A monochromatic vase of white spring flowers this week including Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’, Magnolia stellata, Thalia multi-headed daffodils and Skimia. All plants currently in flower in our Warwickshire garden today (21 March 2022).
It is lovely to feel the spring sun on your face once again!
We have grown Ageratum houstonianum, the Mexican Paintbrush, for a number of years now. Originally we knew Ageratum as one of those short carpet bedding plants that you would see alongside red salvias and orange marigolds in council bedding schemes in the local park.
Some ten years ago we started up Honey Pot Flowers and were trying out new varieties to grow and include in our summer bouquets of British country flowers. We were introduced to the F1 variety ‘Blue Horizon’ which produces flowers on much longer, robust stems and holds extremely well as a cut flower. We have been growing it ever since.
This variety of Ageratum has large, dense flower heads of powder blue. It is not a colour that you find very often in the garden and so makes an interesting addition to both the flower borders and cut flower arrangements. Most importantly, once established it does seem to be a very well behaved plant, growing and flowering reliably throughout the summer.
It is a native of Central America and Mexico and it is worth noting that in some countries it is considered an invasive weed. We have certainly not found this to be a problem here in the UK climate.
I have just sown this year’s seeds (14th February). The tiny seeds are surface sown on a half tray of pre-watered, well drained multi-purpose compost. To ensure the seedlings do not damp off in their early days we mix the compost with a generous amount of perlite. I like to water the compost before sowing so that the tiny seeds do not get washed into the corner.
The half tray is covered with cling film to remove the need for any extra watering before the seedlings emerge. They will sit on a warmish kitchen windowsill now for a few weeks until the green shoots appear at which point we will slowly loosen the cover and acclimatise the small plants before removing the cling film altogether.
Looking at previous years’ records I will be pricking these out into larger trays in about five weeks time (towards the end of March), and will have planted them out into the garden by 6th May. They are not frost hardy so this would need to be adjusted to suit your own circumstances.
Our past records also indicate that we have been picking Ageratum for cutting by mid-June and they then continue to flower right through to the first frosts in the Autumn.
Over the years we have tried them in various parts of the garden but they do seem to grow best in full sun in soil that remains moist all the summer. Our garden soil can dry out rapidly in the height of the summer but there are areas in part shade that retain some moisture in the soil. The Ageratum also seem to thrive in these areas.
What we particularly like about Ageratum is how trouble free it is. It does not seem to be attacked by pests which is ideal if you want to grow good quality, clean stems for cutting, arranging and/or selling. In researching the plant this year I was surprised to find that it has its own secret defence mechanisms when it comes to fending off insects.
Ageratum has evolved a method of protecting itself from insects by producing a compound that interferes with the insect organ responsible for secreting juvenile hormone during growth and development. The chemical triggers the next moulting cycle prematurely and renders most insects sterile. Fascinating stuff!
One of the best things to do on a cold, wet December day is to think back to those sunny days in the summer and reflect on what worked well in the garden. Sometimes it is a vista or combination of plants that have matured gracefully and now perform well year after year. At other times it is just a moment when some of the short lived annuals all come together and you stand and look and admire. Within a couple of weeks the garden will have moved on.
In one quadrant of the new flower garden this year we allowed a number of self sown annuals to develop whilst some of the new perennials were being planted and growing on. The annuals included Love-in-the-mist (both the blues of Nigella damascena and the white Nigella hispanica ‘African bride’), Corncockle (Agrostemma githago) and some beautiful mixed colour pink poppies with their thin tissue paper petals (Papaver rhoeas ‘Falling in Love’). This informal combination grew freely amongst the tall biennial Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus ‘Auricular Eyed’).
The effect was charming and created a relaxed ‘meadow-style’ bed. Along with the mass of different colours and the texture of the fresh green foliage the bed also had movement. The different components swayed and reacted to the breeze adding an additional dimension.
All of these annuals cut well and, if appropriately conditioned, allow you to enjoy these flowers for many days in a vase indoors.
