These posies include aromatic myrtle. The bushes have a few delicate white flowers on them at the moment, soon to be followed by blacky-purple berries. The myrtle used in the posies is related to the myrtle bush planted by Queen Victoria in 1846 at Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight. A sprig of this bush has been used for Royal wedding bouquets ever since. As well as the scented leaves of the myrtle, the posies have plenty of other fragrance from the rose-scented geranium, rosemary and the ‘Carbonero’ lily from Lincolnshire once they pop open. For lovingly arranged jam-jar size bouquets of 100% British flowers and foliage please take a look at our singles and our subscriptions page. It's not...
It’s rose hip season! They can be round or pointy, most are red and some are pink. Rose hips are prized for their antioxidants, especially their high concentration of vitamin C. They have been gathered from the hedgerows for centuries and used in oils, teas and supplements, as they may have positive effects on a wide range of health issues such as being anti-inflamatory, anti-aging, assisting in weight loss and pain relief.
In the posies this week are also new season ‘paperwhite’ narcissi for the first time. Often associated with being Christmas a flower, these ones have benefitted from the mild weather we’ve had recently and have come out nice and early on the Isles of Scilly.
This week we’ve got homegrown olive foliage. My maiden name Oliver suggests that my ancestors planted olive trees and so I did the same when we moved to Bournemouth. It’s a lovely grey-green foliage but we don’t use it very often as something or other likes to nibble the new leaves, so those have to be pinched off. Talking of flowers, we did have flowers on the olive this year and I wonder, with the increasing summer temperatures, whether olives might ripen on it in future years. Did you know the oldest olive tree is in Portugal and is 3,350 years old. Quite amazing. For our unique British seasonal flower subscription service where you receive beautifully selected and arranged flowers...
We’ve got snowberries tucked in this week. It’s the time when these shrubs are showing off their white puffy berries. Officially named Symphoricarpos, these are part of the honeysuckle family and, although they are not a native species, they are an important winter food source for birds like grouse, pheasant and quail.
We’ve had our first named Autumn storm this week, Storm Agnes. I hope it hasn’t damaged your garden too much. It’s left our chrysanthemums alone, fortunately, as these long blooms are just starting to come into flower - a great British Autumn cut flower!
‘Tis the season for Physalis (or Chinese lanterns). These orange papery cases are symbolic of Autumn and often used in seasonal displays. It has been a good year for them this year. Related to the tomato, they are sometimes called ‘tomatillos’ and are grown for their edible fruit, despite the plant’s leaves being poisonous and part of the nightshade family.
The posies also include copper beech which has been carefully preserved with glycerin. This means the leaves don’t drop and can be used all season or even the following year if stored correctly.
It feels like Autumn has hit us and the cutting garden is certainly enjoying lots of rain this week!
