In the middle of a very busy wedding season I was approached by BBC Radio Wales Country Focus to have a little talk about growing cut flowers.. I have to say I was nervous, but it is definitely easier to talk to a microphone than to a camera:) Have a listen..... Enjoy! . BBC RADIO WALES from Daffodils to Lavender
​

Stuck for an idea what to give your mum for Mother's Day? What about your very own creation?! Find a cute vintage china tea cup, watch the tutorial for inspiration and have a look in your garden...there will definitely be something interesting to cut ! Don't be scared! Have a go! :)

What you need:
Vintage china tea cup
Piece of a chicken wire
​Florist tac- either A-tac or Oasis Fix
Scissors
Water ( I know it seems obvious :)
Cut flower material:
What you looking for: Interesting textures, small buds, flowering shrubs and a few bigger blooms like Daffodils or Hellebore
Foliage: Any interesting stuff takes your fancy. I used Eucalyptus, Sage, Pussy willow and silver foliage I don't know the name of...you could try Rosemary, Box, Ivy, Viburnum, Hebe...

The 1st March is nearly upon us...Time to celebrate St. Davids Day! Create a lovely table arrangement using the national flower of Wales and foliage from your garden. 
​
What you need:
20-30 stems of Daffodils depending on the size of the flower heads and your container
6-7 stems of foliage- Ivy, Rhododendron, Azalea
Nice twigs- Hazel, Hawthorn..any you like
Square vase
Colourful wool, string or thread
Scissors
It's that easy :)

Hello! I was thinking about Valentines Day and how it is such a tricky time to actually use British grown flowers... Lets have something which could inspire you to create a personal gift for Valentines Day using flowers and foliage available at this time of the year. What about a fabulous scented herbal heart? I imagine the Herbalist creating elixirs for love.. using magic potions and lots of herbs.. I picked some herbs from the field, Rosemary, Sage, Eucalyptus, Lavender foliage and had some cuttings from autumn of scented Geraniums.

Suitable for all genders, colours, ages ...actually I am lying it would be over 3 year old I imagine..when you get the concept of scissors being  for cutting and not for eating..

Material needed:
Cardboard - cut a heart shape from the cardboard. My one was about 4 inches in the widest point
Cut foliage- herbs, rosemary, sage, lavender, chive for chefs and garlic if you don’t want vampires at home..
Thread- any colour you like, metallic will look good, the normal dress making thread you can buy in sewing shops
Needle-to finish your heart you thread the end onto the needle and then sew it in to secure it
Scissors
Piece of string
Piece of wire- to create a needle like object to assist the threading of string through the heart ( well explained on the video!)
Patience , courage and nimble fingers :)

Lots of wonderful creative designs from the Christmas wreath making workshops....I can't help but feeling  festive!

Cowbridge Community Allotments were holding a Midsummers Eve community celebration on Saturday 18th June and The Flower Hive was there with all the fairy helpers making the Misummers Flower Crowns .

The event is funded by Grow Wild – a lottery grant which the community allotments have received this year. Grow Wild is the UK’s biggest ever wild flower campaign, bringing people together to transform local spaces with native, pollinator-friendly wild flowers and plants. The Grow Wild funding has also enabled the allotments to plant a community orchard of native fruit trees. 
For more information visit www.cowbridgeca.btck.co.uk or the Cowbridge Community Allotments page on Facebook. Photography by Nadia Francis

Lots of very beautiful designs are being made at the Christmas wreath workshops. This year, I decided to go for the very popular wild and foraged look with lots of Eucalyptus foliage and twigs. All the wreaths are just amazing. Thank you everybody for coming and have a very Merry Christmas!