Gathered at Dusk

15/11/2025

The 1000’s of photos I take each season of flowers come in useful on the dark nights as a source of inspiration, a reminder of what worked well, what I hope to grow again (I say hope as you never know what might happen with annuals 😆) and what I would like more of.

I try to understand the trends that are happening but not be too drawn in by them. There are talks of more yellows and lilacs. I reckon that could be accurate as the 90s vibes seem set in. But really for me it’s the beautiful classics that can stand the test of time.

I am glad for the photos, the colours in the midst of the grey and joyful reminder of what’s to come.

12/11/2025

Awkward photo alert 🫣(the subject not the photographers!)

Oh hey that’s me - Hattie, founder of Gathered at Dusk. I am a summer loving kinda gal, my favourite flowers are sweet peas, foxgloves and English garden roses. I am incredibly clumsy ( I wonder what my neighbours think as I’m always falling in the mud/snow/rain), I love a carefully placed swear word to add emphasis to a story, I am super nerdy when it comes to compost and home brewed fertiliser and wildlife but more chaotic when it comes to planting out (who needs straight lines anyway).

I adore, I mean totally head over heels adore flowers and it blows my mind that I get to grow flowers as a job. I love creating flowers for weddings and events and also selling direct to florists who love flowers as much as me. It’s a treat to drop buckets to their doors and then see the magic they create.

I pinch myself when I get to deliver wedding flowers and that I’ve found customers who love the flowers I grow. The freedom to be creative and use seasonal ingredients to create unique arrangements is such a great gift from the couples I work with.

A huge part of the business is growing with nature at the heart of all the decisions, 3 of the 4 acres we have is given over to nature. I can see the difference this makes to the farm and the flowers we produce and this year seeing a pair of jays nesting for the first time was a reminder it’s all been worth it.

2025 has been a big old year; leaving a job to go full time on the farm, scaling up the farm and turning 40 (not sure how that’s happened).

For those of you who are new around here hello & welcome and for those of you who have stuck around well thank you!

That’s more than enough about me! Tell me what are your favourite flowers? How has your 2025 been and are you as nerdy about wildlife as I am?

Photo credits
Vert and Vase
Bloom & Gray
RLP Photography

02/11/2025

Luxury Wreath Making

We have a handful of spots left for our gorgeous festive wreath making at the stunning Riverlands

Think armfuls of fresh high quality foliage, luxurious ribbons, dried flowers and fruit endless cups of hot drinks and mince pies.

The atmosphere will be warm and festive and welcoming and you will leave with the most amazing handmade wreath that will be the most beautiful decoration for your home!

Book now to secure your place

https://www.gatheredatdusk.co.uk/shop/p/bloom-and-gray-x-gathered-at-dusk-luxury-wreath-workshop



Bloom & Gray
Gathered at Dusk

23/10/2025

Thoughts are turning to Christmas and festive celebrations.

Spaces are filling fast for our luxury wreath workshop at the beautiful Riverlands at Faxfleet.

Think sparkly lights, mountains of mince pies, copious amounts of luxurious British foliage and flowers for you to make a stunning wreath to adorne your front door.

Run by Gathered at Dusk and Bloom & Gray

Book today here:

Join Hattie and Sarah for a magical and creative Wreath Making Workshop in the stunning listed Barns of Riverlands, Faxfleet. The woodburner will be lit, the barn decorated, and there will be bottomless hot drinks and mince pies. Using only locally grown and British foliages dried flowers and seas

20/10/2025

The flowers are over for 2025 and I’ve been consoling myself today with a little mushroom hunt. This grey and damp weather has created the perfect growing conditions.

The different habitats we have on the farm (grassland, meadow, woods etc) allows for a variety of fungus to grow here.

Yes I had to lay on the floor for some of these photos and yes I am pretty certain my neighbours saw… all in the pursuit of a great photo!

I have yet to identify them all but there’s a shaggy ink cap and some beautiful yellow stag horn in the mix!

18/10/2025

Seasonal shifts.

The season may have gracefully ended but the work doesn’t stop. My thoughts have turned to Spring and the weddings and events that are already booked in for me and the wonderful florists I supply.

There are a cool 4000ish bulbs to plant and that work starts in earnest next week. For me I like to leave the tulips till their is frost on the ground so first up for planting are the Daffodils - not the bright yellow ones that adorn our grass verges but ruffly, scented, creamy, peachy luxurious daffs.

The daffodil beds are full here on the farm so my next port of call is any empty patch of grass or garden bed to squeeze 30kg of them in. I’m confident it can be done.

I’ve some new treats to try and bluebells to naturalise under the oak.

