From Zero To Hero

The first spring flowers for picking have arrived just in the very nick of time our first wedding of the year, that of Lesley and Dariusz, who are being married today from an idyllic Cotswold manor house.  Lesley and her sister spent most of yesterday happily arranging buckets of flowers into small vases and jars all over the wonderful old house, while a delegation came to the garden to collect their light, pretty, spring-packed bouquets.  It has been so uplifting for us to finally start working with flowers again, after a proper six months of winter.  One benefit from the late start to the season has been that we've had more time to put into getting the garden really shipshape before our time is needed for other things.  Beds are tidy and organised, climbing roses have been trained and tied into the walls this year, there is muck everywhere, and the assorted outbuildings have never been more appealling.  All that hard work neccessitates lots of breaks for tea and cake.

Next week the season begins in earnest as we resume our weekly deliveries to florists, from Hereford to London.  I will walk round the garden making notes and willing everything to come into bloom, and soon enough there will be so many flowers that we won't know what to do with them.  I am especially excited about our new snapdragons this year, as we're trialling some new varieties including ruffled petal kinds, mauve purples and different shades of rich orange.  Also the sweet peas, the new roses, the poppies, the astrantia, the dahlias, the garden chrysanthemums, the pinks...