sunshine, everyone and everything has been playing outside soaking up the sunshine. The lambs are busy leaping about in the fields and things are busy growing.

There's snow on the top of the Beacons this morning - so I think the rest of the day will be spent doing paperwork and indoor jobs.

Have a lovely few days.

Cathy

www.breconblooms.com

Polytunnel building - my top 10 tips

2011-03-30T15:28:00.000+01:00

Hello All,

Well it's raining and I've had chance to sit down and work out how to get photos off my (fairly ancient) phone. It took some doing I can tell you, with the use of various Bluetooth this and Bluetooth that, dongles and cables. So here we are, long awaited photos.

Ta Daaa... Sheeting still needs stretching a bit

We bought our new polytunnel back in September'ish last year. Since then we've had rain, wind, flu, slippy mud, lambing, etc, etc. Everything seemed to be against us in our quest to build our new monster sized (40ft x 30ft) polytunnel. We've finally got there at last!

Having dug the holes, built the frame and got the (here comes some technical bits) metal pole bits up and in the right place (see, told you it was technical!) the weather stopped us in our tracks. Why we were surprised at that I don't know. I mean, who'd have thought that being on a hill in Wales in Autumn/Winter and trying to put a polytunnel up, would mean that there would be wind, rain and snow to deal with. Who'd have thunk it!

So, slowly but surely whenever it's been half decent weather (over the last few months) we built the new polytunnel bit by bit.

We've gone a bit over the top when it came to putting on storm braces, crop bars and the like but we thought that we'd better be safe than sorry. The more we can protect the tunnel from the wind rocking it then the better.

Here are my top ten tips should you ever build your own polytunnel:

First off... get plenty of strong people to help
Choose a nice (preferably) flat site that isn't too exposed
Dig the holes plenty big enough and have some good anchor/base plates
Use a spirit level. A lot
Calculate the number of clips and clamps and joining plates that you'll need. Then double and triple check you've ordered enough for the size of the tunnel.
Make sure you order plenty of heat tape. However much you think you need, add an extra roll to be on the safe side.
Also make sure that you have a step ladder, timbers, hammer, nails, scissors, stanley knife to hand. In fact make that a whole toolbox!
Try and make sure that it isn't windy when you decide to sheet the tunnel.
Don't build a polytunnel on a hill in the Brecon Beacons in Wales in winter unless you're mad
When it's up and built - try and find time to enjoy your new growing space.

I don't think there is a special/secret way to build a polytunnel. It's not the sort of job you can do on a lazy Sunday afternoon on your own. Just take your time and get as much help as you can from friends and family, or anyone daft enough to help.

It's still raining here (hooray!) but now I must really concentrate on sorting out our Mother's Day orders, book the couriers, then get on with preparing lots of lovely bouquets for special Mothers everywhere.

Bye for now

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/brecon-blooms/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/breconblooms

Spring Flowers

2011-03-29T14:04:00.000+01:00

Afternoon,

Well where to start.... we have a few flowers in bloom (Yay!) on the plot at the moment. Fingers crossed we'll have a few more pop up in the next day or so as we have quite a few Mother's Day orders to fulfil.

Here is a photo of a spring bouquet made with some of our first spring flowers to bloom this year!

Whilst waiting for things to flower we've been getting on with the task of weeding and watering - we've had such a dry March here that the ground is like a dust bowl at the moment, although they have forecast rain towards the end of the week. Little weed seedlings seem to be sprouting all over the place at the moment. No matter how much weeding and hoeing we do there's always one that gets away.

Organising Mother's Day orders is calling me. Had better get on with booking couriers for Thursday and Friday otherwise it'll be a mad panic (again) later on in the week.

Cheerio

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com

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Spring Equinox = Lambing on the farm

2011-03-21T15:45:00.000+00:00

Afternoon All,

What a busy few days it's been. The sun has been shining, the birds have been tweeting and the trees are starting to bud. Spring is officially here!

Spring Bulb Bouquet wrapped in hessian

On the plot and in the polytunnels we have a mass of seedlings growing and waiting to be 'pricked out' and 'potted on' and more seeds waiting to be sown. Some of our early spring bulbs that have been cosseted and looked after over winter have been flowering for a week or so now and it is nice to see a splash of colour about the place. Fingers crossed we will have plenty of flowers in bloom for Mothering Sunday on April 3rd to make lots of lovely locally grown spring bulb bouquets. Also, don't forget that we will be launching our flower bucket scheme in May this year for people that live in the Brecon, Powys area. Drop us an email here if you'd like to receive further information closer to the time.

