British Flowers
British Flowers Week
It is British Flowers Week in the UK. The event is all about celebrating British Flowers and our cut flower industry. It is also an excuse to feature some of our most gorgeous flowers for cutting on the blog.
The Cut Flower Garden or Pickery at Easton Walled Gardens
Here are seven favourites from the hundreds of cut flowers we grow in our Pickery every year. Do you agree? Let us know via our facebook page, twitter or instagram where we post as @ewgardens If you would like more information on any of the flowers shown tweet us and we will do all we can to help.
Our Top 7 UK flowers for cutting:
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From the hardy Perennials:
Astrantia
Astrantia in the Cottage Garden at Easton Walled Gardens
The ‘star’ flower and the only hardy perennial on this list. Flowers in May and early June and again later if you cut it back hard. The flowers can be used for arrangements immediately or dried for winter use.
Other perennials that will give you great results for the cutting garden include Geum ‘Mrs Bradshaw” (keep cutting and it will flower almost continuously through the summer) , Coreopsis grandiflora and the perennial rudbeckias.
2. From the mass of daffodils you can choose we have picked:
Narcissus ‘Sir Winston Churchill’
Narcissus ‘Sir Winston Churchill’ flourishes in short grass
A multi-headed, easy to grow daffodil flowering in mid April. I have chosen this variety because of its beautiful cream double flowers flecked with smaller petals the colours of a peach melba. But what really makes this daffodil exceptional is its sweet scent. There is nothing cloying about the scent – it is very clean. Hard to believe a daffodil can smell this good!
Narcissus ‘Sir Winston Churchill’ in the courtyard
3. Sweet Peas
Lathyrus odoratus
The queen of the cut flower garden. It was too hard to chose a favourite from the 100 varieties we grow every year so here is a general guide: If you want really strong scent chose a grandiflora such as ‘America’, if you want really big flowers chose a modern variety such as ‘Gwendoline.’ If you want lots of garden flowers and all the scent, choose a semi-grandiflora such as ‘Albutt Blue’, ‘Watermelon’ or ‘Kingfisher.’
100 varieties of sweet peas are grown in our Pickery every year.
For more information on sweet peas click any of the links below:
Growing your own sweet pea tips
4. Clary Sage
Salvia horminum
Salvia horminum or Clary Sage in the pickery at Easton Walled Gardens
Overlooked by big commercial growers but exceptionally good for growing on an allotment or smallholding, this sage is a great favourite with visitors once it starts to flower in June. The colour comes from adapted leaves or bracts; the flowers themselves are tiny. Use the white form for delicate posies of white and green. I think the pink forms are harder to use but the blue adds zest to any arrangement. Once it starts to flop, cut hard back and it will spring back for another round of late colour.
Blue Clary Sage is great with sweet peas and cornflowers
5. Sunflowers
Sunflower ‘Earthwalker’
Sunflower ‘Earthwalker’ with fennel
A branching, tawny sunflower that throws many superb flowerheads perfect for cutting on a grand scale. If you just love them for the garden this is an excellent variety for the back of a border and the goldfinches will love the seed heads.
Late summer in the Pickery at Easton Walled Gardens
6. Zinnia
Large headed rather than bedding zinnias are best for cutting. They come in mixes such as Early Wonder, Giant Scabious mix and the individual colours can be found in the Benary series.
Zinnias last for ages in water and can be used to bring an exotic flavour to your arrangements. We sow in May and harvest from mid august until the first hard frosts. Increasingly we use these strong flowers to combine with soft grasses.
Pennisetum bedded out with Zinnias has created a fascinating combination that visitors love.
7. Dahlias
Dahlia ‘Honka Red’
Dahlias ‘Tutu’ and ‘Honka Red’
This is a fabulous, long flowering dahlia for striking arrangements. The tubers last well over winter when lifted and provide a continuous flow of flowers from August to October. The red is particularly good with the yellows and orange hues of autumn.
Dahlias in the Pickery