Rose Cottage Flowers

I am a pink girl at heart, I even have a pink washing up bowl ! Although this week I am loving these rich earthy tones, rusts, oranges, and the biscuit Amaranthus is looking fabulous … life is transient isn’t it ? Always moving and changing, I think I will alway be a pink kind of girl, but today I am embracing these beautiful blooms. What is your favourite colour tone ?

Playing with left overs … I over cut some blooms last week, and this Clarkia is still going strong .. I left it in a bucket of cool water in the corner of my studio, as I was clearing up after making this weeks posies I was tempted to just put the stems in the compost bucket, but thought better of it, I grabbed a vase off the shelf and faffed for a few minutes, I love this coral/pink colour, they clearly last for ages in a vase, so I will be sowing again next year..

Yellow, not particularly my go to colour although it’s one of my daughter’s favourite colours, and I am not sure that I ordered yellow dahlias !!! But today this little posy of Rudbeckia and Dahlias made me smile, and reflected the gorgeous sunshine we have in Devon today, what are your thoughts on yellow flowers ?
I was just thinking as I was typing this that I love yellow narcissi in the Spring after a long Winter they really do bring joy, so maybe I need to be more accepting of yellow…

The Rudbeckia are just beginning to pop, as are a few dahlias, I have a wedding in a few weeks time, the vibe, very organic and natural, rusts, creams, apricots, with a pop of orange, together with grasses, seed heads, and the most delicious smelling honeysuckle …so I am hoping these beauties will keep on giving and will peek just in time …

For Pauline … a Mother and Grandmother, who requested that her family wore bright coloured clothes to her funeral, she loved lavender and Provence.
Her daughter came to visit Rose Cottage, over tea and cake we chatted, and I learnt a little more about her mum, we walked up to the cutting garden, and colour schemes were discussed, earlier this week some lavender was dropped off by the family and this was incorporated into the florals, together with 4 branches of Rosemary for remembrance to reflect Pauline’s 4 children, and branches of Oak to represent strength, which we all need at a time of loss. Flowers have the capacity to speak when words are hard to find. This arrangement was created so that a small snip of the twine and 2 beautiful bouquets could be taken to the hotel and popped into vases at the wake for everyone to enjoy.

A phone call from the most delightful lady who was requesting flowers for her beloved husbands funeral, her description of him ‘he loved the natural world and walking bare foot on the grass’ So was looking for natural garden gathered flowers, scent was also really important, so this floral tribute was created using the bright colours that she had requested , with scent from Lavender, Honeysuckle and Rosemary, all bound together with natural garden twine as requested ..so whilst the rest of the country was watching the football, I was in my little studio taking time to create a beautiful tribute for a gentleman who loved the natural world

Flowers for a 90th birthday…. That’s all…

Todays picking from the poly tunnel…. I was having a day of self doubt … not believing in my ability… doing the thing you should NEVER do, comparing my flowery journey to others, imposter syndrome was well and truly on the agenda, I then went to the poly tunnel and picked these beautiful ranunculus.. and I began to think well maybe I can grow flowers, maybe I am good enough … so these blooms have brought joy and hope today

Nothing fancy, a small urn with hyacinth bulbs and p***y willow, sitting in my lounge, just to bring me pleasure and joy, the scent as I walk past, watching the bulbs grow and buds burst into life, it’s the little things that make all the difference to your day, what do you do to bring joy to your life ?

Oh my goodness the rain in Devon over the past few weeks has been atrocious.. the days are grey, gloomy, damp, wet, the ground is becoming like a swamp, and Spring feels a long way off .. we have friends coming over on Friday and so I decided to use some of the plants and bulbs that I had left over to make a little table centre for the dining table, together with a few camellia flowers in some crystal bud vases, the colours cheered me, and offered some hope that Spring really is on the horizon and that we will feel the warmth of the sun on our faces very soon, and the flowers in the cutting garden will be blooming before too long …

A living wreath to adorn my front door, made with primroses, together with muscari and miniature narcissi bulbs, which with grow and bloom over the coming weeks, twigs, lichen, and ivy create the textures to complete the natural garden styles wreath. We will be creating living wreaths in a similar garden style at workshops being held here in March, they can either be made to hang on a front door or as a table centre for Easter….

