This week the theme has been 'preserving summer & embracing autumn'
The barn roof is covered with several hundred British grown bunches of flowers drying for the winter months and of course the festive season (i didn't say it!) The changing of the seasons is healthy for us to recognise, it is a chance to 'reset' and to know that, despite the madness of the world right now we’re moving forwards. The only constant is change.
I've been having fun creating new novelty designs with the first flowers out of the dryer and down from the roof. Changing the style of dried designs to appeal to different consumers. The fields are a golden yellow colour and the harvest is almost done by the looks of the giant round bales appearing. We will share this inspiration in the next few weeks with you on the Evolve social media; meanwhile dried products are being added to the webshop as they are ready.
Pampas - for those of you keen on the fluffy plumes will be ready during September/October.
And on the FRESH British selection....
NEW! This week Delphiniums steal the show
Blues, lilacs and some white..
Asters
300gram bunches of multi-headed Asters and plenty to go at. Full colour range, great fillers.
Hypericum
Green, Red berries and a favourite of mine Coral Pink.
Gladioli
Full colour range - Pink - Coral, White, Yellow, Red - Orange and Purple
Agapanthus
Outdoor grown (smaller headed) blue remaining - likely to be the last week.
Hydrangea
Hydrangea is steadily going along and this week a few Diamond series are added to the mix. White, Lilac and Pink to make a statement for the long awaited weddings.
Amaranthus
Amaranthus looks great with an abundance of bright yellow Sunflowers, great for adding 'enclosed space' to designs and increase the value perception! Plenty of Sunflowers!
Lilies
Loads of lovely lilies - Rose lilies continue and now two growers on board
Pink and White Orientals are online and 3 colours of LA's.
The varieties will changeover towards Samantha & Selita for Pink and White Leona are this weeks Pollen free favourites.
White Ascot and Pink Sorbonne in the Oriental selection.
Please do also note that our growers (for all crops) keep their prices fairly level for the whole season - none of this 'up and down auction' trading! This makes it easier for you to quote ahead on products, know your margins and not get caught out by trading peaks and troughs caused by the world market.
Scabious
Scabious Blue moving in to limited volumes.
Crocosmia
Crocosmia seed heads - limited.
Iris
Blue Discovery and Purple Discovery this week..
Foliages
Eucalyptus parvifolia predicted to be back around September - October.
Irish greens are still going along steadily - please do consider there is a 5-7 day lead time when getting product from Ireland and as such it will benefit from being stored cool and damp (mist and cover with clear bag will increase the life of the product)
Final Field Notes
Labour and haulage challenges continue to affect our industry. One grower said this week "the flowers don't stop growing if we don't have people to harvest them"
The Antirhinums and Lisianthus will appear SOON! next week we may see the first cut... Some things are worth waiting for and these two products certainly are!
Quote of the Week:
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” - Charles Darwin
Keep Calm & Keep On Flowering!
Yours in Flowers
Helen