GROWN BY SARAH HORNE / JOURNAL ENTRY 02
When the crops surprise you
Growing flowers for a working florist is full of plans — and then there is what actually happens.
Ammi majus in the poly tunnel — so tall that the flowering stems reached the roof.
I had grown Ammi before, but I don't think I have ever seen it quite like this. It kept growing until the stems were touching the roof of the poly tunnel.
That is one of the things I love about growing. You can choose the seed, prepare the ground and nurture the plants, but you cannot completely dictate what they will become.
A CROP WITH PRESENCE
Amaranthus
Amaranthus has been another standout. The different forms give a florist something very
different to work with — height, texture, movement and strong colour.
A spectacular amaranthus crop photographed in the growing space.
Different amaranthus colours and forms growing together.
These are the sorts of crops that make me think beyond individual flowers and start thinking
about line, texture, scale and movement within a design.
ABUNDANCE HAS ITS OWN BEAUTY
Not every crop needs to be dramatic.
Some are beautiful because of their abundance.
Lisianthus, photographed with a mass of flowers and buds.
The growing space is full of contrasts — delicate, airy crops alongside substantial flowering stems, and crops that are beautiful simply because there is so much of them.
Sweet peas gathered in a wheelbarrow.
THE UNEXPECTED IS PART OF THE STORY
Growing with curiosity
Unusual squash forms growing vertically in the protected growing space.
Not everything grown here has to fit neatly into a traditional list of florist flowers. The unusual shapes, textures and forms are part of what makes growing your own material so interesting.
The aim is not simply to produce flowers. It is to grow material that gives a florist something different to work with — something seasonal, distinctive and genuinely connected to where it was grown
Grown here. Cut here. Used by Sarah Horne.
That is the story I want to keep exploring: what happens when a florist grows the flowers she designs with.