A Spring Birthday bouquet from one friend to another … no words needed, just enjoy

And we are off .. the first delivery of posies in 2024… my blooms are not quite ready, but all these flowers are British, the foliage twigs and catkins are all from Rose Cottage, they have been wrapped in brown paper and pink tissue this week, ready for Valentines Day, they are already happily snuggled in their basket , I will be making another delivery on Monday..
These little posies bring me so much happiness and I hope the recipients also find joy in them…thank you as always for your support, I really am grateful

Mothering Sunday Living Wreath Wokshops … A living wreath is a wonderful alternative to a bouquet of flowers on Mothering Sunday, either as a wonderful activity for you and your mum, or a gift that you have made yourself, or just a gift to yourself - choosing Spring bulbs together with foliage and flowers, is a wonderful creative way to spend some time with family and friends. The wreaths can adorn front doors, alternatively a beautiful hurricane lantern and candle be placed in the middle so your wreath can take centre stage on a dining table or hallway,the options are endless.
The workshops will take place here at Rose Cottage, copious amounts of tea, coffee and home made sweet treats will greet you on arrival, we will then pop over to the studio to create your very special ‘Living Wreath’ there will be a variety of bulbs, flowers, plants for you to choose from. There are limited places available, slots will be in the morning and afternoon , there is also the opportunity for an evening workshop for those who may have other commitments during the day.
I will be running courses on Friday 8th Saturday 9th March, together with one on Mothering Sunday afternoon itself, so if you had wanted an activity after a celebration Sunday lunch, making a living wreath could be the perfect one.
Please just drop me a message, and I can book your place..

Snowdrops, the first little bloom of 2024 here at Rose Cottage, January can sometimes feel a little gloomy, the mornings are still dark, it’s too early to begin sowing seeds for the Spring and Summer, so days are spent prepping beds, and checking on the Autumn sown seedlings, covering them with fleece on these really cold nights, BUT these little white blooms are a glimmer of what flowers there are to come, so on these cold long January days it’s good to look for those little things, those ‘glimmers’ that make you smile, bring you joy, give you hope. What glimmers have you seen, heard, experienced recently ?

Wreaths… all different shapes and sizes, with beautiful fresh foliage together with dried hydrangeas, and pheasant feathers from West Sussex, this bespoke order was delivered this afternoon to an amazing deli and cafe in Newton Ferrers Sam serves the most delicious cakes, sweet treats and lunches, the cafe is looking really festive with beautiful decor.
If you are looking for a beautiful wreath to adorn your front door this Christmas to welcome your friends and family, please drop me a line.

So today was the first of the intimate Christmas Wreath workshops held in my studio at Rose Cottage, the fire was lit, tea, coffee and homemade sweet treats were devoured, before we made our way to the studio. Such a lovely morning, with the most delightful group of ladies … in actual fact mums and daughters…. everyone had exactly the same ingredients, each wreath was unique, and completed with a beautiful velvet ribbon. Thank you ladies for supporting my small floral business it was an absolute pleasure to have you attend the workshop today, and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Kingsbridge celebrates Christmas… the team from the Farmers Market set up by the ice rink this morning… it was a freezing but beautiful start to the day. I had been creating wreaths over the past week, there is always that little bit of self doubt ‘will anyone going to like the wreaths, will anyone buy them?’ But as always my doubts were unfounded, it was lovely to see so many regular customers, some who returned to buy their Christmas Wreath, as they had been so pleased with the one they had purchased the previous year, it was so encouraging … thank you to each and every one of my customers, especially the lovely Cherry, who had ordered a swag for her front door… Cherry had a stroke recently and was unable to use her hands as well as she had done in the past, she always made her swag for her front door and was sad that she was unable to do so this year, she was absolutely delighted with what I had created, and told me I had made her day, in actual fact Cherry made my day, a total inspiration to us all… I popped the arrangement into the basket on the front of her mobility scooter, she gave a cheery wave and wished me a Happy Christmas … and was going to ask her neighbour to hang it on her door.

It’s begun … Christmas Wreath Season, the first 4 wreaths made and delivered to these four beauties will be on display in their Christmas Barn, which is now open, and full of festive cheer, gifts and trinkets.
Nearly all the dates have gone for my intimate festive wreath workshops, so if you would like to organise a creative morning, afternoon or evening spent with a few friends or family here at Rose Cottage please drop me a message. I will be selling wreaths at a number of Christmas Markets, and will be taking orders, so if you don’t have time to create something beautiful to adorn your door this Christmas, let me design something for you.

