British Flowers Week starts on Monday, celebrating the environmental and commercial benefits of growing and buying locally-produced flowers.
It's much needed, too. Not long ago, half of the flowers bought in the UK were grown here, but that has slumped to 10 per cent. The UK cut flower industry is worth £2.2 billion every year, according to the Flowers and Plants Association, so it's high time we supported our own organic farmers and growers, rather than buying conventionally produced flowers shipped from all over the world.
Andrea Jones runs Mayfield Flowers in Stewarton, Ayrshire. At Gardening Scotland a fortnight ago she told me: "Organic flower cultivation is especially important as the conventional cut flower industry uses vast quantities of artificial fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides to produce stock that's high in yield, uniformity and resilient to global transportation by air." Jones is a member of Flowers from the Farm, a social enterprise established last November and part of a UK-wide network set up four years ago.
I was delighted to meet some of these growers at the Royal Highland Centre. They had a corner of the Caley stand in the Floral Hall and were a real hit with visitors. Their eye-catching display was subtle and inspiring, made enticingly fresh with young birch leaves and apple blossom. Phacelia, Centaurea montana and pink tulips were also prominently on display.
Paula Baxter, Scottish organiser of the group, runs a cut flower farm at Foulden in the Borders. "I now sell flowers in bunches through local shops, florists, and by the bucketful direct to the public for weddings, parties and events, along with bouquets, buttonholes and the occasional floral arch," she says. "I aim for very high quality blooms and lush foliage that demonstrates how the very best flowers can be grown in Scotland. I love the response to fresh locally grown flowers. People always smile when they see them then take a deep breath to inhale the fragrance."
Most members of her group have medium-sized gardens and work part time. One of them, Dorothy Hardie, told me the gardens, like the growers, "have to be hard-working ladies". They have to produce lots of blooms over a long picking period. And, critically, they must last well, once picked. Hardie admitted her passion entails a lot of hard work and isn't in the least glamorous, but it's extremely rewarding.
Some of Hardie's favourites include cosmos, delphiniums, foxgloves, yarrow, hesperis, lupins, sweet peas, phlox, roses and dahlias. So there's a mix of annuals and perennials, with foliage and winter-flowering shrubs also playing an important part.
Flowers from the Farm organisers are keen to encourage as many gardeners as possible to become involved, growing cutting flowers for themselves. I couldn't agree more. Why not treat flowers as a crop, just like lettuce and strawberries?
Jones runs several workshops during the summer. "Apart from a relaxing day out," she says, "I try to dispel some of the myths that homegrown flowers wilt or don't last. I only have small groups so everyone has the chance to get hands-on experience with my guidance."
If you fancy going along, email info@mayfieldflowers.co.uk or call 01560 486770 or 07973 257190. Visit www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk/scotland.
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