Along side my veggie gardening I’ve really got into cut flowers the last couple of years, this us the second year where I’ve got cut flowers in the house from spring until Autumn. Last year all the zinnias ect were so prolific in the autumn I was also taking bouquets into school, one for the staff room, secretary’s office, guard house at s minimum, right until frost. Just adored seeing everyone’s faces light up seeing the happy bouquets! I’ve done more reading and I think am slowly improving my arranging (last year I didn’t really understand about the importance of fillers / foliage / airy bits ect). Here are this weeks and last weeks ( now combined as some things like cosmos don’t last long) and working on a new one. Does anyone else grow cut flowers?
No sorry, but be interesting reading for me. I’ll add another question hopefully you don’t mind?
I’ve always liked dry flower arrangements and would like to learn more about the types and techniques, any photos etc.
My mother used to do this - she grew her own flowers and dried them. Some were naturally dry, some were hung upside down in bunches to dry in the kitchen and some were preserved by cutting them and putting them in jars of water with glycerine in (roses if I remember rightly ) There are lots of ways of preserving flowers and many are very successful.
My friend has a fairly new flower farm in Oz and she sent me to the Floret farm website just look it up) . Its fabulous, US based with gorgeous photography, and got me totally hooked 
. I’ve even bought her book! So much inspiration and tutorial / lesson blog posts.
I shall update this thread as I learn then! About to try to work out how to do my Zinnias. So far my airdrying effort was a fail! The ones I’ve forgotten in vase have done better and I believe that’s what you do with hydrangea.
I was really good getting everything started but then with visitors, life, heatwaves, a lot of things are still in pots so I won’t have the harvest I’d hoped for but will still be bigger then last year, particularly if I can get stuff in the ground next week and first frost isn’t too early!
This is my friends gorgeous farm💗
https://www.kinnillamarket.com.au/flowers
And her pop up flower stall
So cute!
Lots all over the world, particularly UK, US and Oz but starting here of ‘farmer florists’, getting rid of shipped flowers! I even looked into doing it but I’d have to set up as a full farmer so absolutely onerous 
One of the things that seems to have changed since my mother did this sort of thing is the arrival of silica for drying flowers. In the old days I think you used rice 
My inhalers always come with little packs of silica to keep the inhaler dry and I’ve been keeping them on the “I’m sure they’ll come in useful for something” principle. I think I may just have found the “something” 
Yes I have spotted posts about that. I’ll maybe have to buy in bulk if the other methods don’t work!!
Did a big pick yesterday and took in 4 vases of flowers to school today. A bit gutted as not been down for ages and loads needed cutting. Hopefully frost will hold off for s few more weeks!
You seem to have a pretty wide selection there. Well done to you.
I don’t grow cut flowers as such as we only have a very small garden. However we do often cut some of the flowers that we do grow to take into the house. Roses and Dahlias mainly. I did make a bit of an error with a particular Dahlia called Tequila Sunrise as they have grown 6 feet tall.
Not for cut flowers but I’ve always wanted a big pot of spring flowers at the front door, unfortunately until now I always think of it in the spring when it’s too late! Today I got a big pot and have done 3 layers of spring bulbs that should do from March to May, I’m hoping anyway!! 
That’s what I do. The only difference is I wait until after Christmas and buy whatever tulips the local garden centre is selling at 30% -50% off. 
It means that I’m not fussy about colours - just take what they’ve got left. But it means I can really pack them - like you, three layers. Some may already be sprouting but not an issue. Makes a lovely display. I tend to go for late flowering ones so they come out together or follow each other.
I night get more! To be fair, some of them where a mix if tulips, hyacinth and 2 other things from lidl for a whole €4 and 2 bags of 10 tulips from action, under €2 each! So with the soil 10-12 € for what will hopefully be very pretty 
We saw a gardening programme some time ago where there were loads and loads of pots either side of the front door - something like this
so we’ve got pots of shrubs, (including begonias, fuschias, dahlias, penstomen and geraniums) on either side of our front door. We’re at the point of taking all the ones we need to overwinter away, and replacing them with pots of bulbs and heathers.
And we saw an Alan Titchmarsh You Tube vid the other day where he says don’t plant tulips when you plant daffs and hyacinths etc. They need to be planted in December or January when it is really cold. Reason for this is to protect them from fungal diseases like tulip fire that thrive in warmer conditions so Sue’s idea of buying them late is a good idea.
If you want to get some special variety bulbs, we buy from DutchGrown.eu - we’ve never been disappointed with their bulbs, dahlias and other shrubs. I posted earlier about the dahlias we bought from them this year. All the varieties are still in bloom - in fact the one called Labrynth has got 12 flowers with about 4 buds ready to come out. They might get damaged by the frost we’re expecting tonight (-2c) but they’ve been absolutely stunning throughout the summer.
Heads up Farmer Gracy (looks UK but actually ships direct from Holland) has 40% off all thier remain bulbs plus free shipping! I have just ordered 66 bulbs for 28 euros!! Some stunning daffs in whites, creams and salmons etc, some alliums, Ranunculus (which I’ve not tried before so really looking forward to trying them), and a Eremurus which I don’t really know what it is but it looks cool so goign to give it a whirl!
I ordered in the Spring, bare-roots of grasses, plants etc and they did really well (other than my cafe au lait dahlia but my garden farmer friend says that they are total princesses!!).
A vote from me for Farmer Gracy, I’ve been a customer for a few years now, excellent quality and they still ship to the Uk.
To quote myself I was talking about setting up a little flower farm but it seemed undoable with French paper work, I have however found a way to do it under AE as potager produce as long as my growing area is under 500m 2! So I’m currently planting hundreds of seeds! Last count was up to about 860! I have bought small soil blockers to go in to my bigger one so can grow loads on my heat mats with out taking up too much space.
Great idea! 
