I’m always about seasonal, locally grown flowers here at Busybblooms but what is British Flowers Week about ? In a nutshell it’s a week for meeting , showing, educating and sharing everything wonderful about seasonal, locally grown flowers and the lovely folk that grow, sell and arrange them. This years it’s running from Monday 16th June - Saturday 21st June

I belong to @flowersfromthefarm and I’m one of a growing movement of eco flower growers who use every space they can to grow a range of flowers, herbs and foliage for cutting . You’ll find flower growers come in various sizes too , from back gardens like me , to acres of flower filled farms. There are some that simply specialise in growing single varieties of flowers , think peonies , dahlias, lavender , foliage and petals !

We want to get as many people as possible to celebrate British flowers , find out where they can get them from  and connect with florists and growers that offer sustainable ways of working.

My fellow petal heads and I will be sharing posts and offering workshops this week to inspire, educate and delight. Our grids will be filled with interesting and sometimes shocking facts as well as lots of gorgeous seasonal flowers ,you’ll possibly some growing tips for the cut flower gardeners amongst you too.

Follow along with me @busybblooms and why not give theses social media accounts a follow too

@flowersfromthefarm

@british.flowers.week

@marketflowers

Join our celebration, say hello in the posts, ask us questions and   hopefully you’ll be able to find yourself a new flower ( godetia is mine pictured above) , grower or florist near to where you live.

Let’s get this flower party started 💐🥂💚.

#britishflowersweek  #BritishFlowersWeek2025  #FFTF #locallygrownflowers #myflowerfilledlife #sustainableflowers #connectingthroughflowers

Weddings are an expensive business especially when it comes to flowers , they can cost the earth in more ways than one . Using locally grown seasonal  flowers means that you’ll be choosing the best of what’s available with no air miles, no chemicals , no single use plastic or floral foam. Creating your own wedding flowers will help save the pennies too, so if you are an eco friendly bride who wants to be budget savvy here are my top tips :

Find your local flower grower and check what packages they can offer . I’m here for you in west Kent but if you’re living further a field search  @flowersfromthefarm to find your nearest person.

Have colours in mind but let me guide you on what flowers are best value for your chosen time of year.

Book your dates early in the season , artisan growers get snapped up quickly as do event florists.

Most importantly think creatively and don’t feel pressured by social media ‘ must haves’ . Your flower farmer florist will give you ideas of how repurpose your flowers from the ceremony to the after party, giving you the best bang for your buck.

Opting for DIY buckets of flowers to make table flowers and church flowers is a great was to save money and share the floral love.

Bud vases and jam jars are a simple way to add colour to your tables, why not encourage team bride to get involved ?

If you want to go full diy and make your own bouquets, I’d recommend having a practice or even booking a workshop to give you more confidence .

If the bridal party bouquets are a bridge too far why not have them made for you instead it takes away the stress and will help you sleep at night.

Hit the contact button for more details.

#ecofriendlyweddings #localflowers #ecochic #seasonalflowers #diyflowers #flowersfromthefarm

April is peak tulip time but these seasonal flowers can be a little like buses. You wait for ever for the one you want  then they all come along at once.

Tulips are the most gorgeous focal flower coming in a range of colours, shapes and sizes but they join us fleetingly,  arriving anywhere from the end of March through to early May . They look stunning in a vase en mass and in my opinion even better as part of a spring arrangement.

Full of personality , tulips will continue growing after you cut them because their stems are highly responsive to the plant hormone auxin which causes them to elongate and grow toward light. Phototropic flowers move toward the light continually  changing their position in a vase even after being cut .This growth and movement contribute to the characteristic appearance  in arrangements, with stems bending and flowers turning towards light sources. 

Here’s a few tips to get the best from these amazing seasonal blooms:

Recut the stems at a 45-degree angle, this ensures the stems are exposed to the maximum amount of water to rehydrate. Make sure there are no leaves under the water line, your vase should be super clean to avoid the introduction of any bacteria.

Tulips are a thirsty flower so make sure there is plenty of cool water in the vase , change every other day and recut stems as you do so.

Give them a bit of space in the vase so they don’t get squashed: overcrowding can damage the stem and shorten the vase life too.

As tulips are one of the only flowers to keep growing after being cut, choose your vase carefully – one that covers at least half the stem length is ideal to stop them drooping if they do grow overnight (this can happen!).

If they do droop, this is usually down to an air block in the stem, i.e. the water is not reaching the flower .You can try and rescue a drooped tulip by using the pin trick: this involves pushing a pin all the way through the throat of the tulip (approximately an inch from the bottom of the flower head) to release the air and recutting the stems again.

I love to see the movement of this beauties but if you like a straighter stem, you can rotate the vase to vary where the light comes from. In extreme cases, you can also try taking the tulips out of the vase and wrapping the stems quite tightly in newspaper in a cone shape so you encourage that straight shape you want. Then leave overnight in the dark and a little water and you should find the tulips have righted themselves when you unwrap the paper in the morning.

As with all cut flowers, do not place your tulips in direct sun, a south facing windowsill is deadly . Also keeping them next to a bowl of fruit , can cause cut flowers to age more rapidly and wilt prematurely

Finally, if one flower or foliage starts to die, remove it from the vase immediately as it’s thought that dying flowers release a bacteria as they wilt which can damage the others.

If you only buy flowers a few times a year make sure you treat yourself to some tulips over the coming weeks, they won’t be around for too long and they really are too good to miss.