The pictures here were all taken in the first week of June. It was a sweet spot when all the flowers were emerging together and in their prime. As well as the overall effect I also like to look at the detail of the individual flowers. The tiny, delicate rows of fine dots in the Corncockle and the blue wash in the centre of the Nigella hispanica are particularly lovely.
At its peak this meadow style planting was certainly a triumph. However, I think it is worth highlighting that it is relatively short lived. This is certainly a downside in a garden where you want to try and create year-round interest. Once they have set seed the show is over and you do need to have something planted that will follow on. If you want a show next year you do of course have to leave the seed heads to mature and set seed. The Nigella seed heads look particularly striking and are well worth leaving to add interest to the late summer border.
My conclusion therefore is that whilst self sown annuals do indeed provide a spectacular show, in a garden setting you do need to set them amongst other follow-on perennials or small shrubs that can continue the performance into July, August and the autumn.
Despite the rather dank and grey days here at the end of November, Carol has still managed to bring together flowers and foliage from the garden to brighten up the house.
In this arrangement we have six for Saturday; two varieties of autumn flowering chrysanthemums (purchased from Sarah Raven but varieties now unknown), the rose ‘Simply the Best’ which is still throwing out new blooms despite the cold, the Viburnum bodnantense which just started to flower and will flower in the garden throughout the coldest days of the winter, the yellow autumn foliage of the Hornbeam and finally the deep purple leaves of Cotinus coggygria.
Although very pretty and a wonderful winter scent in the garden, we must admit that the fragrance of Viburnum bodnantense has proved rather over powering inside the house and is perhaps best left in the garden!
The Six on Saturday meme is hosted by The Propagator. Click on the link to see what other plant lovers are chatting about.
This weekend saw the first forecast frosts of the winter months and so we took the opportunity to pick a selection of the remaining summer flowers to arrange and enjoy in the house.
Included in the top arrangement are a selection of apricot and burgundy dahlias, white Chincherinchee ((Ornithogalum thyrsoides), achillea and the delightfully transparent seed heads of honesty.
In the vase arrangement below are pink, white and apricot dahlias, the deep red rose ‘Ingrid Bergman’ and the fragrant rose ‘Boscabel’, purple Verbena bonariensis, Chincherinchee and blue grey eucalyptus foliage.
The final table centre piece for this evening’s Sunday dinner with family contains rose ‘Ingrid Berman’, white and pink waterlily type dahlias, honesty seed heads, the blue of Ageratum ‘Blue Horizon’, pink Schizostylis, blue-grey eucalyptus and Cotoneaster foliage.
The clocks may have changed and the nights are drawing in but we will still be able to enjoy the colour and fragrance of summer for a few days yet!
The wedding season is in full swing and blue seems to be the colour of the moment. As we bask in the summer sun here are this weeks ‘Six on Saturday’ from the garden. All seem to be loving the hot weather.
One: Lavender
Two: Echinops ritro
Three: Ageratum (with Clary Sage in the background)
Four: Eryngium planum
Five: Cornflowers
Six: Sweet Peas
The Six on Saturday meme is hosted by The Propagator. Click on the link to see what other plant lovers are chatting about.
Honey Pot Flowers are wedding and celebration florists based in Warwickshire in the United Kingdom specialising in natural, locally grown seasonal flowers. We grow many of our own flowers allowing us to offer something very different and uniquely personal.
The Dahlia flower represents dignity, elegance and a commitment and bond that will last forever. They are therefore ideal cut flowers for celebrating love and marriage and we use them extensively in our wedding and celebration flowers (www.honeypotflowers.co.uk).
At this time of year (March) we begin to dust off the overwintered dahlia tubers and start them into growth. As they flower from June until the first frost blackens the leaves, the once unfashionable Dahlia creates a wonderful summer and early autumn show throughout the flower garden.
The choice of colours is unrivalled and ranges from white, red, pink and purple through to yellow and orange with many shades in between. Equally there is a huge range of sizes and forms ranging from less than 10cms in diameter to the huge and rather unwieldy ‘dinner-plate’ varieties at over 25cms. Breeding programmes have created many forms which now include singles, waterlily, collerette, anenome, pompon, ball, semi-cactus, cactus, decorative, orchid, and peony flower types to name but a few. There is probably a style, size and shade to meet just about every colour theme and requirement.
