Welcome to the weekend! I’m here to give you a blast of inspiration for growing and enjoying sustainable flowers. This is free to all you lovely subscribers; if you want to get more detailed practical advice and behind-the-scenes action, as well as support small sustainable business, you can upgrade to paid below:
Flowers of the week
The very, very last of this year’s flowers - dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait’ and ‘Labyrinth’ with a bit of gaura foliage. Trust dahlias to bring the drama in the near-winter gloom.
Why grow your own cut flowers?
Because when so much is going on in the world that we can’t control, it’s important to focus on what we can. Gardening makes you happier and healthier, giving you more energy to make a difference in the world, and makes the world around you a better place for wildlife and for people.
This week’s cutting garden job
Get your tulips planted! Thanks to an infection called tulip fire, which spreads readily in warmer weather, you need to wait until it gets colder to get tulip bulbs in the ground. Now is the time. Plant them deep, at least twice the depth of the bulb, and remember to clearly label where they are and what varieties (you think you’ll remember in April, but believe me, you won’t). If you haven’t bought any bulbs yet, tulips or otherwise, keep an eye out for the end-of-planting-season sales.
Make growing your own cut flowers simple
If you’d like some pro help with your cutting garden next year, I can help! Become a paid subscriber and I’ll walk you through the cutting garden year here on Substack. If you’d like a personalised cutting garden plan, or if you’re local to me in South Ayrshire and you’d like me to get you started in person, email hellolarkrose@gmail.com to find out more. And for local folks, you can order plants grown locally by me at www.larkrose.co.uk , ready for collection in the spring.