HOMEstead GROWN

HOMEstead GROWN HOMEstead GROWN: a grower, florist and seller of my beautifully fresh, seasonal garden flowers!

10/11/2025

Local high streets and small businesses deserve and need our support …why not choose to shop local and small this Christmas!

November. How did we even get here?! The year is fast accelerating though a sometimes-calm, sometimes-wet and blustery ...
09/11/2025

November. How did we even get here?! The year is fast accelerating though a sometimes-calm, sometimes-wet and blustery autumn, against a backdrop of beautifully turning tree leaves. These are just a few snapshots of my October.
Now in my fifth year of growing flowers for cutting, the cycle really is continual, cumulative, and every process feels intertwined. For sure, the garden never sleeps and all four seasons are in my head and hands at any one time.

Jack Frost recently wafted through which means that the dahlias are heading for their last hurrah after a glorious show in a newly-planted bed of 100 more last spring. Really speaking, the only blooms left to shine this month are a border and polytunnel of rich chrysanthemum varieties in colours and shapes that I’ve not grown before – very exciting to see them start to unfurl! I'm delighted to have extended the growing season beyond October and into winter for the first time.
Eight Christmas wreath workshops are almost fully booked, and the prep and resourcing for them has been a work in progress for weeks. The first fresh wreath of the season will soon be made here in my home workshop, which always fills me with a Christmassy anticipation of the joy of creating seasonal beauty with so many other people too.
Meanwhile, several hundred more bulbs are still to be planted with the spring promise of scented, buttery-white narcissi and gorgeous speciality tulips for PYO and bouquets, also ‘snakeshead’ fritillary, spiky blue camassias and stately purple alliums.
Late summer and autumn seed-sowing of hardy annuals and perennials is my newest obsession, and I've been collecting much of my own seed from the spent flowers. With a good rate of germination already underway, many baby plants will need nurturing under cover through the winter to give me the best foot forward on next year’s flowering season.
So it’s quite the balancing act - savouring one season while dreaming of the rest to come!
🌿

Large, local pumpkins in soft shades and rambling, seasonal flowers - my perfect combo at this time of year to bring the...
21/10/2025

Large, local pumpkins in soft shades and rambling, seasonal flowers - my perfect combo at this time of year to bring the outside inside. Also one of the best ways to showcase the best of autumn's hedgerow fruits, flowers, seed-heads and grasses - the beautiful morphing of one season into the next.
I've been enjoying looking back at some past workshops and creations - this year I'm just making them to order locally. Let me know if you'd like one!
I recommend it as a fun project for anyone with a spare jam jar and time for a spot of autumnal foraging ... and in this neck of the woods, you can't go wrong with a visit to for an amazing array of pumpkins to choose from.

Hurrah for a long summer AND autumn of dahlias! And it ain't over yet.Having recovered from the recent minor panic of a ...
12/10/2025

Hurrah for a long summer AND autumn of dahlias! And it ain't over yet.
Having recovered from the recent minor panic of a rudely early touch of frost, we are still going gangbusters in the dahlia patch here at HOMEstead GROWN HQ. It is a source of huge pride and daily joy. I still think the pompoms are my favourites - how about you?
Digging up a 10m long border last spring and laying drip irrigation to dedicate to 100 new tubers in gorgeous sunset colours from has been a Very Good Move. Not least because of the seriously glorious boxes in which they are lovingly wrapped in tissue and delivered, but also because it's one of the sunniest spots in the garden. And for a girl who has always turned her nose up at orange, well, these shades have won my heart, is all I can say.

A flower-growing buddy passed on a natty trick to deter the nibblers which, I confess, was getting me down a little: an order of 100 mesh drawstring gift bags to put upside down over the opening buds. It looks as though I'm growing little ghosts and it really works! Did you catch me already browsing through the catalogue turning over the corner of every page for many more next year....🫣

Lovely new stockist alert for our hand-made wood and test tube stem vases which look beautiful with both fresh and dried...
09/10/2025

Lovely new stockist alert for our hand-made wood and test tube stem vases which look beautiful with both fresh and dried flowers. Perfect for unique gifts or to treat yourself!
Always good to shop with small and local businesses and support the high street - wherever you are.
And if you’re in Macclesfield town, please stop by and check out these artisan makers!

06/10/2025

A week today we will be activating the ticket link for the Mayor of Macclesfields Christmas wreath making workshops.

On the 13th October you will be able to book/pay for tickets to the event run for us by the lovely Rachel at HOMEstead GROWN. This year we will be running an afternoon session AND an evening session!