Origin
Dahlias are tuberous perennials originating from the uplands and mountains of Mexico and central america. The edible tubers were reportedly grown as a food crop by the Aztecs. As they are mostly unscented they attract pollinating insects through their bright colourful flowers.
Starting Dahlias in the spring
There is no doubt that growing high quality Dahlias takes some time and effort, particularly if you want to maintain and develop your investment in plants over a number of years. At this time of year we bring out the dahlias that we lifted last autumn and overwintered in our flower studio. Although some will perish we find that the majority will survive if the tubers are cleaned and air dried and then individually wrapped in newspaper in covered trays and boxes. Because we have got rather carried away over the years we now have so many tubers we just don’t have the room to lift and store every plant. We therefore allow some to take their chance in the garden covering them with straw and cloche plastic over winter. (We have written about how we do this in a previous article)
In March we check over the lifted tubers for any rot. If the damage is not too great it is often possible to remove one or two diseased tubers from a larger clump and they will still grow well.
The tubers are planted into individual large pots or crates in moist compost before bringing into a warm (15-18 °C) and light place indoors to encourage them to shoot. It is important to pinch out the tips of shoots once they begin to get going. This will help the plants to bush up and make a better shaped plant as well as reducing the risk of damage when you come to move the plants into the garden.
Propagation by division
There seems to be a difference of opinion on when to divide tubers if you want to split large clumps to create more plants. The RHS indicate that this should be done in the spring whilst others (eg. Floret Farm) advise that it is best done after lifting in the autumn. The important things to remember is that each portion must have a flower shoot and roots if it is to grow on and develop successfully.
This year, purely for practical reasons, we divided in the autumn. The clumps had got so large that they were difficult to effectively lift, clean and dry off before we set them down for the winter.
Taking cuttings
It is possible to take cuttings from your overwintered dahlias once the tubers have sprouted and the shoots are ≥2 inches long. This is again an excellent way of multiplying up your favourite varieties. We place the cuttings in small 3 inch pots of a free draining mix of multi-purpose compost and perlite (3 to 4 cuttings round the edge of each pot), water in, cover with a plastic bag and place on a warm window sill. They will root in just a few weeks if looked after. Once roots have formed we would then begin to remove the plastic cover slowly allowing some air into the bag for a few days before removing completely.
Soon you will have far more plants than you know what to do with and you can share with your friends!
Planting out
Dahlias can develop into large plants if they are grown well and need to be spaced at least 18 inches apart. Ideally they like to be planted in full sun with ground that retains moisture but is also well drained. On our wet clay soil we tend to plant on slightly raised beds to provide better drainage. We only plant out the growing tubers when all risk of frost has passed. However, you do sometimes get caught out and keeping some horticulture fleece at the ready to quickly throw over the plants to see them through a late cold snap is usually sufficient.
To get strong, lush plants that flower freely all year you need to water well and feed regularly. The RHS suggests feeding with a high potash liquid feed every 2 weeks from July to early September. I have to admit that regular feeding is not one of our strengths. Let us just say we are now better than we used to be!
Most of our Dahlias will need to be staked and supported at some point to ensure we get good straight stems that we can use in our bouquets and arrangements.
Pests to beware of
One advantage of starting the tubers indoors is that the plants are big enough to cope with the onslaught of slug and snails.
For those we leave in the ground the challenge is greater. You do really have to keep on top of them until the new shoots get away. Tidy up any old bricks, stones and straw where slugs and snails can hide during the day. A regular dose of biological control nematodes ( eg. Nemaslug) can also help. We are also delighted that the flower garden is home to toads, frogs and newts and keeping some longer, moist grass areas in the flower garden seems to encourage them.
Later in the year the battle will be with earwigs which will damage the leaves and eat the flowers. Interestingly we have found that white Dahlias seem to be particularly tasty but we don’t know the reason behind this.
