RUDBECKIA
The flowers shooting loudest in the field at the moment are the Rudbeckia. With their orange-red-golden hues, autumn is their time to shine and they are looking glorious right now. The weather is suiting them, they have great stem length and last for ages in the vase. Winner!
Get in touch if you know anyone needing autumnal vibe flowers for a wedding this season. These will keep going until the first frosts, which are hopefully still a while off. And they pair beautifully with the dahlia and cosmos that are also flowering hard right now.
#grownnotflown
#britishflowers
#bristolwedding
ORANGE GLOW
Sometimes, the flowers just pick themselves. I'm not generally a fan of orange, but the cosmos 'apricotta' is looking devine right now, so it was the starting point for this bucket. Teamed with the incredible sunset glow of the snapdragon 'potomac dark orange', scabious 'fata morgana', Rudbeckia, and calendula 'indian prince' this just the palette for a scorching day like today.
#britishflowers
#grownnotflown
#bristolflowerfarm
#chewvalley
#heatwave
LOCAL FLOWERS
I thought I'd do a quick tour of some flower buckets that went out this morning to give you a flavour of what's flowering in the field. The brief for this wedding was country garden vibes in pinks, whites, and blues. These blooms were all grown here at the farm, then picked up by a florist who lives around the corner, to be arranged into bouquets, button holes, and vases. Then they will be delivered to the bride getting married in the village this week. Total flower miles = about 2 - you can't get more local than that! Flowers grown with love and supporting local biodiversity, generally making everyone happy.
If you know someone in the Chew Valley or Bristol who wants affordable, seasonal flowers for a special occasion this summer, please share this reel!
#chewvalley
#localflowers
#grownnotflown
#bristolwedding
#diyweddingflowers
GEESE
We successfully hatched out 2 goslings this spring. In just 5 weeks, they've turned from adorable fluff balls into furry mini dinosaurs 🦕 Geese are grazers, and these two (Ryan and Graham) are mainly for keeping the grass short in the orchard. As you can see, they are already doing a pretty good job! Despite their given names, we're not sure if they're geese or ganders yet. I have horrid memories of being chased by a gander as a kid, so I'm hoping they're the former!
#smallholding
#goslings
#geeseofinstagram
#chewvalley
FRIDAY FLOWERS
Pretty bunches of summer available now, from the honesty stand at the farm gate on Birchwood Lane or the village post office in Pensford.
Happy weekend, everyone. We're having a big family get-together - what are you up to?
#britishflowers
#bristolflowerfarm
#chewvalley
#bristolwedding
SHEEP
We have been sorting out sheep for the market today. We'd like to reduce grazing on our fields and let the grass grow longer. This will increase the small mammal population and hopefully encourage barn owls to stick around.
It's a stressful job for us and the sheep, but a good opportunity to give them all a check over. Any missing ear tags have been replaced, and they are all healthy, with this year's lambs fattening up fast.
The white Wiltshire Horn crosses turn pink from our rich red earth on the farm. And the black Hebrideans always look majestic.
#smallholding
#smallholdinguk
#smallholdinglife
#hebrideansheep
#sheepofinstagram
#chewvalley
JULY
The summer flowers have really started showing off. Here's just a very small sample in the field right now. I'm still waiting for the dahlias to join the party, but luckily the slugs are being kept at bay with the beer traps, and the little rascals didn't manage to eat ALL the autumn sown larkspur (just most of it!).
#chewvalley
#grownnotflown
#bristolwedding
#diywedding
PIG
This weekend, we managed an 11 mile walk around some local villages and rewarded our efforts with a pit stop at The Pig in Bath on the way home. It is such a treat to have this place on our doorstep, a short distance through Lords Wood. The walled kitchen garden is always amazing, and great inspiration as we plan our dream garden at the farm.
A special shout out to Kia and the wine team for saving champagne bottles for us as we bottle our early summer elderflower champagne!
#thepig
#farmstay
#visitbath
#yurtstay
SPRING
And just like that...spring is here
#spring #smallholding #flowerfarm #blossom #lamb
WILD SWIMMING
OK, maybe not right now, but this totally idyllic paddling and picnic spot is only a 20-minute walk from our yurt. We used to escape from the city to here on dusty, hot summer evenings when we lived in Bristol, not realising that one day we'd be luckily enough to live around the corner.
#visitbristol #visitbath #wildswimmingholidays #wildswimmingbristol #yurtstay
Yes, it's still grey. Yes, it's still wet. And yes, it's definitely still winter. But we have our first cherry blossom blooms. And the anemones are popping in the polytunnel. Getting outside in the fresh air today made me feel 100% better about this endless winter (and, let's be honest, cleared away the post birthday hangover!). If you're feeling grey, get outside and look for colour amid the gloom. Listen to the birdsong. And sense the incoming springtime, it's just around the corner.
