I hope you’re having a wonderful week.
We’ve had a slow week after a very fun and busy weekend in Wales celebrating my Mama’s birthday. Her garden, as usual was looking ravishing. Like when I went back in July, it was the scale of the flowers that I cant get over; I’m so envious of the 9 foot cardoons and giant enveloping clouds of Crambe Cordifolia. I’ve vowed to myself that next year, my garden will look a tiny bit more like hers!
This post is very garden inspired: I’m talking cut flowers, seed collecting and my plans for next year’s garden.
In other news, we’re having a summer sale on Seedling subscriptions. If you haven’t already, please do join us now for 20% off annual subscriptions until 1st of September using this special link. Our prices will rise a little after that so now is the time to lock in your membership, and we promise you’ll love it (or you can cancel the subscription at any time).
In this week’s dispatch - picking in my mother’s garden, harvesting seeds at home and planning my 2027 garden - a focus on the late summer garden and drought-resistant planting for the future, plus a delicious and beyond simple in-season recipe…
Happy weekend!
Love Willow x
PS check out my favourites shop with all my current loves, from fashion to beauty and home loves too.
Picking
I was in Wales last week celebrating my mother’s birthday and very happily, my job was the flowers. We had a gorgeous hour or so chatting and picking our way though her garden - I don’t think anything makes me happier in life.
Secateurs in hand, I decided to go heavy on the roses, they were so beautiful and she had so many so they formed the backbone of the arrangements . I was particularly drawn to the soft pinks which I love mixing with very hot, bright dahlias. And a couple of retro deep red, hybrid tea roses.
Lots of dahlias, wild clematis and bolted coriander for an airy wispiness. We had them in the dining room for the whole weekend, adding in tall taper candles in bright colours for the special dinner and it looked so pretty and joyful. If I do say so myself! What do you think?!
Harvesting
Chazzy has been collecting seeds like a squirrel preparing for a very long winter over the past few weeks. He is a man on a serious mission. He’d made a beautiful, very aesthetically pleasing station in the greenhouse and then realised that seeds need to be kept cool in the dark so has now whittled up a whole new, just as beautiful, station in his office. If you haven’t started collecting seeds, now is the time. There really is nothing more rewarding - flowers for free! There are a couple of things to remember;
Wait until the the seed pods have turned brown and dry and are starting to open; and
the seeds themselves are hard and fully formed, rather than green or soft.
Collect them on a dry day, ideally once the morning dew has dried.
Leave them somewhere cool and dry for a week or two before storing, so there’s no residual moisture that could cause mould.
I have been collecting sweet peas (especially excited about finding some white wild ones), nasturtiums, poppies, cosmos and ammi; and I will carry on collecting through September and October.
I also have something very exciting and seed-related launching in September… keep your eyes peeled! I can’t wait to share…
Garden Planning
Every year I’m convinced I’ll remember what I’ve got planted in my borders and every year, without fail, I forget. This year, over the next week or two, before real life resumes in September, I’m going to sit down and draw and paint what I’ve already planted, label everything and then make a plan for what I want to swap out and replace.