In amongst watering the polytunnel, pricking out, potting on and seed sowing it's also lambing time! So besides trying to stop sheep from eating the tops off all our Spring bulbs, everyone has been busy seeing to the ever increasing number of lambs, moving sheep from field to shed to field again, feeding, and off course general sheepy maintenance.

By the way.... did you know that sheep are rather partial to nibbling tasty stems off Rhubarb plants?! I do. Having gone to the veg plot one morning to find that something had eaten all the Rhubarb, Purple Sprouting Broccoli and then moved onto the flowers plots to start munching on the spring bulbs.

Rhubarb definitely seems to be the favourite snack for the sheep here judging by the way the crown was nibbled to below ground level. Alliums and Anemone leaves apparently aren't quite as tasty to sheep. Much to the annoyance of 'the farmer' who would rather he ate the Rhubarb in a crumble than have the sheep eat it. He'd rather they ate the flower bulbs.

Also, the new polytunnel has finally been finished and got it's sheet on. Wooohooo! Pictures and polytunnel building escapades, will follow later on in the week once I've figured out how to bluetooth them from my phone.

Had better get on, the ewes will be wanting their tea soon.

Cheerio.

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com

Happy St David's Day

2011-03-01T14:10:00.000+00:00

Hello Bloomers,

Today is St David's Day, the sun is shining and there are a few lambs out in the fields basking in the sunshine.

Happy St David's Day to all our Welsh followers. Here's a photo of a few Tete a Tete to make you feel as though spring is almost here.

Back to seed sowing and potting things on in the warmth of the polytunnel.

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com

'Bucket of Flowers' Scheme

2011-02-21T15:32:00.001+00:00

Afternoon,

Today is one of those dank, dark, misty, murky days that seem to be a regular feature of the Welsh/British weather in February. So, I've been sat here sorting through the mountain of seeds that need sowing, putting them in order of sowing date and then pulling to one side the seeds that need a slightly higher temperature in order to germinate. All the while dreaming and longing for April and May to come so that there are flowers galore on the plot once again.

This year we've gone all out on green. Green flowers were really popular with our customers last year. So this year we'll be growing even more such as; Nicotiana - Lime Green, Zinnia - Green Envy, Zinnia Giant Lime Ball, and Chrysanthemum - Green Mist, to name but a few.

We've also decided that this year we will run a 'bucket of flowers' scheme for people living in the Brecon area. It will be just like a veg box scheme but with flowers!

Every fortnight, we will deliver buckets of flowers to various drop off points in the local area. Customers who can't make it to the market stall/s can pick their flowers up from one of the pick up/drop off points and still have fresh seasonal flowers in their home from April to Novemeber for £8.50 a bucket. If you're interested in joining our 'bucket of flowers' scheme then please send an email to blooms@breconblooms.com and we'll send further details to you.

And for those of you who live/drive close to the flower plots we'll still have flowers for sale straight from the plots and on the bridge by 'Bloomers HQ.'

That's it for today folks. Let's hope the weather brightens up by the end of the week.

Cathy

http://www.breconblooms.com/

Blown away

2011-02-07T14:08:00.000+00:00

Hello All,

Spring Anemones

Well, the wind has calmed down a little today. Having had almost a week of strong winds and gusts of well of 70kmh many things ended up flying up and over the hill to somewhere far, far away - leaves, tarpaulins, vital bits of paper, you name it if it wasn't tied down then it flew off. So today we've been trying to take stock and give some TLC to the plants that have suffered wind damage. Many of our kitchen garden brassicas are more like a paper doily now that Mother Nature has torn holes in many of the leaves - it looks like we've had an invasion of very hungry caterpillars.

On the flower front... many of our autumn planted bulbs are now showing signs of emerging. The first green shoots are sprouting and the first leaves are starting to unfurl. Fingers crossed, we'll have a bumper crop of Ranunclus, Alliums, Tulips etc for our spring time weddings and markets that we have booked.

