Flowers by the Brae

What a gorgeous day this was for Valerie and Zack back in September. Burgundy’s, deep reds, moody purples and pops of orange created the atmospheric palette along with an abundance of texture for Valerie’s witchy floral vibe. A gorgeous couple with a truly beautiful group of friends and family. So relaxed and so friendly, you could feel the love while walking around the castle that day. Congratulations V & Z 21.0924 Photography by @fernphotography_scotland Flowers from @mcconnell.blooms and @michelle__at_cordonfarm Floristry by @flowersbythebrae Venue @fingaskcastle

PLANT SALE 🌱🌱🌱🌱 Please message me if you would like to reserve anything for collection. Available for pick up Monday, Thursday & Friday next week or over the weekend as well. The £6 clumps are roughly the size of a football, so very decent value for money. Everything is perennial so will come back year on year except for the foxgloves, but they are excellent self seeders so you will find them popping up the next year somewhere in your garden ☺️ Some of the varieties have quite low stock so I would advise to get in quick so you’re not disappointed! Happy Spring! 🌱🌱🌱

Happy Easter I hope you have a lovely Easter, whatever your plans. It’s Spring forward today so the days will get longer and the nights will be brighter from here on in. Here is one of my favourite spring colours ways, pale forget-me-not blue’s with creams and toffee’s and narcissus that look like giant eggs 🍳 Narcissus Muscari Primula Spirea Viburnum Scila . . . . #springflowers #springblooms #springforward #springhassprungflorals #scottishspringflowers #seasonalflowers #seasonalflorist #seasonalweddingflorist #scottishweddingflorist #flowerfarmer #seasonalflowerfarmer #happyeaster #easterflowers #easterflorals #springcolours #springwedding

Spring time is for welcoming in the sunshine and saying hello to new. For adorning our doors in spring sunshine colours and getting excited for the start of the growing year. 🌞 Spring wreath using moss and wire for a special customer who actually enquired about spring wreaths all the way back in December after buying one of my festive ones. 💕 . . . . . #springwreath #easterwreath #springflowers #doorwreath #seasonalflowers #seasonalflorist #perthshireflorist #scottishflorist #seasonalflowerfarmer #sustainablefloristry

My sweet peas are germinating after finally getting round to sowing them last week. So much excitement over these ladies. They may not have the longest vase life and they may take more work than most of my other crops because of the continual dead heading but honestly, nothing comes close to their scent or their beautiful tangly vines. In my opinion they are romance in a flower and I wouldn’t be without them. I only grew five varieties last year and all five made the cut this year with an extra 5 added in for good measure. . . . . . . #flowerfarmer #flowerfarmerflorist #perthshireflorist #scottishflorist #scottishweddingflorist #scottishweddings #weddingflowers #weddingflowerideas #weddinginspo #scottishflowerfarmer #seasonalflowers #seasonalflorist #summerblooms #romanticstyle #romanticweddingflowers #romanticflowers

A mid-February garden 🌸 I can’t believe how much colour can be found right now if you know where to look. If you’re thinking of or have already booked to get married next February and are worried about what flowers are in season, worry not as all of these beauties are blooming away quite happily in my garden at the moment. Hellebores Snowdrop Cherry blossom Honeysuckle This colour combination always reminds me of the flower fairy books I used to read as a child and which might actually be the reason I was so taken with flowers from a young age! . . . . . . #seasonalflowers #flowers #cutflowers #februaryflowers #flowersinseason #febwedding #februarywedding #weddingflowers #seasonalweddingflowers #fromthegarden #romanticflowers #flowerfairies #aseasonalyear #scottishweddingflorist #seasonalweddingflorist #scottishflorist #perthshireflorist