Everything you need will be provided and all monies raised will go to the charities that Mayor of Macclesfield Cllr Emma Gilman is supporting this year - Friends of Park Lane Special School and Cardiac Risk in the Young

Christmas Wreath Workshops – ‘Found & Foraged’ at The Random Apple Co, Swanscoe, Macclesfield, SK10 5SZThursday 27 ...
10/09/2025

Christmas Wreath Workshops – ‘Found & Foraged’
at The Random Apple Co, Swanscoe, Macclesfield, SK10 5SZ

Thursday 27 November 7 – 9:30 pm
Friday 28 November 7 – 9:30 pm
Sunday 30 November 2 – 4:30 pm
Tuesday 2 December 10 am – 12:30 pm
Thursday 4 December 7 – 9:30 pm

Now that there’s a definite whiff of woodsmoke and autumn in the air, this year’s Christmas wreath workshops don’t seem so far away on the horizon!
Plan some time out before the busyness of Christmas to join me in the gorgeously rustic barn of the Random Apple Co. on the rural edge of Macclesfield for one of our popular festive wreath workshops.
If, like me, sustainable, local and natural is your preference and you like your wreaths a little on the wild side, then this is for you …
What to Expect:
You’ll work with local, responsibly-foraged foliage, dried flowers & seed heads, hedgerow finds, feathers and velvet ribbons to create a beautiful wreath that reflects your style. All tools, materials, and step-by-step guidance are provided. A twinkly barn setting, mulled Random apple juice and home-baked cake will help you settle in and enjoy the creative process.
Who it’s For:
Many people say that this is where their Christmas begins. Usher in the festive season with friends, colleagues, family or come solo – it’s equally ideal for returners or first-timers looking for creative inspiration and help.
Workshops can be gifted as a voucher to a friend or family member, and group bookings can be arranged.

Book Your Place:
£60 per person
These workshops fill up quickly — there are only 12 places per workshop. Last year we sold out by the end of September!

Register your interest through the online form linked below, or by email.
Payment details will then be sent for you to secure your place.
https://www.byhomesteadgrown.com/workshops
Email: [email protected]

Reflecting today on my favourite flowers from high summer in the garden now that September has appeared out of the blue ...
02/09/2025

Reflecting today on my favourite flowers from high summer in the garden now that September has appeared out of the blue ... Where to even begin, but here are a few blooms and bouquets that have brought me and their recipients the most joy throughout the long, warm season. Yes there were certainly significant growing challenges and some decent rain will be more welcome than usual, but what abundance and surprise after surprise to reward the hard work.
I'm already busy sowing seeds and ordering gorgeous tulip bulbs for next year, and wedding bookings are trickling in - there's no time to be sad at the end of one season when the next one is already in sight!

Next Saturday! Come and say hi…👋
19/08/2025

Next Saturday! Come and say hi…👋

The ultimate honour: to be asked to create a collective tribute from three parts of one family saying their special fare...
14/08/2025

The ultimate honour: to be asked to create a collective tribute from three parts of one family saying their special farewell to a much-loved mum.
The gorgeous bright-pastel summer flowers and the foliage were picked from my garden plot and the nearby flower fields of and some had special significance. If you look closely, I think you'll agree that they are exquisite in colour and design anyway and they were certainly fresh and scented.
The base was made sustainably too (no plastic-based floral foam) with yew, pittosporum, rosemary 'for remembrance' and fragrant, flowering mint.
There is no reason why funeral flowers shouldn't be at least as beautiful and unique as wedding flowers can be. They can be anything that you want them to be and what better than choosing seasonal to honour the seasons of life ...

There are weekends to remember and then again, there are Weekends To Remember.I take on a few commissions a year to grow...
09/08/2025

There are weekends to remember and then again, there are Weekends To Remember.
I take on a few commissions a year to grow, provide and arrange flowers for a small number of local weddings. But when friends from afar ask if you can arrange the flowers for their daughter’s wedding and the space is as awe-inspiring as Westminster Abbey, then you find a way to make it work!
The brief was an English country garden in pastels, which is one of my very favourites. We carefully packed a huge array of Cheshire-grown flowers from several gardens and a flower farm into every inch of the car and roof box. A handful of the roses were bought in – the rest of the flowers were the best that this British summer has to offer; sustainably grown, freshly harvested, and smelling fantastic, including scented herbs as foliage. I had to drive with the car windows open for many miles before the bees finally all flew out!
It was such a privilege to work away behind the scenes of the Abbey and to be there after visiting hours when a deserted hush replaced the crowds of the daytime.
It’s not often that I get to witness my flowers in action. Usually, I pour my heart and soul into them and then hand them over, so it was extra special to be part of the service – which was nothing short of beautiful – and to see the bride and wedding party wearing and carrying their flowers throughout. The meadow boxes were whisked away from the chancel steps afterwards to decorate the pretty marquee and garden for the rest of the celebrations.
Special thanks goes to the other main sources of really gorgeous flowers which supplemented my own: Abbeywood Estate and Min of Smokebush Floral Design.
The last photo shows some of my special helpers who also need huge thanks, along with other friends and family for every little part they played – a true team effort, and I'm still soaking up the wonderful memories of it all from beginning to end.

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South Park
Macclesfield

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