Hello fellow flower lovers! Well, what a year it has been! At least the weather was better this year and not as hot as 2022. Every time I thought the season was over the heavens would open and give our flowers a well needed drink and then the Sun would appear again and reinvigorate the plants. Our first ‘proper’ selling season is almost done and it has been great so far. The stars of the show have been the Dahlias who just seem to want to keep on blooming! Other mentions should also go to the Zinnias and the Cosmos that looked amazing and of course the ever-beautiful roses, especially Boscobel with its gorgeous pink heads.

Hi and welcome back to Fox House. The warm weather finally descended on our little part of Suffolk and all those seeds sown in the March and planted out in the May are starting to emerge. Our field has started to find some structure with plants of every shape and size appearing and sharing their beauty. Dahlia’s potted on in March were put in a new bed and I couldn't help thinking "I wish I had bought more or at least taken time to do some cuttings!!" Oh well, next year definitely! Our DIY buckets have been very popular this year and fit very well with my busy life. The use of milk urns at a forest wedding meant the structural plants grown fit very well to the brief. Roses have, as always, been in demand adding a lovely subtle softness to a brides bouquet. Most of my roses are David Austin varieties. This year the most spectacular ones have been Queen of Sweden, Clare Austin and Boscabel. My intention is to expand the roses and with a the plans set for a new poly tunnel, the new rose will be more protected from the elements. The main focus for the year has been on getting my name out there. Some great help came in the shape of West Suffolk council, mainly by way of the lovely Ros and Sharon. On a very windy Bank holiday in May I joined the Spring Fayre with my beautiful blooms. I also have a slot on the first Saturday of every month at the Hartest Farmers market. Such a beautiful village and a wonderful local community. More recently I was offered a spot at the Clare farmers market which was great and I met so many fantastic people. I hope to do more markets in the future to spread the word about my wonderful locally grown flowers. Anyway, I'm off to the field to carry on with the never ending dead heading and weeding!! Don't forget to pop back and see how we are doing and if you need any locally grown British flowers for whatever occasion, drop me a line. Thanks Paula

Hi everyone and thanks for stopping by. Very exciting week this week at Fox House Flowers as my order of 40 roses from David Austin arrived. I knew they were coming but not the exact day so it was a lovely surprise! I have more on order from other growers. 'Liliana' from Cants of Colchester and Jones of Cheshire. Why so many roses you may ask, well I am following the advice that I was given right at the beginning of my cut flower story which was "grow what you love". So roses first and foremost. Mainly old English scented and perfect. I could have chosen so many but had to reign it in! So I have chosen 'Boscobel', 'Tranquillity', 'Gertrude Jekyll' and 'Lichfield Angel'. The others to come are 'Koko loco'. ' We soaked them first , and prepped the beds with plenty of organic matter, then in they went

So finally got around to the advertising of my flower business and thinking ahead I created this stamp so I could use it on labels, cards and any merchandising. The amazing getstamped.co.uk got this to me really quick and it's a real clear design. Oh and by the way, I grew a few Dahlias too this one below is the beautiful Labyrinth from Sarah Raven.

So I think this year we had every extreme Mother nature could deal us. Suffolk wind which finally took one if not nearly both the Poly tunnels and the 32 degree hot days in July & August without any rain, gave most of the British flower growers reason for concern this year. It was a year for trying out what works and what lasts. On moving I bought a lot of my old roses which seemed to survive. Cosmos were immense, Dahlias are still going and I plan to have 2 x 60ft beds next year. So what's the plan now? Well I have 70 bare rooted Roses arriving in November, the beds are prepped and ready. Perennial and annual seeds that can be sown are in the ground and with the welcome rain and the Autumn sun have made a fantastic start. I have gone mad on seed, especially Cosmos, Cornflowers and Zinnia's which are the most giving of flowers. So properly excited for next year and hope to be welcoming customers and attending farmers markets in 2023.