Photoperiod
Armitage and Laushman report that day length has a direct influence on both flowering and tuber formation. Long days of 14 hours cause faster flower initiation but day lengths below 11 hours and greater than 16 hours have a negative impact. Short days (12 hours or less) result in tuber formation.
Breaking tuber dormancy
For many growers one of the reasons for lifting tubers in the autumn is to protect them from excessive cold temperatures over the winter. It is interesting to note that cold temperatures (around zero degrees centigrade) are however important in breaking tuber dormancy (Armitage and Laushman).
Cutting and conditioning
Dahlias can make spectacular cut flower arrangements if harvested at the correct stage and conditioned properly.
If the flowers are cut too early Dahlias buds often fail to open effectively. Equally you want to cut the flowers before the outer back petals begin to show signs of age. Petals will drop rapidly if the flowers are too old and so picking the flowers when they are at around 75% open is ideal.
The ideal time for cutting is in the early morning before the summer sun gets going. It is a lovely time to be out there in the flower field with your secateurs. The flowers once cut should immediately be placed into deep warm water and left to condition for a couple of hours. We use ‘flower food’ to increase vase life and some growers (see Linda Beutler) also advocate hot water treatment prior to placing in cool water.
We have noted that some varieties are more suitable for picking than others. For some varieties the flower will ‘shatter’ as you reach forward to cut them! We have found variety ‘Wizard of Oz’ particularly prone to this. Good for petal confetti however!
Treated well, Dahlias will give you months of pleasure throughout the summer and into the autumn months. The more you cut the more they will flower and it is important to keep on top of the dead heading to keep them flowering freely.
As the season progresses will will share some further pictures of the star blooms of the summer. Early spring is such an exciting time of year planning for warm summer days to come!
Further Reading
“Cut Flower Garden” by Floret Farms (ISBN 978-1-4521-4576-1)
“Specialty cut flowers” by Armitage and Lushman (ISBN 0-88192-579-9)
“Garden to vase” by Linda Beutler (ISBN 978-0-88192-825-9)
Honey Pot Flowers are wedding and celebration florists based in Warwickshire in the United Kingdom specialising in natural, locally grown seasonal flowers. We grow many of our own flowers allowing us to offer something very different and uniquely personal.
As our thoughts turn to the spring sowing of flower seeds we have been keeping an eye on the current trends for 2018 weddings. Certainly the talk on the various bridal forums has indicated that blue, particularly navy and royal blue, is likely to be very popular this year. This is also borne out by the orders we have received so far.
As there are relatively few true blue flowers this could potentially be challenging if we don’t carefully plan our sowing to ensure we have a good range in flowers throughout the season. It is, however, not just about the blue as we need to ensure that we have a selection of complementary and contrasting colours available to set off the blues perfectly.
So what are the options available for providing these blue floral arrangements with country garden flowers?
Powder Blue
I feel the lighter powder blues are perhaps easier to achieve than the darker navy and royal blues. Many of these varieties make lovely garden plants as well as having the advantage of being good cut flowers. Some of our favourites include:
Mid-blue
Deep Blue to Mauve/Purple
Complementary and contrasting colours
I think it is important to mention that when designing with blue, either in a garden setting or in a floral arrangement, you need other colours to bring the blue to life. Blue and white sit well together and provide a pleasing and relaxed effect but equally pairing deep blues and mauve with pops of yellow or even orange create a strong vibrant effect that can be truly stunning.
Blues have the ability to offer both soft or vibrant displays. If the blues become a strong trend in 2018 it could prove to be a very exciting year.
The fact that so few herbaceous plants are winter flowering makes the show of Helleborus orientalis around the Honey Pot Flowers garden particularly special at this time of year. With large flowers from dark aubergine through shades of pink to white, these flowers make you stop as you wander around the winter garden turning over the downward facing flowers to look at the exquisite markings on the ‘petals’.
Hellebores do not have petals in the normal sense of the word as their petals are really sepals (modified leaves that typically protect the flower bud).
Cultivation
To be honest once Hellebores have established they are very undemanding herbaceous perennials. They like areas of part-shade in our garden and seed themselves freely. When mature the plants do not like to be disturbed but careful transplanting of the seedlings (digging them up with soil so as to not expose the roots) allows you to distribute them throughout the garden.
