Queenie's Floral Design

22/09/2024

One from the archives.
A day spent with flowers and like minded folk is a day spent wisely. Tammy gave us gentle guidance and a plethora of autumn blooms to choose from. So many years later, I still love this bouquet, and the ageing peony leaves. Top nosh in a tumble down cottage as well!
Super photography by Rebecca Goddard

10/08/2024

It’s been a lovely day spent doing some of my very favourite things. Doing the flowers, drinking tea, eating home made cake 🍒 and watching butterflies in abundance. After a morning with the flowers and a group of lovely gals, I headed over to the plot. It’s a funny time with the flowers at the mo isn’t it? Some things like sweet peas are slowing down, and others, the dahlias, really getting into their stride. What was really brilliant though was the number of butterflies, bees and other flying insects flitting around in the sunshine. It’s been pretty quiet of late, with a worrying absence of the hum and thrum of their busy little bodies. This Painted Lady butterfly has travelled a long way to get here to feed on the flowers on my allotment. She may have flown thousands of miles, all the way from Africa, the Middle East or southern Europe. It’s incredible really, and such a welcome sight

08/08/2024

‘Bouquets & Buttonholes’ a flowery workshop for anyone wanting to spend a morning learning how to make a hand tied bouquet and simple buttonhole, using locally grown flowers this Saturday. A space has just become available for anyone with the urge to play with gorgeous flowers, full of scent, movement and zero air miles! DM for joy 💚

21/07/2024

Wedding flowers for Meaghan & James who tied the knot (and planted a tree) yesterday, at the breathtakingly beautiful Cheswell Grange, in deepest Shropshire. The sun shone and the swans swam around, seemingly oblivious to the activity around them, and their six grey babies. As always, the blooms were grown by my brilliant suppliers and and my flower fairies on this wedding were the very lovely and super talented Judith and Tomoka I feel so lucky to have such brilliant, generous and creative women in my life. Happy wedding weekend to anyone marrying and all those florists and suppliers making it happen. Mr C and me will be celebrating our own wedding anniversary tomorrow .. one year shy of the big 30! Apparently the gift is ‘furniture’ 🪑so I’m off to buy a cupboard! ❤️

10/07/2024

20/06/2024

Common vetch scrambling through sunny hedges and verges, clinging tightly onto grasses and sturdier plants for support. It belongs to the legume family and is a great soil fertiliser stuffed full of nutrients. Often to be found running amok in my ‘verge inspired’ arrangements. Happy Summer Solstice folks 💚

19/06/2024

‘Bouquets & Buttonholes’ I love making both, all year round, with whatever is to be found growing in my garden or allotment. In fact, I recently pinned a buttonhole onto Mr Titchmarsh’s fabulous blue linen lapel! There wasn’t time to talk flowers on this occasion, but maybe next time… In between flowering up summer weddings, I will be hosting a couple of workshops teaching lovely folk how to create beautiful things. If you fancy having some fun with flowers then join me. There will be cake, quite possibly the mot delicious twist on a Bakewell slice I have ever tasted from the cook book. DM for details 💚

18/06/2024

Smoking nettles. Walking alongside the most glorious sunny verge, tumbling with wild flowers and grasses I saw little puffs of rising smoke. Random. In my imagination, I saw a pixie perched on a fly agaric puffing on an acorn shell pipe, in the style of Molly Brett! 🍄 🧚 In reality, the ‘smoke’ coming from the nettle flowers are little puffs of pollen being released into the sunshine. Apparently June is peak season for nettle pollen, so go and find yourself a sunny spot and wait for the little clouds to appear. Pure magic! 💚

07/06/2024

Zinnias. They can pack a punch with their zingy colours, but they also come in the most gorgeous pastel hues, adding a delicious softness to any garden grown arrangement. I’ve been experimenting more with making paper flowers and will be offering flower workshops this Saturday the Royal Windsor Flower Show This is my third year at this celebration of plants, gardening, flowers, craft, food and so much more, held in the pastoral setting of Windsor Great Park. It’s a wonderful day out for all the family, so if you’re in the area. I know there are a few tickets available, but don’t hesitate! Join me in making a paper keepsake in flower form.. it’s addictive! 🌸🌼🌸

