Balancing Floral Design and Growing Flowers
Orchard
Last year was an amazing whirlwind of freelancing, beautiful weddings, gorgeous natural arrangements for homes, business’ and remembrance, and countless hours spent creating floral designs that reflected the natural, wild, and garden-inspired style that I love. All mixed in with the juggle of daily life with a family and an elderly parent. Sadly one area of my business didn’t flourish quite as much : growing my own flowers.
Growing flowers in my orchard has always been at the heart of what I do. There’s something magical about cutting flowers for a wedding that you know will create the floating romance or will lead you into a magical scene with their delicate scent. Or flowers for a funeral that will evoke fond memories. All the more so when they have been nurtured from seed to stem by you, each carefully selected flower bringing their own uniqueness to an arrangement or bouquet. But last year, the demands of running a busy floral design studio mixed with family life left me with little time to dedicate to the orchard.
I found myself relying more on other amazing growers and wholesalers and less on the flowers I had grown myself. While the arrangements and flowers were still beautiful and in keeping with my aesthetic, I missed the connection and uniqueness that comes from working with flowers straight from the orchard. I also missed the physical working, sowing seeds and my hands in the soil, something I love just as much as the creativity of arranging.
Poppy “Amazing Grey”
Photo @Katherine Newman Photography
So as this year begins filled with its fresh opportunities and weddings, I’m determined to get back into the orchard and grow some of the beautiful, dancing, sweet scented flowers that I know will bring a natural beauty to the arrangements I create.
As with many people running their own business the juggle with home life and family is always a challenging one and although last year my decision to take a step back from growing flowers was the right one, I can’t ignore how much I missed it and I’m happily grabbing hold of that longing and passion to help keep me focused enough to implement the few things I learnt from last year to find a better balance.
Time management is so important, something I’ve never been that great at and growing flowers requires consistent attention. It’s not something that can be squeezed into an already packed schedule. Plugs can’t plant themselves and weeds will happily takeover every inch when left to their own devices, making a once beautiful space completely overwhelming. So this year I’m carving out specific days in my calendar for working in the orchard. These will be non-negotiable times to plant, maintain, and harvest
Rosa “Emily Bronte”
I’ve also realized that trying to grow too many varieties at once can also be overwhelming. A smaller selection of flowers could have been more manageable and just as impactful in arrangements. I’ve chosen a handful of flower varieties to prioritize this year, including those that are hardy, prolific, and perfect for my signature wild arrangements. Think lots of dancers like corncockle, cosmos and the beautiful scents of roses and sweet peas.
Finally I missed the seasons last year so much and the flowers that make my arrangements feel so special at each stage of the growing year. It reminded me how much I value working with what’s naturally available whether at its peak or slightly going over.
Sweetpea “Piggy Sue"
During the Christmas period I had some wonderful friends to stay one of whom is a talented gardener herself. She very quickly pointed out that I couldn’t possibly get back into the orchard myself and that there was too much to do and too overwhelming. So her answer to this was for them to come back and for me to have an orchard gardening party with friends to get it cleared.
Sharing the workload will definitely make the process more enjoyable and sustainable. I also have a great network of fellow growers who I know if they can will help, so I’m finding myself actually looking forward to this part, it will be bonding as well as gratifying.
Rosa “Hot Chocolate” Rosa “Koco Loko”
Balancing floral design and growing isn’t easy, but I’m excited for this year and the challenge. Being able to cut beautiful flowers for a wedding bouquet or arrangement makes it all the more worth while.
Here’s to a year of even more beauty and floral happiness!
Happy New Year everyone!