Lately

It is that time of year, I neglect everything bar the flowers.

and it seems as though my shop and inbox are full of people wanting career advice on how to be a florist.

"I really love flowers" they say

and my retort is normally "if only that were enough"

Is there an official line on a proper reply? Something inspiring without sounding like a grumpy old woman? but still making sure people know it isn't really like Instagram would have you believe?

and you might be waiting a very longtime for me to blog our latest weddings, so watch this beautiful film instead.

Lately and in no particular order

Weddings.
Food.
Summer.

Sometimes you do a favour for somebody and quite unexpectedly they repay you with a cookery book.

In this instance Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour.

Most recipes include the holy trinity of yoghurt, lemon and garlic.

If you like Ottolenghi, some of the recipes are a bit like that, but without the need to hunt down a rare spice that you can only buy at the souk in some far off land.

I can heartily recommend, especially as the once fat now mad turk doesn't have time to cook me lunch anymore.

I can hear them in the kitchen now, our windows are opposite one another. In the summer months everybody has their windows open. You over hear all sorts of things. Mainly people in the antique bookshop opposite being disappointed that their old books aren't worth a million pounds.

and sometimes 2 ladies on the street discussing the pro's and con's of leaving a husband.

"Of course you don't always get the house, look at F, she lives in that tiny cottage now, I think i would have stayed even given his behaviour with the secretary"

Small towns.

also Kimye. obsessed.

hashtag british flowers

Yesterday was spent Chez Naylor.

You'll remember Mr Naylor from that time we filled the shop with this delphinium in an attempt to show people what seasonal and local actually meant.

and people wanted lilies.

oh how we laughed cried.

he also grows sweet williams and peonies and alliums, and daffodils.

Of course this was years ago, and talk of british flowers has become de rigeur, and very trendy.

Personally i don't have the patience, or the time, i'd rather concentrate on arranging them and let the experts grow them.

But I am one of the most impatient people you will ever meet and I didn't get into floristry to wait 7 years for a peony to yield 10 stems,

i got into it for the instant gratification.

On quitting sugar

4 weeks on - I have still quit the sugar.
It's the latest thing in nutrition, sugar is the root of all evil now.

but it depends on who you listen to on what is allowed and what isn't.

I have decided to be team Sarah Wilson, one because i like her hair, and secondly because Dr Ian Maber seems to think the same things she does, and when i lived in London i used to see him a lot and he seems a genuinely nice man.

Scientific.

No sugar, honey, agave, banana, fruits other than berries, but you are allowed the odd slice of sourdough and the fat from a pork chop.

I have so much energy which is just as well given we are about to embark on all the weddings.

and i haven't craved a cream slice at all, mainly because the internets are full of recipes for sweet treats that are sugar free.

Admittedly you need to become friends with your local health food shop to make them, and be a big fan of coconut, nuts and seeds and have a good food processor. The above cake i made for TOMP's birthday, sugar free, dairy free, gluten free all the hashtags. It's from the merrymaker sisters, i swapped the honey for organic rice malt syrup.

A lot of the sugar free brigade seem to be Australian, perhaps because the weather is nicer, and they all leap about in short shorts? It does mean that all the recipe measurements are in cups, so make sure you have a set.

and because people will email saying

"loved the post, what is that rose called I'm getting married next year and it just matches my colour scheme perfectly"

and

"where did you get those ombre birthday candles?"

Bombastic and they are just sun faded Chanukka candles.

Keep me searching for a heart of gold

Neil Young

I am one of those people that can listen to a song over and over and over again.

For days.

Its annoying for les autres.

But tied in nicely with today's wedding.

and i would really like to learn how to play the harmonica.

and contrary to the rumour in town, I am not engaged

so you can stop staring at my left hand, or my right one for that matter.

florists' hands are not pretty.

nothing to see

In the shop

The flowers have changed.

It is late Spring early summer now.

The hyacinths and bulbs seem out of place, only a few varieties of tulips remain, the parrots though, the best ones, and suddenly everything is taller, and i need new vases . I always need new vases.

At the weekend The Americans came, and Lotte came down from Glasgow and we talked of flowers, and ate asparagus pizza. It was all rather wonderful.

and now The Hound, i have photographed him, so that you can see he is absolutely fine, but the little darling has developed an auto-immune disorder Symmetrical Lupoid Onchodystrophy if you would like the fancy name. I know quite a few of you are hound people, and just wondered if any of you have  any experience in this matter? I have been on all the forums, but would love some more first hand experiences.

Murky buckets.

Garden bounty

Last night there was a charity flower school in aid of Marie Curie.

It was a riot.

Similar to one we did in the autumn, bring scissors and garden foliage, and there would be flowers and cheese and wine for you.

People came armed with all manner of bounty from their gardens it was heaven. This land is indeed so very green and pleasant.

It never ceases amaze me, how even with access to the same flowers and foliage, everybody left with an arrangement that was entirely different to anybody else's.

Thank you to everybody that came, and to the committee who work so very hard behind the scenes.

I wish we could have filmed it, the perfect slice of middle England, they had me in stitches.

This morning there was an earthquake in Rutland.

Rutland has been on the news.

and then a very lovely lady came in to chat about British flowers, i didn't hold back on my opinions.

nor did I to the waste people, Shanks has been taken over by Biffa, we used to speak to a nice lady at the depot up the road, but now you have to call a centre in Bucks. It took 15 minutes to get through to a lady who didn't know where i was or very much care, or understand that Trevor the driver is the man that holds Stamford together.

Is this progress? I asked her

Have a nice day she replied.

Waste disposal is the very unsexy side of floristry, i could talk about it for a very long time, nearly as long as i can about f*****g cornflowers.