Sandhurst Flower Hut

08/10/2026

Following a conversation with my friend Anna Amor, I’m on a crusade to HANG A WELCOME WREATH! They are popular in Europe, but not so much in the uk and I think we’re missing a trick. They make a beautiful welcome to guests to a family home for a wedding or party.

Mine is made on a hop bine base covered in bracken and decorated with bits from the garden - artemisia, grasses, miniature dahlia, achillea and hydrangea. All chosen to dry down so that the wreath can be used afterwards as a keepsake.

The last photo is from a wedding in Cyprus where I was a guest. The wreath was on the bride’s front door and was the first thing to greet us. I loved its bright colours, although it’s a lot more formal than mine and was unfortunately on an oasis base🫤.

What do you think? Should we give the welcome wreath a bit more of a starring role at weddings and parties?

30/09/2026

This season I’ve dipped my toe in the water selling wholesale to florists through East Sussex Flower Grower Collective. And I’ve loved it. The sense of community with other growers. The simplicity of picking to an order. Seeing the florist’s colour selection come together in the picked flowers.
I don’t have large quantities of any 1 variety but I do have smaller quantities of lots of different things, some of them more unusual, not often seen as traditional cut flowers or foliage. So, for me, the hub is perfect.

The success of the hub is due to our hub admin, Lucy whose enthusiasm, time-spent and determination have been key to getting the hub started and to the point where it is now. Thank you Lucy 💚. Have a good time meeting up with all the other hub growers Water Lane today. I’m sorry I can’t be there.

Here are a few snippets from my garden this year - I’m one of those growers who grows cut flowers across their whole garden - and some of the flowers I’ve picked for the hub this season.

31/08/2026

29/08/2026

A bit of seed saving for 2 of my favourite cut flowers…orlaya and annual phlox. Germination of these from bought seed was always poor for me but with saved seed it’s so much better.
Now is the perfect time to collect seed if you’ve had either of these flowering this year.

Orlaya seed needs to be fresh and is better sown direct. Now the weather has cooled and we’re getting a bit of rain is a good time to get it in the ground. It’s tough and will be fine outside overwinter.
Annual phlox. I have a mix of varieties. Isabellina, cherry caramel and crème brûlée. This is the second year I’ve saved the seed and it seems to come true to type. I sow in seed trays in spring and grow in the polytunnel. It has a beautiful scent and adds a little bit of sparkle in a bride’s bouquet.
If you are near to TN18 and want a few seeds of either, I can spare a few 🌱
Are there any seeds you have difficulty in germinating?

13/08/2026

Because of the ongoing heat, my event this weekend has been cancelled. So florists, if you need any last minute dahlias, I may be able to help. Send me a message.

01/08/2026

Everything else maybe struggling but the dahlias are starting to look lush. The ones here are mainly cornel brons and preference with glimpses of wine-eyed Jill, great silence and black jack just starting to open. They had a feed of chicken manure pellets at the start of the season which helped them bulk up to a good size before starting to flower. If you haven’t tried chicken manure pellets before I’d recommend them for your dahlias. Now they’re getting a seaweed feed once a week, probably every 2 weeks, to keep them flowering. I also planted some left over wild carrot plants in between the dahlias and I’d definitely do that again too❤️. They had to fight for the light a bit but it’s made them into lovely tall plants with lots of flowers.

27/07/2026

Our garden and cut flower patch, along with 5 other gardens in Sandhurst will be open to the public on Saturday 8 August, 10.30 till 4.
All proceeds are going to St. Michael’s Hospice.
There’ll be homemade cake and teas and signposts up in the village to direct you.
Tickets cost £7.50 and that gets you access to all 6 open gardens in the village.
You can buy tickets in advance or by cash or card on the day.
Do come and have a nosey 😉
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/st-michaels-hospice-open-gardens-2026-tickets-1983866676634?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

12/07/2026

For anyone that doesn’t know me there is a little feature on me and my business in the independent businesses section of this month’s magazine. Thank you for asking me💚

18/06/2026

Lots of cutting this week for .sussexflowergrowercollective as well as flowers for gifts and flowers for the most sad occasion that I’ve ever cut flowers for.