Newsletter Issue 9 - Late June 2026

Hello,

Once again, I find myself compelled to begin with the weather. The story of extremes has continued this week. In fact, it has surpassed itself. Wednesday and Thursday both broke records for the hottest day in June on record and there’s a good chance that the record will be broken again today. 

For the flower grower, it offers a mixed experience. Harvesting needs to happen early or else the flowers look very sad and droopy, and their life in the vase is shortened. Some of the flowers like the Malope and Antirrhinum bloom so rapidly that it’s hard to keep on top of them. It means we have a lot of flowers to sell this week at market but will likely result in a slight gap whilst they sprout out again rather than providing us with a steady supply of flowers over a few weeks.

It has also brought some of heat-loving flowers on early. The first Dahlia of the year is ready to pick today, our earliest Dahlia to date! The Cosmos has also started and the Helichrysum will join this week.

The hot weather means we’ve put some of the more labour-intensive tasks like clearing beds on hold. Although, I speak for myself here: Pa has powered on with lifting Anemones and planting the last of the Dahlias under the blazing sun. Meanwhile, I’ve opted for lighter tasks like washing buckets in cold water beneath the shade of the silver birches. The shade offered by the trees feels deeper and cooler than being indoors, even if the outside temperature is technically higher. It’s a very nice place to be. I feel very grateful to be able to work outdoors and not be cooped up in a stuffy office or kitchen.

When not washing buckets, I’ve been in the fridge (it two fleeces and a gloves), processing Nigella seed pods, Tanacetum and Achillea for drying. The foliage is stripped off, the stems bunched in bundles and then suspended from the roof in the hot flower shed. It’s excellent flower-drying weather; the process should only take a few days.

For Clementine, the official flower dog, it means very regular pond dips to cool off which she endures very happily.

The big field is being put to the test. After a winter spent broadforking and mulching, the beds do seem more robust and healthier compared with previous hot summers. They could become even more resilient and so we intend to continue the process of building organic matter and life in the soil.

Last Sunday, we marked the Summer Solstice with a walk down the track at sundown. The grass was alive with clumsy, drone-like chafer beetles, a bug I very much associate with Midsummer, intent on repeatedly bombing our heads. The fields were awash with lilac Phacelia and Vetch, their beauty softened by a pale pastel sky still holding on to the light of the longest day. And so we’re officially now moving through the second half of the year. The half that is all about harvest, abundance, reaping the rewards of the hard work undertaken in the earlier months of the year.

All crops destined to flower this year are in the ground now. Anything else we plant will be for next season. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be choosing tulips varieties for next spring, ordering hardy annual seeds for sowing in August to overwinter, corralling and feeding Dahlias, and harvesting many, many flowers. We’ll also be adding seasonal bouquets to our online shop for collection from Blunham over the next fortnight so if you’d like to treat yourself or friend with an abundance of summer flowers, be sure to visit.

Until next time.

Clara