Florrie and Fig

30/03/2025

Happy Sunday (and Happy Mother's Day if you're celebrating)!

The tunnel is on the brink of overflowing with flowery goodness. I've had a lengthy chat with the voles, and we've decided they need a bit of aromatherapy. I started with a mix of eucalyptus and citronella with a few other magic smelly ingredients but they didn't seem to like it. Hooray!

They've left the juicy anemone buds alone since I've been using the magic oils but maybe they're sick of anemones and are just waiting for the ranunculus buds to pop up. They didn't go near the tulips though. (I love tulip buds before they pop. They look like they're puckering up for a smooch.)

It's been such a lovely busy few days making up bouquets to celebrate your mums. Thanks for getting my season off to a colourful start. Hooray for flowers!

24/03/2025

I love the sqeaky leaves of tulips almost as much as the flowers. They're looking pretty lush don't you think? I think the greens need a moment before they're overshadowed by the colours.

FYI
If the mothers and matriachs in your life don't live near you but you want to send them locally grown flowers for Mother's Day, did you know you can go to the Flowers From the Farm website, pop their postcode in to search for their nearest flower farmer. A lot of them are closing their order books soon so grab some while you can.

23/03/2025

Save the dates for this year's markets!

Market Dates 💚

Who is excited for our markets this year?

Here are all our dates, make sure to add them to your diary 📔

22/03/2025

*Workshop Alert!*

Would you like to learn a bit more about how to grow flowers in the Highlands?

I'm doing a workshop on the 11th May and I would like to know what it is everyone wants to learn about. (Keep an eye on the page for tickets.)

Are you a complete beginner starting from scratch? Have you dabbled but need a bit more confidence? Do you need some tips for growing in our darling climate?

Tell me your ideas - comments below or message me.

📷 this pic is from August a couple of years ago.

14/03/2025

Such a stonking pop of colour in an otherwise sleeping garden. Note to self - plant more muscari in Autumn.

These cuties don't make it into bouquets but the bees will love them once they wake up.

Speaking of bouquets, you've still got a couple of days to harass/ educate your children (or the people who buy Mother's Day flowers in your family) about the joys of locally grown flowers and why you'd love some on the 30th March.

Pop to my shop page (Link in bio) and send the link to the chief flower buyer. Or tag them below so they get the not so subtle hint...

10/03/2025

Preorders open!

Mother's Day usually happens too early in the growing season for me to have flowers, but this year it’s on the cusp of the tulips starting. I’ll also be ordering in some amazing British-grown beauties to supplement my own tulips. The colours will be off the scale!

Mother's Day bouquets are now available to order. I’ll be closing orders on Sunday 16th March or before then if they sell out.

Please read the blurb before ordering. Thanks for your support!

http://florrie-and-fig.square.site/

06/03/2025

I'm going to be opening up pre-orders for Mother's Day in the next couple of days for one week only, so watch this space! 💐

Plus I'm cooking up a collab with a super baker to look after the mums with a sweet tooth... details to follow soon.

The flowers are only a few weeks away! Woohoo!

19/02/2025

I don't know everything about growing flowers. I do know that I'm still learning new things every season.

Maybe you'd like to know something about the flowers I grow? How to ask for a one off gift bouquet? Do I do bridal flowers? What makes locally grown flowers so special? What's my favourite invertebrate?

I'd love to know what you'd love to know about Florrie and Fig and the flowers I grow. It's a bit like Gardeners Question Time...

If you're specifically interested in growing flowers in the Highlands, I am teaming up with the Kilmallie Community Garden this Spring to run a workshop all about it. Watch this space for details!

Questions on the back of a postcard - comments and DMs also accepted.

18/02/2025

I know I rabbit on about how my bouquets are special harbingers of joy but don't take my word for it - one of my subscribers had these very lovely words to say about receiving her bouquets last year.