M O T H E R S D A Y 💐 Whether it’s for your mum, step mum, parent, grandparent, guardian, auntie, daughter, friend, friends mum or just someone you want to share your love with, my orders are open for Mother’s Day which is right around the corner on Sunday 10th March! I have a few options available, just send me a wee message with what you would like to order. I’d advise you to be organised and get in quick though as I’ll be closing my orders a week beforehand, on Sunday the 3rd March 💐 The Spring Flower Club Subscription service of fresh locally grown flowers delivered to your door week after week from mid-April 3,6 & 8 week options available and prices start at £37.50 (postcode specific) 💐 Fresh bouquet of British spring flowers. As always, it’s difficult to say in advance exactly what will be flowering two and a half weeks from now but I can promise that it will be beautiful, colourful and spectacular! 💐 Livng Pots For the ones that don’t like getting bunches of flowers *gasp.* Spring bulbs planted into vintage ceramic pots. If cut flowers aren’t their thing, the living pots show the same amount of love but skip the part where they have to throw away spent blooms. Simply plant the bulbs out in the garden once they have finished flowering and watch them come back year after year. Send me a message by Sunday 3rd of March to order #mothersday #motheringsunday #mothersdayflowers #mumsday #flowersformum #flowersforwomen #sayitwithflowers #flowers #perthshireflorist #scottishflorist #mothersdayflorist #seasonalflorist #springflowers #springbulbs

Last week I had the privilege of spending an immersive day of beauty with like-minded folk at the beautiful @cambo_gardens. We walked the grounds, braving the elements and enjoying all of the textural beauty that lies within a garden during her winter sleep. Of course, a garden doesn’t really sleep in winter. There is so much going on, even during these short days, if you know where to look. That was our brief, to create beauty from the unexpected, well unexpected for me anyway. It’s a far cry from my usual arrangements and a total breath of fresh air in terms of unleashing a new wave of creativity in me. New friends were made, networks were built, laughs were had, knowledge was gained and most importantly for me, hurdles were overcome. The cherry on top of a delicious strawberry gateau of a day was having my work photographed by Éva Nemeth. I have been inspired by her work for such a long time and was so thrilled when I realised I was getting to keep her photographs of my work. Thank you again to everyone involved and especially to @simplybyarrangement for thinking up these gems of days. Photography at the start of the reel by Éva and the last few by me. #springflowers #springflorist #snowdrop #snowdrops #snowdropsaremyfavouriteflower #snowdropseason #galanthophile #springbowl #seasonalflowers #seasonalfloralstyle #seasonalflowerfarmer #scottishflorist #scottishweddingflorist #perthshireweddingflorist #fifeweddings #cambogardenssnowdrops

V A L E N T I N E S D A Y 💌 Have you ever wonder what flowers are actually in season on Valentine’s Day? *HINT* it’s not roses! The good news however is that there ARE British flowers available at this time of year. While up in Scotland I am witnessing the snowdrops in their full carpety wonder, catkins on the trees and the first cherry blossom beginning to bloom, down south in Cornwall they have had weeks of flowers already. 🌷Tulips, Anemones, Narcissus, Paperwhites, Hyacinths ……basically all of the beautiful spring flowers that we have come to love and expect at this time of year. So, with that in mind I have a few seasonal and sustainable options for Valentine’s Day and it would make me so happy if people started to break the mould and ditch the roses in February. Like food, flowers are so much more enjoyable within their natural season, which for Roses, is June…..a few months to wait yet but trust me we will shout about it when it comes. 💌 Valentines bouquet (from £50) Using British grown pink and red Anemones, Big, ruffly pink Parrot Tulips and red snapdragons along with some lovely Scottish foliage. 💌 Living Spring Pots (from £15) Bring some spring joy into the house with beautiful narcissus and muscari bulbs in vintage and antique pots. Once flowered, the vessels can be kept and treasured or gifted on to someone new. The bulbs of course, can be planted out into the garden and enjoyed for years to come. 💌 My Spring Flower subscription, the Spring Flower Club. You get to choose between 3, 6 or 8 weeks of beautiful fresh flowers delivered to your door once our Scottish season kicks off in April. Beautiful vouchers for the club are available and can be given as a gift on the day, as a promise of things to come. (From £37.50) If you would like any of the above message me below with “valentines” or send me a wee direct message. #valentinesdaygift #perthshireflorist #carseofgowrie #scottishflorist #seasonalvalentines #s

