Many of you have been asking us how our flowers are coping with the drought. It’s been very challenging but we are doing okay thank you! As well as growing a vast array of drought tolerant flowers the main thing keeping us afloat is a spring water irrigation on our flower plot and it has made all the difference. Swipe to keep reading >

About 16 years ago, Loddington Farm put in a water reservoir, along with solar panels and a wind turbine. The reservoir, and the irrigation system attached to it, has been our lifeline in recent years and especially this one. And we couldn’t be more grateful.

Our heart goes out to other flower growers who do not have irrigation or those who have mains irrigation, which has then been switched off. Our thoughts are constantly with other growers right now who are having to water by hand—it’s backbreaking work. Working in this heat alone is a challenge in itself, so we have adopted ‘heat-wave hours’ to start and finish early and take small breaks when needed.

Today we have had a few light showers, and it has filled our hearts with joy… if not the reservoir just yet. It is certainly looking low, so we could do with lots more rain in the coming weeks, to replenish it. A few more showers like today, will give our flowers a boost and we expect to have a flush of flowers for the next few weeks of pick your own.

So, thank you for asking… Do come along for pick-your-own to see for yourself. Our late summer and autumn flowers are coming through and there are lots of interesting grasses and seed pods too. We have cosmos, amaranthus, dahlias, sunflowers and lots more. Pizza & PYO runs til Sept 3 and Saturday PYO til Sept 26… We hope to see you soon! ...

Another visit to another incredible, ground-breaking garden… and a fantastic follow-up to my recent visit to @joshua_sparkes at Birch Farm.

This time, thanks to a bright spark (Jill) at the @gdnmediaguild we were lucky enough to visit Hilldrop in Essex and its creator, John Little.
It’s hard to know where to start… though, I can say without hesitation, I finished the day feeling as if i was floating on a cloud of positivity. And fired up to go home and look at my own garden in a completely different light, again (Birch Farm had a similar effect).

John’s brilliant talk, before we toured the garden, caused a few chins to drop… and we certainly had our accepted wisdom challenged. He’s a disrupter of the best kind. Alongside running the @greenroofco John set up @carenotcapital to teach professional & municipal gardeners ‘everything but horticulture’. Check out their Insta to find out more and / or donate.

The garden / space at Hilldrop, as well as featuring an array of green-roof structures, is a tapestry of wild flowers, ‘weeds’, standing deadwood, insect & reptile habitats… rubble piles, rubble walls… (Check out the pics, as it’s hard to sum up). It’s so far from a conventional or formal garden — and so refreshing. The pond features a shopping trolley, with resident moorhen & eggs. The view out over the Essex countryside is the perfect backdrop too.
Our group was completely transfixed — and full of questions.

Walking around — on a baking hot day — you could almost feel the abundance of insects, microorganisms and reptiles. One of John’s slides mentioned the importance of ‘getting into bed with your entomologist’ which raised a few smiles… (It seems we have an entomologist friend in common too — the wonderful @ericamcalister )

Thank you John!
I believe the garden is open ‘by appointment’. It was a privilege to be shown round. If you get a chance to visit, do. We should all be taking a leaf out of John’s book… ...

Do you want to learn how to make wedding flowers? Would you like professional-looking flowers without the huge price tag?
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The join us for our DIY Wedding Workshops on Friday 11th September.
💐Part 1: Bouquets & Buttonholes
🌸 9:30 - 12:30
£100 pp
~ We teach how to make a hand-tied bouquet, which is the basis to make all the wedding party bouquets. After a coffee break & yummy refreshments we teach taping and wiring, used to create buttonholes, corsages & floral crowns.
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💐Part 2: Reception flowers
🌼 13:30-16:30
£100 pp
~ We’ll begin by focusing on table decorations, from simple decs to bud vases & tablescapes.
After our afternoon break we’ll focus on your own specific arrangements offering a Q&A & demo; this could be pedestals, floral hoops or garlands.
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**If you book both workshops you receive 10% off..just email us first for a discount code **
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Any questions, drop them below ⬇️
Booking via our website, link in bio.
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#diyweddingflowers #howtomakeweddingflowers #diyfloristry #weddingflowerscourses #diybrides ...