The last slide is the feedback I get from a lot of customers. Flowers are meant to be enjoyed in the moment, and we know their beauty doesn't last (that's why we appreciate then even more), but it wouldn't feel right to me if I didn't provide a bit of lasting value.

I'm probably revealing too much of my inner Morticia Adams here when I say I love my tulips when they look completely dead almost as much as when they're full of life.

Spring Subscriptions are available on my shop page - pop to my bio for the link.

15/02/2025

"How the heck do I get my mitts on flowers like this stunner, Clare?" I imagined hearing you ask.

What I didn't imagine are the insanely gorgeous flowers I grow here in Fort William. There are loads of ways to bring these beauties into your life (April to September).

Subscriptions
The only way to guarantee bouquets of loveliness. My subscribers get the pick of the bunch! Weekly or fortnightly deliveries of bespoke, hand-tied bouquets ready for you to plop into a vase or gift to your special someone. I run another one in Summer full of

My Spring Subscriptions are now selling on my shop page (Link in bio). Get in quick!

Give Me a Shout
I'm a very small scale grower, so I do have lulls at times when I'm waiting for a flush of flowers, but it's always worth asking me if I have something. Lucky for me, you all seem pretty in love with seasonality. I can't promise what kinds of flowers I'll have at any point in time, but I can promise scent, texture, a riot of colour and some grateful pollinators.

Glen Spean Market
Full of stalls from local producers and crafters, this bustling hub of all things foodie and fabulous. So many stalls sell out within the first hour or two so it's always worth coming for the start. Held once a month (on the 2nd Saturday) at the Auction Mart in Torlundy. Give them a follow so you can keep tabs on the dates.

Stronaba Produce Farm Shop
This fabulous Farm Shop opened in 2024 and had fast behind the place to get your locally produced goods outside of the Glen Spean Market. Veg, eggs, bread, gluten-free bakes, home cooked ready meals (Liz's cottage pie - *chef's kiss*), treats and more. My market style wrapped bunches will appear there whenever I have an abundance of flowers. Give them a follow to keep heck of their opening times.

Workshops
I'm currently beavering away organising my workshop dates for through the year. I'm so excited to share the joy of playing with flowers with everyone. The wreath workshops will of course be back at "you know when but we won't talk about it because it's only February."
Watch this space for announcements soon!

Any questions?

14/02/2025

Happy Valentine's.

13/02/2025

I can't hold off any longer. I have to sow some sweet peas seeds. They'll be ok - they like our cool climate here in the Highlands.

The name Henry Eckford probably doesn't mean anything to most people, but this Scottish man was responsible for breeding the big bloomed grandiflora sweet peas us flower farmers grow. He was born in Edinburgh in 1823 and worked in the gardens of big estates until he worked his way down to Shropshire. He was lauded as the King of Sweet Peas, and the public was whipped into a total frenzy for these scented lovelies in the late 19th century. There were even whole garden exhibitions devoted to just to sweet peas.

Sweet pea mania reached a fever pitch in 1911 when the then owner of the Daily Mail ran a competition offering £1000 for the best bunch of sweet peas grown by an amateur gardener. Guess how many entries they received (many in the post) - 38 000! They only had room to display 2500 of them at London's Crystal Palace. I can only imagine the amazing smell. (Another Scottish connection - 1st and 3rd prize were won by a reverend and his wife from the Scottish Borders).

I can't wait to be burying my nose in a handful of these frilly flowers. They are a definite winner for the garden and bouquets in my book.

10/02/2025

So incredibly exciting to see some signs of life in the garden with these delicate crocus. The first colours that pop really jump out at you don't they? I've spotted a load of daffodils budding up around the place too. Won't be long until the whole garden is technicolour.

I am nearly finished planting the bulbs I said I'd plant out before Christmas. 2 bags to go - the body is willing but the space to fit them in is dwindling! I really should plan where I'm going to put them before I buy them. I always manage somehow. Does anyone want to start a Plantaholics Anonymous with me?