01/06/2024

Floralantics a plenty this morning with my flower buddies Hanna and Anna creating a jamboree of colour in the grounds of the very beautiful Castle Bromwich Gardens. And, the sun is sort of shining 🌞 🐝 😎 🌸

27/05/2024

and what a beautiful flower filled week it has been. Starting the week with a dash to followed by gathering the very best late spring blooms from my own plot and the most perfect blue cornflowers from I was not going to be defeated by the May ! The sun shone for both couples and and Cheswell Grange looked preety special after we had worked our flowery magic. So much thanks to my team of flowery technicians and my sister,

10/04/2024

All sorts welcome. The upside of constant rain means more time indoors. Also, the house is a topsy turvey noise fest with men working on the new bathroom, so I’m away to my shed. Admin, seed sowing and the very best bit.. tapping into my creativity. As a child, I was always the ‘organiser’. I opened a club where friends would come together to play horses, chat, eat ice cream, chat, make stuff, chat.. you get the picture. I painted flyers and made cardboard badges with a safety pin sellotaped to the back. The logo was, unsurprisingly a flower, and the name ‘The Allsorts Club’. This little flowery collection strongly reminds me of that idea I had, and the younger Gretel. Note to self.. stay true to yourself, find time to play more often, and feel good about being the organiser aka bossy boots! 💚

08/04/2024

The flowers are here at last and it feels great. I’m a fan of repurposing, whether it’s farewell or wedding flowers, so I love it when the blooms are loved twice. With that in mind, these flowers were working their socks off yesterday at a very windy Wedding Open Day. They’re shaking their b***y once more today, shouting ‘encore’! 💚 💚

03/04/2024

Aaah narcissi, in all their golden glory. I love daffodils more every year as I discover varieties new to me. Ice Follies, Jetfire, Pipit, Lemon Beauty, Golden Dawn, Xit and the baby of the bunch.. little Minnow. I’m smiling even as I write the name! This year’s harvest has been badly affected, I think, by slugs and snails. The buds are devoured even before they have had a chance to face the 🌞 I’m cutting early and removing the offenders as often as possible, but they are prolific, greedy and determined. I’ll be arranging a selection of these golden wonders ( and some other seasonal beauties) at the latest wedding open day, this Saturday. Do come along, I hear that the sun might be putting in an appearance 💛 💚

21/03/2024

First ranunculus and what a beauty she is ♥️♥️♥️

15/03/2024

Edgeworthia chrysantha Grandiflora or Paper bush is still providing the bees with a much needed food source in the sunshine this morning 🐝 Its a peculiar leafless shrub that looks pretty bare and unpromising until woolly silver heads appear, followed by these bright yellowy orange pom-poms. Leaves will follow as it’s still bald apart from the flowers. The flower bauble is made up of many tiny flowerlets and smells of sweet cloves. Delicious 💛 🍯 🌞 It would make a great 2nd wedding anniversary gift 🧻🗞️🗒️🪭

13/03/2024

It’s not raining! I know that’s what the nice man on the telly said last night, but I didn’t quite believe him. It’s not raining, yes, it’s kind of dry. I’m off to check on what’s happening at the end of the garden. I haven’t been down there for a bit as I don’t have a canoe… ! Blossom from this time last year and I’m hoping to see more 🌸

07/03/2024

What a brilliantly talented group of women joined me last night for an evening of floral creativity. Thanks to for the inspiration, these willow rings were so much fun to create.. Thanks also to for the willow rings and for some of the dehydrated blooms! Here’s to the next one.. ⭕️ 💚🌼

01/03/2024

March it is then 💛💚

26/02/2024

Took a trip 🇪🇸

05/02/2024

Snowdrops & catkins.. we know that spring is just around the corner when these beauties brave the harsh wind and grey skies. I spent the most wonderful time on Saturday making these dinky delights under the expert eye and nimble fingers of the very lovely Charlotte Hepworth of .de.cire_waxflowers The group had such a wonderful time, cutting and twisting, painting and waxing. Kate provided the most delicious home cooked lunch with her very own fudge to follow.. I want to move in! They do have accommodation for those travelling from further afield btw. Oh, and the friendliest dogs. I’m already booked in for my next crafty day and I can’t wait!