You can also propagate larger plants by division in early spring if you have a particularly beautiful specimen that you want to bulk up. Your self-sown seedlings are unlikely to come true to colour (but half the fun is seeing how they will develop).
To show off the flowers at their best in the garden we usually remove the sad, dying leaves at soil level in January to expose the flowers. As well as exposing the flowers this helps reduce the spread of disease. The fresh new leaves will grow back again during the spring and look great throughout the summer.
Cutting and conditioning
With so few flowers around in the early months of the year, Hellebores are very valuable for winter arrangements. Because the flowers face downwards their full beauty may not be evident. For dinner table, coffee and side table arrangements simply taking the flowers and floating them in water face up in a clear crystal glass bowl can make a stunning display showing off all the varied colours and delicate markings.
It has to be said that many people find the conditioning of Hellebores a challenge. There seem to be a range of views on how this is best done.
Armitage and Lushman in “Speciality Cut Flowers” indicate that you can achieve 10-14 days in the vase. Stage of harvest seems to be particularly critical and they suggest for fresh flowers Hellebores should be cut when the stamens first become visible. For drying, flowers can be cut at anytime but particularly when the seed capsules become visible.
Sarah Raven in “The Cutting Garden” advocates putting the bottom inch of the stem in boiling water for 20 seconds and then plunging it into deep tepid water. With this treatment she indicates that the stems will stay fresh for 3 or 4 days (considerably less however than the vase life offered in Armitage and Lushman).
There also seems to be contradictory advice on the use of “flower food”. Comments from commercial growers in Armitage and Lushman indicate that “they have a wonderful long vase life, 10 days plus easy, and I give no special treatment other than Floralife”. In contrast Linda Beutler in “Garden to Vase” indicates that Hellesbore blooms do not tolerate floral preservative.
Most references indicate that Hellesbores do not last well in floral foam.
Our experience of using Hellesbores as cut flowers is that they are unpredictable. We have had most success when we have delayed cutting the flowers until the seed pods begin to develop. Cutting at this point the flowers are much more reliable and hold up well. Floret Farm’s “Cut Flower Garden” also recommends this approach and indicates that the flowers will last about 5-8 days in the vase.
It can be argued that using Hellesbores in ‘high stakes’ arrangements can be (is) risky. However, they are such charming flowers at a time of year when there is very little and it is well worth practising to perfect your conditioning technique.
Drying
As well as offering fresh cut stems, Hellebore flowers also dry well and can be used in buttonholes, corsages or wreaths. Gently covered with silica gel they will dry within 2 weeks and can then be stored in an air tight plastic box. They keep their colour well if kept in the dark and can be kept right through to the following Christmas to bring a different touch to Christmas wreaths.
Don’t be tempted to over dry them by leaving them in the silica gel for too long. They will simply suck up moisture when the are removed and will spoil quickly.
Other species in the garden
The majority of the Hellebores in the Waverley garden are Helleborus orientalis but we do also have occasional plants of the stinking Hellebore Helleborus foetidus. H. foetidus has smaller hanging bell shaped flowers on a tall stem that make a very useful fresh green addition to winter arrangements.
Hardy perennial
Origin: Greece and Turkey (ref: Wikipedia)
Family: Ranunculaceae
Hardiness: H7 (RHS hardiness rating – Hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
Height: 40-45 cm
Flowering period: January to March
Derivation of scientific name: According to Wikipedia and Witchipedia, the genus name Helleborus comes from the ancient Greek word elein, meaning “to injure” and bora, meaning “food”.
Toxicity: Poisonous
Floriography: Slander and scandal
References:
“The Cutting Garden” by Sarah Raven (ISBN 978-0-7112-3465-9)
“Specialty cut flowers” by Armitage and Lushman (ISBN 0-88192-579-9)
“Garden to Vase” by Linda Beutler (ISBN 978-0-88192-825-9)
“Cut Flower Garden” by Erin Benzakein and Julie Chai (ISBN 978-1-4521-4576-1)
We are out in the garden ... 