Learning Resources Archive - Flowers from the Farm

Stokesay Flowers grows this gorgeous ruffled creamy rose called Tranquility

Properly perfumed roses

Victoria Martin of Stokesay Flowers explains why she would always choose a romantic garden rose and why she loves to grow them.

Harebell and Bee use seasonal ingredients for autumn in this still life arrangement with the rich yellows and golds of rudbeckia blooms, golden pyracantha berries and the buttery tones of silver birch leaves on the turn. A large silver green pumpkin sits between two vases of rudbeckia flowers on a wooden table.

Rudbeckias – a grand finale

Josie Brown of Brown’s British Flowers, Cambridgeshire, shares her love of this late summer and autumn beauty which lasts until the first frosts.

Justdahlias Philippa wears the flowers that she's obsessed with piled high in a towering hat made of richly coloured blooms.

Addicted to dahlias

Philippa Stewart of Justdahlias explains how what started out as her dabble with dahlias turned into an obsession and then a business. She shares her favourites and her experience of growing them.

Alliums growing on the Chiltern Sky Flowers flower farm.

Allium fireworks

Alliums are great for bringing drama and colour to the May gap and bridge the divide between spring and summer. Catrinel Wright of Edington Flowers explains more.

Tulips

Liz Rawlings of Cotswold Posy Patch shares her top five favourite tulip varieties for stunning colours, bold shapes and eye-catching markings.

Hellebores in shades of pink and white fill a shady border. Photo: Tuckshop Flowers

Heavenly hellebores

Hellebores are delicate beauties and are best suited to arrangements where the stems will be kept in water, but if cut very mature, they can last in wedding bouquets to be enjoyed over the course of a day.

Zara of Gordon Castle cuts pastel sweet peas as the sun goes down.

Best annuals for cutting

Quick and easy to grow, annuals make fantastic fillers to plug gaps in herbaceous planting and with a little deadheading they often flower all summer long. Ed Bollam, head gardener at Gordon Castle, shares his favourite annuals for cutting.

Kate of Greenery Flowers peeps out from behind a huge bunch of chunky sedum, silvery senecio and aromatic bay leaves

Foliage for flower arranging

While there are many florists’ favourites out there, your own garden, hedgerow or woodland offers up a world of leafy material for people looking to bring the natural world inside. Kate Ladd of Greenery Flowers explains more.

Ashley of Green and Gorgeous drives along the paths of his flower farm at Green and Gorgeous, with his trailer full of British summer cut flowers. In the cutting beds, bright dahlias tower in pinks, oranges and purples.

UK Seasonality

Use our learning resources to find out what is flowering when in the UK so that you can always choose flowers in tune with the seasons, whatever the occasion.

Scent

Everyone loves scent and Carol Siddorn of Carol’s Garden explains how you can have it in your plot throughout the year.

Posies of British cut flowers gathered in a small gift bag ready for local delivery by Becky of Picking Posies, Lancashire.

The carbon footprint of flowers

Rebecca Swinn compares the carbon credentials of British grown and imported bouquets in this summary of her dissertation findings by Angela Coulton, Petal and Twig.

This subtle white narcissus is Green Eyed Pearl. It makes a sweetly scented cut flower and has a softly shaded lime green heart at the base of its short wide trumpet. Its pure white petals are gently reflexed.

Narcissi

Catrinel Wright of Edington Flowers explains why she prizes these easy-to-grow flowers and Carol Siddorn of Carol’s Garden sings their praises for a scented vase.