An October bouquet
Tracey Mosley of Mrs Mosley’s Posies, Wiltshire, shares exuberant autumn bouquets as she celebrates the final fling in the cutting patch before the frost hits.
Any October bouquet of British cut flowers is a joy, as one never knows when the frosts are going to strike and put an end to many of our garden grown blooms for the year.
We’ve been lucky this year so far, as I write on 20th October, I’m still cutting dahlias, cosmos, scabious, and many others from my flower plot.
I live in Wiltshire, so am more fortunate than many other growers in the country, in still cutting blooms; but I know of other growers not far from me, who farm in frost pockets & have lost their flower crop for this year.
I have been growing a few hardy chrysanthemums over the last few years, to extend my growing season: I usually have them for October and sometimes November bouquets. I find that their bright colours hold well and will be adding more varieties to the garden.
I like to use foliage and herbs in my garden inspired bouquets; at this time of year, I include evergreens such as pittosporum, as well as deciduous physocarpus and cotinus in deep purple shades. I still have orange balm and pelargonium leaves to cut, which add scent and texture to a bouquet. I’m also fond of grasses, which are looking fabulous in the garden at this time of year and get incorporated in as many bouquets and arrangements as possible in October. I even use them when they’ve dried, as I love their texture and movement.
This is a job of constant flux, of flowing with the seasons, of busy days and endlessly unfinished lists, of grubby nails and stained jeans, of beauty and decomposition and everything in between. And honestly, despite the highs and the lows and the occasional complaints, I wouldn’t change a thing.
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