01/02/2024

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25/01/2024

Weddings and the weather 🌞 ☔️ 💨 Claudia and Charlie didn’t let a little bit of liquid sunshine bother them on their special day. These two lovebirds were so happy to be tying the knot surrounded by the love of family and friends. Claudia told me she loved her bouquet so much that she took it on a tour, showing all her guests, parading around and delighting in her bouquet of British grown blooms. How lovely is that?!

24/01/2024

Taking the new year at a quieter pace after a pretty frantic 2023. I do love spinning all the flowery plates, and after several weeks hibernation, it’s time to pick up the pace! Enquiries from lovely brides for British flowers has kept me on my toes this month, providing detailed quotes, while trying to work out how to price things fairly. Planting the last few bulbs and corms, sowing seed and buying more, always too many, but I can’t resist. Planning workshops and designing creative projects that keep the creative flow alive and kicking. I’m even squeezing in a few catch ups with like minded flower friends…yippee! Today I whizzed over to Worcestershire to catch up with the wonderful Hannah and collect some of her stash of everlasting beauties. The coffee and lemon drizzle were most welcome. If you’re looking for beautiful, naturally grown flowers for your wedding, then get in touch.. snails optional 🐌 💚

12/01/2024

Looking forward to more of this .. currently in an admin trance sending quotes to lovely brides to be who want If you want flowers in the wild style for your wedding day; ping me!

31/12/2023

My favourite dahlia from 2023. Grown from seed but I can’t remember the name, find the packet, or my seed sowing list.. possibly ‘Alba’. It’s a delicate beauty, so unlike her more robust sisters. Not the most versatile or long lasting flower, but a fleeting vision of loveliness. The tubers are hibernating in a straw nest and hopefully will be strong and healthy.

31/12/2023

It’s been another flower filled year and my busiest yet, so thank you to everyone who has supported me in 2023 and to my small community of flower buddies. Queenie’s has grown into a small, sustainable business that I feel so proud of, and l want to see where the flowers take me next year. The allotment has doubled in size, and I now have a polytunnel, albeit a repurposed trampoline! I’m looking forward to another year of flowers and creativity and wish you all a very happy new year. Cin cin 🥂See you all on flip side!

31/10/2023

Found this little fella walking in Comer Woods a couple of weeks ago.. just as he is, fern frond quiff and mini fungi for peepers! Hilarious! Doesn’t nature provide us with all we need? Wishing you all a happy Halloween without the need of any single use plastic. Think before you buy .. do we need more orange plastic pumpkins and spider webs in landfill tomorrow?

28/10/2023

Autumn really has been the gift that keeps on giving.. the dahlias are still putting on the razzle dazzle as the sunflowers have waved goodbye. I had planned to dig up my tubers today, but they are still blazing in the sunshine and laughing at the rain. The supporting cast were cosmos, rudbeckia, asters, tagetes, a solo zinnia, some grasses and other leafy bits. The clocks go back tonight, so cheerier mornings ahead folks!

27/10/2023

Order. Harmony. Balance. Cosmos ‘Purity’ has been a real winner again this year, despite the topsy turvey weather. Consistently flowering for almost six months, and getting daintier with each new flush of flowers, they just keep on coming. I haven’t sown any yet for next year, and fear I have left it too late..? As always there so much to do, and never enough time. Bulb planting, bed clearing, workshop tidying, bucket washing and polytunnel covering have pinched all my time! Flower play has been in short supply as weddings and events have kept me busier than ever this year. So yesterday I chopped pretty much everything left on the plot, and spent a couple of hours today playing with the flowers. I love the simplicity of arranging one colour, or one flower. So here is my bowl of cosmos, oh, and a few cheeky little feverfew found their way into the mix. Being a Libran, means that I am generally striving for ‘order, harmony and balance’ which happens to be the flower meaning of this calming little beauty.