2020 in 20

Like most, we breathed a loud sigh of relief as the end of 2020 came into sight. We ended last year more despondent than usual, quietly grateful for our health and the survival of our small events business. However… it is our strong belief there are always good things to be found amongst bad, and this is never more true than when immersed in the natural world. Shining bright amongst the awfulness of 2020, there were some truly beautiful moments to remember.

All dressed up and no weddings to go - the tulip beds flowered in the spring without hope of harvesting

Regal, strange, beautiful - the bearded iris flowered wonderfully in the May sunshine

We fell in love with delphiniums, our tunnel crop growing over our heads in spires of blue and mauve

In the August heat the garden was a riot of colour, bolstering our spirits on low days

We grew our most successful zinnia crop and are looking forward to putting new gardening lessons into practise this year

We fell firmly in love with orange - a bright and happy, often overlooked colour

Beating the blues with armfuls of iris and warm sunny days in the garden

We experimented with COLOUR! Reds, oranges, pinks, yellows, purples, blues…

Our baby shrub roses, planted at the end of 2019, settled in well and flowered profusely

We grew plump China Asters - destined for special weddings - we’ll grow them again in 2021!

Who ever gets to enjoy this many beautiful Belle Epoque tulips for themselves?!

Mavis missed welcoming students to the studio for their classes and wondered where everyone had gone

We discovered the magical beauty of Valerian - and its hellish self-seeding tenancies if left for pretty pictures!

We missed making bridal and bridesmaids bouquets, buttonholes, table flowers, urns, installations…

The new perennial section at the garden was grateful for the quiet year and settled in well without too much snipping!

We celebrated and cherished each flower variety more than ever this year

But she did get lots of kisses and attention from the two of us, which made her very happy

Free time meant more creative time for experimenting with different shapes and techniques

We loved these ‘Blue Bayou’ tomatoes - on the plate and in the vase

Arranging flowers gave us calmness and hope in a difficult year - proof if it was needed of just how powerful nature can be