June wedding at Cowdray House, West Sussex

It's been an extraordinarily busy Summer and I have some catching up to do on this journal. Apologies!

Now, I posted a photograph that I took of Miranda, my gorgeous bride whose reception was at Cowdray House at the end of June, but I didn't post any of my other photographs so I aim to address that in this journal entry.

It was a fabulous wedding and the Lewis family were an absolute dream to work with. It's always such a huge pleasure for me to work with such lovely people on these really important occasions in their lives. Helping to create great memories through flowers and styling, it's hard not to be swept up in the happiness wave. We became firm friends in the run up to the wedding and we've met up on several occasions since and I know we'll always stay in touch.

The Lewis's wedding was one of the first weddings that Cowdray House had hosted and Sian and Jayne, who hosted the weekend on behalf of the house, made sure it was a huge success. Jacaranda Catering provided the food and a team to run the event over the weekend, led by the amazing Minty Moore and I hear that the food was superb. If you're looking for a caterer for a wedding or an event, do get in touch with them, I often work with them on events and the clients are always really delighted with their excellent food and brilliant service.

My team were superb (Nia, Sue, Rob, Alyson and Stuart) and we had a great time making and installing the flowers. We all went on to make and install the floral decorations at another large private party the day after so it was a very busy few days, but fun too.

Here are a few of the photographs that I took on the morning of the wedding.

Happy memories.

St Mary's Church, Easebourne, Midhurst, West Sussex

A Country Wedding in July

It was another beautiful July day in West Sussex when Claire and Graham's wedding took place.

We used seasonal English flowers in pink, ivory and blue to create garden inspired table wreaths with candles ; candles being an essential component at all weddings, no matter what time of year.

Claire's gorgeous bridal bouquet was filled with garden roses, cafe au lait dahlias in blush pink, jasmine trails, pink oregano and pink garden anemones.

The Jaeger LeCoultre Polo Gold Cup at Cowdray Park

I'm finally catching up on my updates after what has been an extraordinarily busy summer at This Floral Life.

Our brilliant Midhurst caterers, Jacaranda Catering, were responsible for hosting the Cowdray Polo Club members enclosure at Cowdray Park on Gold Cup day and we were delighted to be invited to decorated the stand.

We used a selection of sunflowers (gold!), delphiniums, hydrangeas and foxtail lillies for the main displays with Louis Roederer champagne inspired arrangements on the bar.

The vintage van, which belongs to Jacaranda, was filled with seasonal British plants in yellow and white and was such a huge success that we've decided to hire it out for events and weddings, filled with plants which can be either hired or bought...more on that later!

Here are a few photos of the event.

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Wedding at Cowdray House - The beautiful Bride

This was such a beautiful wedding and the family were an absolute joy to work with.

Miranda and James got married on 25th June 2016 at St Mary's Church, Cowdray Park, Easebourne, Midhurst and the weekend reception and celebrations were held at the fabulous Cowdray House, Midhurst.

Miranda looked incredibly beautiful and I managed to take a few photos of her leaving Cowdray House for the Church. I'll post more shortly but here is one of my favourites...

Foxgloves and Other Seasonal Flowers for June

I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like foxgloves.

Maybe it's because they're slightly wild, a little dangerous, native to our shores and oh-so-beautiful. They also last really well in the vase, an important quality in a flower.

I've been using them a lot recently whether as a cut flower or in plant form and they're incredibly popular.

Here's a seasonal planter I made with them for a recent event, mixing them with dahlias, cornflowers, deutzia, roses, sweet peas, nicotiana, green bell, oregano and Queen Ann's lace.

Glorious Peonies

It's Peony season!

They're incredibly beautiful, long lasting, full of surprises and everyone adores them.

I absolutely love them and have been working my way through all of the wonderful varieties recently.

I've got an excellent range of peonies in Cowdray Farm Shop at the moment so , if you live in Midhurst, it's definitely worth a peek.

The Last Flowers of Early Spring

I love change, I love the next thing and I don't spend much time looking backwards.

Maybe years spent in the fashion business had that effect on me but I find change exciting and seasonal changes really thrilling!

So, May has been an amazing month for new flowers but, before we move onto that, its time to say goodbye to some of the flowers that have served us well in early spring.

I made some of these bottles a few weeks ago for a PR job and already the tulips have finished, the hellebores are now looking raggedy in the garden the forsythia is now in full leaf. The ranunculus are hanging on but it really is time to move on as there's so much more available in May and by the time we get to June? Well, just watch this space.....

Bottle vase of Aquilegea, Hellebores, Ranunculus, Spearmint, Fritillaries, Sweet Peas and Forsythia

Tatler 8 Best Farm Shops in the UK

It was fabulous to see that the Cowdray Farm Shop in Midhurst was recognised as one of the 8 Best Farm Shops in the UK by Tatler.

I provide all of the flowers and plants for the Cowdray Farm Shop. You can actually see them in the photo below, which is by the super talented Kerry from Whippet Snippets.

The Cowdray Farm Shop is an incredible farm shop and well worth a visit. It's located on the beautiful Cowdray Estate, Midhurst, which is in the centre of the South Downs National Park. It's easy to find as it's located just off the A272 at Easebourne, Midhurst, in the glorious Cowdray Park.

With a superb butcher selling estate reared meat, a fabulous bakery, amazing cheese counter that sells Neal's Yard cheese (try the Stichelton!) and the freshest, seasonal flowers and plants delivered daily by my own company, the farm shop is a great asset to the local area and an excellent place to shop.