Autumn wreath now adorning my front door, all the flora and fauna has been grown here at Rose Cottage or gathered from the hedgerow … Christmas Wreath workshops will begin in earnest at the beginning of December, more details will be coming soon, but if you would like to get together with a few friends, to create a beautiful natural Christmas wreath, I will be running a limited number of workshops here at Rose Cottage, a warm welcome, roaring fire, seasonal sweet treats please drop me a message and we can arrange a date, and the creativity can begin …

The bridal bouquet for George this weekend, when we spoke about colours, the specification was ‘ the coral, orange colour that you paint your toes in the Summer..blending through to peaches’ together with a request for trailing,bits and pieces…Hence the lack of full length images, I didn’t want to pose with the bouquet and I wasn’t sure the fish farmer turned flower farmer would make the best model ! I used beautiful Roses , Zinnia, Crocosmia and Callendua together with lots of foliage to add the texture and trails. The Bride carried this beauty into Church, and after the service the couple and their guests were taken to the Yacht Club in Dartmouth for the wedding breakfast by a flotilla of ferries taking them across the River Dart… so these blooms certainly had an adventure .. oh and it was the hottest day of the year in Dartmouth. I am looking forward to seeing the professional photographs to see this beautiful bouquet in all her glory, but thought I would just share a few images of my own…

Cosmos .. they have been a long time coming .. but are finally in their stride … they come in a variety of colours shapes and sizes - pinks, whites, ruffles, puffs, seashells, but this could be my favourite this year, she really is a beauty, with shades of pink, apricot, yellow… the star of this little posy being delivered this morning

Orange and Coral .. almost the perfect combination, and the scent from these Carnations is incredible, they have been a long time coming, I had run out of space in the beds earlier in the season and so I planted them in crates, quite close together, and they have done really well, the stem length is really long, so perfect for little posies and arrangements, I will definitely grow them in crates again, what flowers if any do you plant in crates ?

Florists and Flower growers, tell me I am not alone, I only ever pop the left over blooms, the ones that may be just going over into a vase for my own enjoyment, I never take the opportunity to pick the biggest best blooms for myself, so yesterday I decided that I deserved to pick some stems for me …. I am calling this the ‘AA’ arrangement, huge long stems of Amaranthus together with a few heads of the beautiful Hydrangea Annabelle, they are sat in a beautiful cut glass vase in my fireplace, and are bringing so much joy each evening as we sit down to relax, the buzz word at the moment is ‘self care’ and so picking these few stems for myself and not saving them for a customer is my version of self care today. What do you do for your own self care ?

A last minute request for a wedding bouquet .. the colours required pink and blue .. the cutting garden at Rose Cottage came up trumps with the very last of the cornflowers, and the beginnings of the cosmos, together with zinnia and achillea, my usual county, whimsical, garden gathered style, the button hole for the groom matched the bridal bouquet .. although I did pop an alternative ribbon in the box, just in case the pink silk wasn’t to his liking …

July …there are some beautiful flowers just beginning to bloom here at Rose Cottage This little trio of flowers all in different shades of pink bring so much joy, Cosmos, Zinnia, and Scabious, all included in todays posies.
What is your favourite colour flower ?

It was a privilege to create these farewell flowers for David, a man who loved trees, his garden, and didn’t like any thing to be wasted. One of the reasons I retrained as a florist was the shock I received when ordering flowers for my dads funeral, standing in a shop with strangers and choosing flowers out of ‘the folder’ I thought there has to be another way… and there is …Last week I had an email asking if I would do the flowers for a much loved husband and father, I invited the family to visit Rose Cottage and the cutting garden, we sat and had tea and cake, chatted about David, I learnt that he loved nature, especially trees, he never wore a plain shirt and tie, always bright colours, we walked through the flowers together chatting all the time ‘oh I like that colour ‘ and ‘ the last photo I have of dad he was wearing a shirt with those colours’ and so the design and flower choice began to emerge in my mind… all referencing to this gentleman’s love of nature, I was even able to include a few small apples that are emerging on the trees… together with Oak for strength and Rosemary for remembrance, it was a natural, loose style sheaf, made up of two floral pieces tied together, all grown and sourced here at Rose Cottage. The flowers were then going to be taken to the wake, where they could be separated and popped in the two vases that I had dropped off at the venue earlier in the morning.
Farewell flowers, there is another way, I consider it a privilege to provide not only flowers but also time and space to begin processing the loss of a loved one … # local flowers If you had wanted to learn some sustainable techniques for farewell flowers, I would highly recommend the course run by Carol