06/02/2025

Dreaming of all the colour combos I'll get to create soon. I've kinda sorta forgotten a bit which varieties I bought and where I planted them, so I'm trusting that my past self bought lots of amazing varieties that go beautifully together.

It's extremely hard for me to not just buy pink varieties. Because...pink. 😆 I'm curious to know what everyone else's colour preferences are. As you can see from the above examples I don't usually go for bright red or yellow in my bouquets, but I absolutely would if enough people told me that was their favourite.

These are all bouquets I made for my subscribers last season. I wrap them in brown paper which is simple and beautiful enough for gifting but also recyclable. The subscription bouquets are different from week to week because the varieties I've chosen bloom at different times - you never know what beauties are going to pop up. I happily accommodate requests if I can.

If you'd like to know more about subscriptions or to purchase one you can pop to to https://florrie-and-fig.square.site/ to read how it all works. Or ask me!

So if you were faced with these bouquets, would you choose number 1,2, 3 or 4?

01/02/2025

The light is returning! I looked out the front windows this morning to admire the sunrise and realised it was light at 7.30am *cue happy dance*. In another couple of weeks there will be 10 hours of daylight - the magic number for getting some seeds started.

But before all the seed sowing starts I need to finish planting the last few bags of bulbs sitting in my hallway. I have an excuse - really I do!

19/01/2025

I've been seed shopping this week. Partly because I needed seeds and partly because our house has been full of lurgies and coughs and interrupted sleep. And noting gives me a much needed dopamine hit like seed shopping!

I'm getting a bit better at resisting the latest fancy additions to the catalogues, but I'm not entirely immune. I have to be a bit hard on myself and be realistic if it's something that will thrive in this climate, but I do allow myself a few experiments each year.

I'm itching to start sowing ALL the seeds but I know that the light levels aren't there to support the growth of young seedlings. Starting a tad later isn't a bad thing things will catch up.

Speaking of starting, I'm due to start another round of ranunculus some time soon. Now, these pretties are worth waiting for!

I'm hoping they'll be flowering in time for the latter bouquets of my Spring Subscription. 🤞

13/01/2025

Hi! I'm Clare, owner of Florrie and Fig. If you're new here, you're very welcome along for the flowery ride. In past years I've made January a time for introducing everyone to what I do and why I do it.

I'm about to enter my 4th growing season (whaaaat!) growing and supplying flowers for my local Fort William community.

Growing up in Australia, I definitely took it for granted how easily most things grew there. I must admit I was pretty naive when it came to growing flowers in the Highlands. I have young kids so I knew it would be a slow and steady plod to grow the flowers and the business when time allowed. It was (and still is) a big learning curve being self-employed for the first time and learning how to grow flowers in a climate that is extremely challenging. But I love a challenge. And the flowers do grow!

My plot has an incredible view of Ben Nevis, and I love that I've chosen a business that brings joy to the planet and to people. (I'll get on my soap box another day about all that).

Anything else you'd like to know about me? I'll be dishing the dirt on the hows, whys and wherefores in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. I'd also love to know what you love about flowers - introduce yourselves in the comments!

06/01/2025

One of my favourite things to do when visiting the in-laws in England is visiting their nearest garden centres. The larger ones have sections where they sell pets (fluffy and scaly) and playgrounds, so it’s a bit like taking the kids to a zoo where I can also indulge in a bit of bargain bulb shopping. Win/win!

I found it a lot easier saying no to a Guinea pig than saying ‘no’ to the promise of flowers. I couldn’t resist adding a few more tulips to my already bursting beds but the varieties they had on sale were totally gorgeous. Do I already have 1000 tulips planted? Yes. Did I need these extras? Probably not. Will they look gorgeous in a Spring bouquet? Abso-bloomin-lutely!

The easiest way to bring the colours of Spring inside is to sign up for a subscription, where I supply you with Fort William grown tulips and narcissus and anything else that is flowering beautifully at the time. To check out the options for Spring Bouquet Subscriptions here’s the link.

https://florrie-and-fig.square.site/