The cafe is a great place to visit, the food is always really delicious, the team are always friendly and the service is always really good. On a sunny day the patio is the best spot in town and I often meet friends and clients there for a healthy salad and a fresh 'green' juice.

Aquilegia and Other Spring Flowers

It's Aquilegia week at the flower studio.

I'm selling lots of different varieties at the Cowdray Farm Shop both as plants and as cut flowers. I find them endlessly fascinating and love photographing their unique form.

They are fabulous garden plants as they self seed and pop up year after year. They've been present in every garden I've ever owned and yet I've never planted any until this year. It's been fun selecting new varieties for the cutting garden.

I've been making up posies with aquilegia, salmon parrot tulips, forsythia, fritillaries, ranunculus and hellebore. I love this palette of washed out lemons, peach and off white; fresh and uplifting!

My Spring Favourites

It's been an incredibly busy start to the year but I always make time to photograph my flowers. I love capturing flowers in season and have been documenting some of my favourite spring flowers. I've been using all of these in my bouquets at the Cowdray Farm shop.

The Parrot Tulip

I've been documenting some incredible tulips, recently.

I'm in awe of their beauty, colours and the parrot tulip in full flight are incredible.

Spring florals

It was an incredibly busy March in the flower studio with Mothering Sunday in the first week and Easter in the last.

These events are huge 'peaks' in the flower business and although it's exceptionally hard work it's also really enjoyable. I loved this year more than any other as in addition to the fabulous variety of spring flowers I get to play with for my flower bouquets and bunches I also get to design planted bulb arrangements which I absolutely adore.

Bridal Crown Narcissi and Muscari planter for Cowdray House

Planted willow basket with Bridal Crown Narcissi for Cowdray House

Bringing the outside inside is even more important when Easter is cold and wet, as it was for at least some of the bank holiday weekend. Watching the bulbs grow and unfold their flowers and witnessing the flowering branches of forsythia, chaenomelis, cherry blossom and magnolia burst into flower is sheer joy.

I've lost count of the number of Easter 'trees' I've made this year for the displays at Cowdray Farm shop and Cafe, clients, friends and myself. Branches of contorted willow, birch branches with catkins, real painted blown eggs and sweet little birds make fun Easter arrangements and, after Easter, you can remove the eggs and enjoy the branches which will burst into leaf heralding the arrival of Spring.

Spring and Bringing the Outside In

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold; when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade”

— Charles Dickens

Yes, it really was one of those March days today that Dickens so beautifully described.

The wind was biting but the sun was warm and gave the promise of sunny days ahead. And so, spring is officially here and April is close and all manner of bulbs and plants are tentatively poking their heads out of the ground to check on conditions.

The 'wild' native primulas are blooming on the banks next to my flower studio and I was very excited to see the heart shaped leaves of the wild violets lining the lawn today.

A friend sent me a photo of a glorious display of Scillas over at Uppark (I think it was Scilla Siberica but I can't be sure) and it made me want to plant some of these fabulous bulbs in my own garden. Unfortunately, my suppliers have sold out so I've bought them in as a cut flower today instead and have been adding them to my bunches at the Cowdray Farm Shop.

The flower studio is fully stocked with bulbs of tulips, narcissi, iris, hyacinths, muscari, crocus, lily of the valley and, my all time favourite, Frittilaria. I really love putting together bulbs planters and spring wreaths and it's been extremely busy at Cowdray as the customers, like me, have been bringing the outside in.

Fritillaria Meleagris

One of my all time favourite Spring flowering bulbs is Fritillaria Meleagris.

You may have heard them referred to buy their common names of Snakes Head Fritillaries, Dropping Tulip, Chequerboard Daffodil or Chess Flower; all rather accurate descriptions of these gorgeous little nodding flowers.

Unlike most Spring flowering bulbs which like well drained soil, Fritillaria Meleagris like damp conditions and are happy to be planted at the edges of damp woodlands or in wild flower meadows and will flowers from March to May.

The exquisitely beautiful native wild flowers are members of the Lily family and their colours range from pink and white, purple and white to plain white. I love the purple and white chequerboard ones.

I've planted up some Fritillaria Meleagris in lovely zinc bowls to sell at The Cowdray Farm Shop, on The Cowdray Estate, here in Midhurst where I provide all of the cut flowers and plants. I'm also including the cut flowers in the bouquets I sell as I love to surprise and delight customers with something unusual and seasonal.

I have a little bunch of these glorious cut flowers on my own kitchen table as I like to test the vase life of all of the flowers I sell. I'm happy to report that they are looking fabulous on day 5 and they look set to continue for at least another 5 days!

It's a floral life!

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Planting the Seed

I grew up with parents who adored gardening and growing their own fruit, vegetables and flowers. Our garden was small but really beautiful and full of delicious scents and textures and there was an allottment a short walk away which was a fun place to go on a Sunday afternoon. The shed had curtains and there was always a whistling kettle and kale-a-plenty. My grandparents had the 'plot' next door to ours and it really was a home from home.

My Mother always had flowers in the house and and I know that she, like me, found them fascinating and intoxicating. She trained herself to be a florist by reading library books on floristry techniques. She was a very creative person; a talented dressmaker, excellent cook, artist and writer.

They say the apple never falls far from the tree and my interests turned out to be very similar to hers; the seed was planted very early on.