There are many reasons why we should grow our own cut flowers. The flowers that we buy from many florists and supermarkets are often flown in out of season from abroad, potentially with the widespread use of chemicals, dubious employee welfare and high carbon emissions. Homegrown cut flowers are local, sustainable and beautiful and can be grown organically. They can help us to connect us with the seasons.
There are more flower farmers in the UK than ever, and many of us are now keen to grow our own cut flowers in our gardens, just as we do our food.
The recent bumper crop of flower growing books reflects this trend; we round up the best books on cut flower growing and floristry that we've reviewed in Gardens Illustrated recently.
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The best floristry books
Cut Flowers: Bloom Gardener's Guide
by Celestina Robertson
Frances Lincoln, £12.99
ISBN 978-0711269958
BEST FOR: Practical advice for beginners
Cut Flowers is an almost pocket-sized title that contains a surprising amount of hardworking information from cut flower grower Cel Robertson. The book begins by setting the context for why we should grow our own cut flowers, spotlighting the mass-market flower industry. Beyond industry ethics, Cut Flowers delivers the promise of its lengthy subtitle with advice on how to prepare the ground, sow seed, nurture, harvest and fill your vases. There is much to know and Robertson packs it in. Read our full review of Cut Flowers.
Reviewer Rae Spencer-Jones is a garden writer.
The Cut Flower Source Book: Exceptional Perennials and Woody Plants for Cutting
by Rachel Siegfried
Filbert Press, £35
ISBN 978-1739903923
BEST FOR: Cutting from your garden and borders
With her extensive experience as a gardener, flower grower and florist, Rachel Siegfried, owner of the flower farm Green and Gorgeous in Oxfordshire, has brought together a definitive selection of 128 tried-and-tested woody plants and perennials, including bulbs and climbers, that provide colour and interest for arrangements for each season. Because these plants return each year they require much less work than annuals, and, as Siegfried observes, seem more able to cope with the changing climate. This book will surely become a go-to resource for cut-flower growers looking for a more sustainable way of growing, but it’s also worth delving into if you want to boost the picking potential of your garden borders.
Reviewer Louise Curley is a freelance garden and nature writer.
Watch the Cut Flowers from your Garden Gardens Illustrated masterclass with Rachel Siegfried.
Flower Philosophy: Seasonal Projects to Inspire & Restore
by Anna Potter
White Lion Publishing, £20
ISBN 978-0711268579
BEST FOR: Whimsical, advanced floristry designs
Anna Potter, the florist behind Swallows & Damsons, is known for her seasonal displays that feature not only flowers but fruit, vegetables, seashells and more. Here, she showcases her craft with varied projects including bouquets, wreaths and installations. Each combines conventional and foraged floral material, and is dramatically photographed, with a flower menu that allows readers to imitate her designs.
The section on floristry basics is excellent and will be universally helpful for anyone designing with flowers. Anna’s commitment to sustainability is laudable and the pages on floral mechanics are fascinating, showing how she achieves some of her more complex constructions.
Reviewer Charlie Ryrie is a cut-flower grower and florist.
From Seed to Bloom: A year of Growing and Designing with Seasonal Flowers
by Milli Proust
Quadrille Publishing, £20
ISBN 978-1787137349
BEST FOR: Seasonal inspiration
The layout and content of this beautiful book reflects the author’s enormously popular social media content to a highly visually literate readership. The practicalities of plot layout, tool kit, and general notes on growing and floristry are dealt with quickly at the beginning of the book, after which Proust takes you through a year divided into eight mini seasons. In a post-pandemic world, many love the idea of growing flowers and creating with them and this fairy-tale inspiration, with step-by-step projects, shows exactly what you’ll need to grow to make them.
Reviewer Georgie Newbery is a flower farmer and author, and owner of Common Farm Flowers.
Flowers Forever: Celebrate the Beauty of Dried Flowers with Stunning Floral Art
by Bex Partridge
Hardie Grant Books, £20
ISBN 978-1784884345
BEST FOR: Advice on growing flowers for drying
In this book, Partridge argues convincingly that most flowers, grasses, foliage and seedheads can, and should, have a life beyond the freshly picked, and many of them develop a deeper character when they are dried and displayed with imagination. There are clear "What, When & How to Dry" sections on everything from traditional flowers for drying, such as strawflowers to wild grasses. The book itself is a beautiful thing to hold, and the atmospheric photographs by Laura Edwards demonstrates how nothing is off limits, and that dried flowers should not be seen as the gloomy secondbest of winter, but the more dynamic sculptural forms of a wildness that we all need much more of in our lives.
Reviewer Caroline Beck is a writer and flower farmer.
The Flower School
by Joseph Massie
Quadrille Publishing, £27
ISBN 978-1787138209
BEST FOR: Modern floral design inspiration
A modern take on floral design from Joseph Massie, five-time Gold medallist at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
How to Grow the Flowers: A sustainable approach to enjoying flowers throughout the seasons
by Marianne Mogendorff and Camila Romain
Pavilion Books, £20
ISBN 978-1911682011
BEST FOR: Unfussy and achievable flower arrangements
From their urban plot in north London Mogendorff and Romain, the flower-growing partnership behind the Wolves Lane Flower Company, work with the seasons, growing flowers and foliage in an environmentally friendly way, and they want to inspire the readers of their book to do the same. Starting with autumn, each season is divided into four topics: soil, seed, tend and harvest. They may have no horticultural background and have been growing for only five years but the text is impressively comprehensive. Meanwhile, the wreaths, hand-held bouquets and vase arrangements dotted through the book are delightfully unfussy and eminently achievable.
Reviewer Louise Curley is a garden writer.
Grow and Gather: A Gardener's Guide to A Year of Cut Flowers
by Grace Alexander
Quadrille, £20
ISBN 978-1787135840
BEST FOR: Practical and encouraging advice
‘If I had one piece of advice for you, it would be invest in your soil’. It’s a brave woman who writes about the intricacies of soil health when so many people want flash results without the hard graft. But I applaud author and grower Grace Alexander’s honesty in this book, because this is the most valuable tip for anyone wanting to grow flowers (or pretty much anything else). There’s no compare-and-despair here. Failures are given as much weight as success. Her book is so full of good sense and patient observation that you feel you are right alongside her as she sows, weeds, plans and grows.
Reviewer Caroline Beck is a flower farmer in Durham.
The Little Flower Recipe Book
by Jill Rizzo
Artisan Books, £23.99
ISBN 978-1648290534
BEST FOR: Those with little outdoor space
Easy-to-follow seasonal guides to miniature flower arrangements, such as a thimbleful of pansies or a teacup of delphinium, phlox and Chinese forget-me-not, from an acclaimed US florist.
The Modern Flower Press
by Melissa Richardson and Amy Fielding
William Collins, £30
ISBN 978-0008447366
BEST FOR: Pressing flowers
The florists behind JamJar Flowers share their modern take on the lost art of pressing flowers, with advice on how to prepare, press and display them.