Another week has come to an end. I am totally over home schooling and I feel like my shoulders are starting to lower knowing it is a three day weekend!
When I first came on Instagram one of the very first accounts I came across was Nettlewood Flowers. I was completely drawn into it. Not only are Sarah’s arrangements so beautiful she is also a cut flower grower. After a couple of years of enjoying her displays, I was delighted to see that she was moving down to Laughton Sussex and would start growing from there. I touched based with her at the beginning of the year, hoping to meet her in the spring, but this will have to wait for a little bit longer.
Wonderfully she agreed to take a bit of time out to answer my 5 questions. So if you have ever wanted to grow flowers sit back enjoy and get some tips from this fabulous lady.
Alicia: Sarah, firstly I love the name of your business 'Nettlewood Flowers' can you please tell our readers how you came up with the name?
Sarah: I spent a lot of time mulling over names when I set up my flower business 3 years ago. But as my cutting patch started to bloom and I needed to make a decision so that I could market and sell my flowers. Nettlewood Flowers was my husbands idea. I used to live on Nettlewood Road. I met my husband while I was living there and it’s where I first started to grow flowers just for cutting. Also I do love nettles, their wild nature, heart shaped leaves and fresh green colour, they are a sign of good soil, have healing properties and are a haven for wildlife. You can forgive them their sting!
Alicia: You have recently moved down to Sussex from Teddington, why the move and what plans have you got in terms of your cutting garden?
Sarah: We moved from Teddington to Laughton in East Sussex just before Christmas last year. We had been talking about moving down this way to be closer to family on the South coast for a while. Juggling growing flowers in our 1/4 acre garden and an allotment a couple of miles away was a challenge so we wanted more land where we could bring this all together. It’s a big project however. The house requires a complete renovation, there is an overgrown and derelict formal garden to be tackled. Alongside this we’re starting from scratch establishing a cutting and kitchen garden in our field. Things are underway and despite the current situation we’ve managed to get some of the land cleared and planted. Tulips, narcissus and hellebores went in the week we arrived, before we’d finished unpacking. I bought a lot of plants with me and have started and planted many more for the season to come. I’m also enjoying seeing what come up in the garden, we’ve had some lovely surprises like wild orchids under the apple trees and some lovely iris hidden under a patch of bramble. There are also lots of useful shrubs and flowers for cutting. I have had flowers available for sale for the last month and have been sending some up to London florists who I’ve worked with for years as well as selling some locally. It’s early days but we’re growing as much as we can and will expand our growing area if there is demand.
Alicia: Explain the importance of working with seasonal flowers and with British flowers?
Sarah: I am inspired by the seasons, by the constant change. The delight of new buds appearing, leaves unfurling and boisterous summer blooms. Then the delicate decay of autumn and the silhouettes of winter. This very much influences my floristry which is abundant, full of seasonal blooms and movement and reflective of the English gardens that I love.
Provenance and sustainability is very important to me. We are lucky in this country to have the most beautiful flowers available to us. The number of small scale British growers is increasing as people are becoming more aware of the impact of industrial scale floriculture and shipping flowers half way around the world is having. As a nation we spend round £3 billion a year on flowers and it’s great to see that an increasing proportion of this is being spent on British grown flowers.
Alicia: Do you think it is possibe to manage a cut garden and be a full time wedding florist? I have had great plans for my garden and yet there never seems the time between the school and the family to then turn my attention to the cutting garden. Is it a full time job to be a grower?
Sarah: It’s all a matter of balance I suppose and it depends what you’ve got on. Growing flowers has a cycle to it and you can plan for the peaks and troughs of activity. I’ve got better at planning over the years, although I did do two weddings last year at the same time as I needed to plant out the dahlias. It was exhausting! I knew that as I’d be setting up a new cutting patch this year that I couldn’t commit to doing as many weddings as last year, so I’ve only taken on a few. As it is everything is on hold, so I have the time to get to grips with things here. I love what I do so it doesn’t feel like a job. I’m so lucky to spend my days tending and nurturing my flowers and I can be out there from dawn until dusk and not even notice the time passing.
Alicia: If someone did want to start growing flowers in their garden can you suggest any flowers that are easy to grow and perhaps ones that are a little bit more tricky and to stay clear off until you have got more experience?
Sarah: A couple of the easiest annual flowers to grow for cutting are cosmos and calendula. They come in so many pretty varieties and really are simple. You can start them inside or directly sow them into a weed freed patch of ground. The taller varieties may need a bit of support as they grow, but they are fabulous plants as the more you cut them the more flowers they produce. Flowering shrubs like Viburnam Opulus, Lilac, Philadelphus are all pretty maintenance free once established too. If you’re just starting out I’d avoid things like ranunculus or seeds that require special conditions to germinate. The key is to grow what works in your conditions, soil type, site and the amount of time you have to tend them. With a bit of information, patience and practice anyone can grow a huge range of flowers for cutting.
Bonus Question
Alicia: We are obviously in extremely challenging times at the moment. As part of the Stay at Home and Get Creative campaign we are encouraging people to get creative as it is a source of mindfulness. What are doing in isolation to keep your creative hands busy?
Sarah: These are incredibly challenging times for us all and I am very lucky that I have a garden and flowers available to play with. We also have woodland on our doorstep which I walk in every day which has an abundance of wild flowers and beautiful views of the Sussex countryside. I’ll often spot a particular flower or branch that has a particular shape. It will stick in my head and begin to form into a design I’d like to achieve. Once created I’ll then spend way too much time moving around the house trying to find the right spot to photograph it in. But if I just want to zone out I find the repetitive tasks of weeding and planting, having my hands in the earth, very grounding and calming.
A big thank to Sarah for taking part in our series of interviews. I loved interviewing her and I am finding myself eager to get into my garden today and start digging, planting and planning. Have a glorious weekend everyone and join us next week where I will be interviewing the delightful Emma Cox.
Nettlewood Flowers
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nettlewoodflowers/
Website: https://www.nettlewoodflowers.co.uk/