How can we be in February already? On one hand I feel like there were 318 weeks of January but on the other hand, I haven’t even managed to sow all the seeds I had planned. January was busy and going by the mountain of seed packets I have, February will be even more so. More light means more energy though, not just from the sun to help my little seedlings along but for me too. I feel like I need it at the moment and I’m welcoming any and all signs of things coming back to life. Today (and tomorrow) is Imbolc, a pagan tradition originating from the Celts, which celebrates the mid-way point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The word “imbolc” means, in the belly of the mother. Mother earth has the seeds of spring in her belly and they are beginning to stir. . . . . . #imbolc #tradition #spring #springhassprung #snowdrops #seasonalflowerfarmer #seasonalflorist #winterflower

The music for this one says it all doesn’t it? 😂 This was me having just finished what I was doing and about to head home as storm Jocelyn really kicked it up a notch. I had been out on the farm prepping for the storm, i.e pinning tarps, weighing down tarps, pinning tarps and some more, yep you guessed it, weighing down tarps. The bane of my life, on this farm. It has taken up so many hours, re-doing the same job over and over when then each storm pulls them back up. I was really interested to see that the leaf mulch I put over a separate bed stayed out through the high winds. Going forward if I can get my hands on enough leaves I’ll Reasons why I cover the soil in the winter 👇🏻 🌱It suppresses weed growth. Not so important right now as hardly anything is growing but it has killed back any weeds from last year and keeping the soil in the dark delays any regrowth and weed germination come spring. 🌱It retains moisture. This might seem counter intuitive with all of this rain but actually it’s very beneficial, especially now in peak storm season. As well as retaining the moisture already there, it protects the soil from erosion caused by further extreme weather, preventing impaction, crucial for structural integrity and nutrient leaching, encouraging beneficial microbial activity. If there is one thing I have learned over the past year it’s that the microbial content of my soil is so important. I’m really interested in this aspect of flower farming and I’m 100% geeking out on it. I’ve said before how much I love compost chat….well it’s all linked and I’m here for all the soil micro organism chat too 🥰 🌱Along with everything above and by helping to regulate temperature it will produce higher yields over all. More blooms, more joy and more happy faces customers! . . . . . #stormjocelyn #winterstorm #januaryblues #winterweather #flowerfarm #flowerfarmer #perthshirefarmer #perthshireflorist #scottishflorist #scottishflowerfarmer #

2023 you have been pretty amazing when I think about it. If someone had told me at the start of this year that I would be gearing up for my 12th month in business I would have laughed. When I look back at my planning, I wrote in my journal in (January 2023) that I wanted to be up and running for Christmas wreath making……to think that I have been sowing, planting, growing, creating and selling for nearly a year already is incredible. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am where I am meant to be, doing what I love, creating and being fulfilled. My goodness it’s hard work and the life of a florist farmer has permeated into absolutely everything else I do. It wraps around my life, my lives and my children. In the summer I’m out before they wake up and back out when they go to bed but honestly….i wouldn’t have it any other way. 2023 has become the year that life sped up to slow down. I’ve become busier than ever before but in the same breath I have slowed down enough to really notice and experience the nuances of the changing seasons. I’ve witnessed the shape the morning dew takes on the leaves of a foxglove. How the ladybirds prefer the Orlaya over the Ammi and what flowers the butterflies like to feed from. I’ve noticed how the sunrise and sunset changes, ever so slightly, over the course of a few days and how the earthworms change colour over the course of the summer. I’ve never felt so connected with nature and I hope it’s something I can nurture for decades to come. Happy New Year year to everyone and I hope 2024 brings all the happiness you could dream of. X