Spring bulbs make the more glorious wedding flowers so all the hard work will be totally worth it come April.

The wedding in the photos was a celebration of all things seasonal and I still think of the magic of that day.

Photo credit: Faye wilde photography

16/10/2025

FEED YOUR SOUL

It’s been a beautifully long and at times challenging season. There have been very few days off and little time for intentional creativity and yesterday we totally countered that!

The three of us pooled our flowers and gifted ourselves the time to flex our creative muscle.

This old oak tree stand in the flower farm, quietly watching over the field. We have appreciated having breaks underneath it, the dogs have slept in its shade, it’s fallen branches have gifted us mulch for the plot so we decided to adorn it with the final flourish of the season and celebrate its stoic beauty.

Thank you to Bloom & Gray and The Lilac Isle for a gorgeous day, for the laughs, the learning and for being all round wonderful folk.

This day has cemented something for me but that as they say is another story and it’s big part of my next chapter so watch this space!

Photo credit Bloom and Gray

12/10/2025

Well today has been an utter delight. Despite a stinking headache my cup has been totally topped up by all the wonderful folk who have made their way to the flower farm and purchased plants, bulbs, flowers and fruit.

It was so lovely to have lots of people who are just dipping their toes into gardening or cut flower growing and I hope that the bug catches.

Bloom & Gray and I still have some bits left so if you are interested let me know and I will send you the availability list.

Thank you to Sarah for this fab photo of next year’s scabious that made a head start on the seed head. 2026 is gearing up to be a gorgeous flowery year.

03/10/2025

Well it’s been 6 months as a full time self employed flower farmer and florist.

What have I learnt? Well the true number of lessons would fill an entire notebook but here are some key big lessons:

- taking the leap to self employment is so very nerve wracking but it’s not as hard as bringing your A game to two jobs. It’s a joy to be present in one role and give my all to it.
- it takes a lot of self awareness to know when to rest when you could work 7 days a week. I have absolutely not nailed this yet but I am trying to be aware of when I need to step back.
- farming requires extreme resilience. This past six months alone I have experienced drought, storms, loss of crops, decision fatigue and so much more.
- having strong personal and business values gets you a long way.
- if you believe in the dream others will come with you on your journey!

Thank you so much to all the amazing people who have supported me and the farm over the past 6 months. I can’t wait to see what the next season brings and before anyone asks winter is not a rest time but I will be slowing down 💚

Photo credits
Bloom & Gray
Josh Dowler Wedding & Event Photography
Winston Sanders Photography

02/10/2025

A small placeholder on the grid to mark the end of weddings for me in 2025.

It’s been a joy to create flowers for the most beautiful couples.

Each wedding day has been so different, personal to the couple, full of details that celebrate their love. The flowers for each day have been as unique as the couple, seasonal and the best of the field that week.

What an honour to play a small part in folks weddings.

And for those who are wondering what now? Now the hard work begins for next year’s flowers sowing, planting out and bulb planting. And I am still cutting stems for florists.

28/09/2025

Oh this wedding 🫶

I adored making this bouquet for this stunning and super lovely bride. Every single stem was from the field and collected with the overall vision of wild luxury in mind.

This absolutely gorgeous couple chose to DIY their venue flowers and bridesmaids bouquets (all white cosmos for the win) and I supplied the bouquet and buttonholes. To celebrate the grooms Scottish heritage there were pieces of peachy Heather tucked into the buttonholes.

I absolutely love these colours for a wedding so delicious indeed!

If only we could do it all again next year 🩷

Photos: Carla Whittingham Photography
Florist: Gathered at Dusk
Celebrant:
Food:
Bar: Harbour & Coupe
Marque: Shades
Hair: Hair by W•B
Makeup: Georgia Cutts / Make-Up Artist
Singer: Rebecca Diamond Music
Dj:
Ceilidh Band:
Refrigerator: Bullamoor Hire

25/09/2025

I really have to pinch myself sometimes. How lucky I am to grow flowers for peoples wedding day? And that people trust me to grow and create their vision for one of the most important days of their life.

Growing white flowers for a mid September wedding was a challenge but I was totally up for it. I was definitely dedicated to the mission, one evening my food went cold as I went on a mid supper expedition to ensure the white dahlia were protected from a storm.

The flowers travelled a total of 1.7 miles to the venue. You can’t get much closer than that. This was my first wedding at Saltmarshe Hall and hopefully the first of many as it is the most beautiful space to see British flowers in.

Thank you to this gorgeous couple for choosing local flowers.

Venue: Saltmarshe Hall
Photography: Jack Mankel Photography