In a world where so much is mass produced, imported and contributing negatively towards climate change, it seems absolutely barmy to me that flowers are among the list of offenders. Flowers of course are something that grow so wonderfully well in the UK, could contribute positively towards climate change, by bringing in more pollinators, creating wonderful compost, and being part of a vibrant ecosystem. But instead, they are mostly imported, dunked up to their necks in chemicals like sulphur nitrate and then sold at a supermarket wrapped in cellophane, quite often as a loss leader to encourage people into stores. This combination of CO2 being pumped out from the importations, monocropping depleting soil of nutrients, and use of toxic chemicals is enough to make you scream!
Flowers in their natural state are something positive, a part of nature, that works harmoniously with our fragile planets ecosystem and something we have a real luxury of enjoying. Let’s celebrate these qualities and embrace sustainable seasonal flowers. Whether you choose to grow your own or shop from a local flower grower or do a combination of both, embracing fresh seasonal flowers is a far more sustainable choice that also connects you to that moment in time and helps you appreciate the beauty of every season.
Maybe you already grow flowers, but you only really grow them for summer, and find yourself still purchasing the odd bunch of imported blooms in the out season. Whilst I applaud you on growing flowers already, I’d encourage you to embrace the off season too. It needn’t be complicated every season has something wonderful to offer, even in the depths of winter. I’ve wrote below some really super simple ideas of blooms you could grow for each season to avoid ever buying an imported stem again!
Very simple seasonal floral ideas:
Winter: In Winter you could embrace the beautiful stems of the season like twisted hazel dripping with catkins or fill a vase with beautiful dried seed pods such as honesty seed heads, or bring in a few small outside pots filled with seasonal plants such as hellebores, or snowdrops.
Spring: In Spring of course bulbs are growing in full force, daffodils, tulips and are wonderful to cut at this time of year, and there’s also lovely seeds that can be grown to flower this time too, such as wallflowers, Cerinthe and calendula.
Summer: In Summer of course there is a buffet of flowers, from perennials to shrubs to annuals and biennials you really are spoiled for choice in summer. Some of my top summer flowering favourites to grow from seed include Foxgloves Godetia, Malope, Sunflowers and Chrysanthemum rainbow (all absolutely wonderful by themselves in a vase, so no need for complicated arranging!)
Autumn: In Autumn you might think things are winding down but there are loads of plants still going strong. Some wonderful easy to grow annuals for Autumn include Asters, Amaranthus, Calendula, Nigella and Cosmos. All of these are exceptionally easy to grow and will give you armfuls of blooms without ever needing to buy a supermarket bunch again.
Whatever you choose to grow, I wish you a wonderful 2024 embracing sustainable seasonal flowers!
Higgledy Gemma