We're also busy with springtime seed sowing at the moment. Bags of compost, lovely clean seeds trays, and a good stash of seeds means we've been sowing with gusto in the relative warmth of our rather small (old) polytunnel. Once the wind dies down to more of a breeze we'll be able to get the plastic on our new super dooper monster sized polytunnel. So if you're listening Mother Nature..... please stop the wind from blowing a gale on our little hill in Wales. Oh, and if I'm being really picky, please can we have a mild, wind free, rain free day this week too.

I will post pictures of the new tunnel as and when it is up. It's been a state of half started half finshed for some weeks now. Hence why I haven't posted any pictures yet.

On the farm front - lambing is just about to start. The sheds are full of lambing pens, the quad bike has it's special 'lambing ambulance' trailer attached to the back of it, the milk machine is ready and waiting, and the 'sheepy' first aid kit is stocked and ready to hand. So now we sit and wait. Waiting for all the ewes to decide to lamb and for there to be hundreds of happy little lambs bouncing around the place (usually on their mothers backs.)

Rightio, had better go and tie a few more things down with string just in case the wind picks up again.

Cathy

www.breconblooms.com

What will 2011 bring?

2011-01-10T14:47:00.001+00:00

Hello All,

Before I get started, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and healthy New Year.

Christmas has come and gone, along with the snow and things here on our windy hill in Wales are slowly getting back to normal after the festive period. A week before Christmas we had about 8inches of snow when we woke one morning, followed by a few days where the temperatures didn't get above -6c. Every one's pre-Christmas shopping and plans came to an abrupt halt. Roads were treacherous and impassable, airports were closed and there was general havoc across the UK for a few days. Us Brits aren't very good at dealing with snow - a few flakes in London and the entire country seems to come to a stop. Not to mention how every time it snows the 'authorities' seem to have been caught off guard and where (once again) totally unprepared for the so called extreme weather.

January is a funny month on the growing front.... Sat here enjoying a cup of tea in the warmth and out of the wind, we've had chance to ponder about what 2011 will bring both personally and for Brecon Blooms.

On the Brecon Blooms front: we've already had an order for wedding flowers for a date later on in the year - some brides are super organised and like to get things ticked off the list and booked up a long way in advance for their peace of mind. The list of markets we will be attending come spring time is getting longer and longer. The seeds that need sowing are just waiting for the longer days and warmer weather.

At the moment we can't wait for spring to arrive. Yet ask us when Spring is here and we'll all be running around like headless chickens trying to sow, pot on, plant etc everything in sight. Not to mention it'll be lambing time too!

We hope that our little business continues to grow and grow just as it did during 2010. Fingers crossed!

And on a personal front, I think we'd all just like 2011 to be a year full of happiness and good health for everyone.

A quick update on the day to day goings on:

Things here on the flower farm are fairly quiet at the moment. Everything is ticking along nicely and we are just thinking of seasonal arrangements for Valentines Day using Narcissi, Anemones, Violets and winter foliage. Roses are still by far the most popular flower at Valentines but we like to offer something a little bit different and something that is seasonal. Not an imported 'hot house' rose insight!

On the farm front... the farmer has been busy thawing out water troughs for the cattle/sheep, feeding the animals, and generally pulling his hair out at all the extra work that snow and bad weather brings.

As a certain cartoon bunny said.... "That's all (for now) folks!"

Cathy
http://www.breconblooms.com/

Christmas Narcissi and Anemones

2010-12-14T15:21:00.000+00:00

Afternoon Bloomers,

Anemones and Narcissi - a few stems
that survived the cold

The snow has almost gone now just in time for another snowfall forecast for this weekend. At least with this slightly warmer spell we have been able to 'take stock' and see how and what have been affected by the cold weather.

We've had quite a few casualties. The outdoor Chrystanthemums have been pretty much wiped out and destroyed. Thankfully we took plenty of cuttings a few months ago and most of those have survived inside the polytunnel and on windowsills dotted about the neighbourhood.

Other casualties are most of the 'forced' cut flowers that we have been tending to in the hope of them being ready in time for Christmas week. All of the Daffodils, most of the Anemones, and a fair few of the Narcissi have all stopped growing. Many have been attacked by the ice/frost and we have set up a special 'poorly plant hospital' in an effort to rescue and nurse some of the plants/bulbs back to life. Fingers crossed they bounce back to life.

Not much to report this week I'm afraid. We're just busy trying desperately to save things and also fulfil the orders that we have taken.

Off to deliver wreaths and other lovely Christmassy arrangements.

Cathy
www.breconblooms.com