Creating an heirloom posy .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

The creation of a hand-crafted heirloom posy starts with sustainably grown heirloom roses filled with heady perfume.  Perfume that you just can't find in standard supermarket flowers.  

As well as perfume, it's the attention to detail that makes a hand-crafted heirloom posy unique ..

.. details that are important, such as which old-fashioned flowers to grow among the heirloom roses in the gardens?  And finding that special ribbon for a little flourish!  

While heirloom colours are a key focus of our heirloom posy, texture is also important in hand-crafted posies. The soft wooliness of Stachys byzantina or 'lamb's ears' complements the silky softness of the roses.  

And then, of course, there's the fun part of deciding which fragrant roses are ready to be hand picked for our heirloom posy.

The crumpled tissue-paper like blooms of this Tea rose, Triomphe de Luxembourg, are perfection in our heirloom posies.  

But, while you're in the garden choosing individual roses, it's very easy to be distracted by gorgeous rose bushes in full bloom.  Here's the Tea rose, G. Nabonnand, in full winter flush.  Maybe it's time to sit and have a cuppa in the garden!

Mind you, Millie needs to accompany you on each and every walk through the rose garden. It just wouldn't be the same without her!

Nor would the garden be the same without our other little helpers!  Intricate spider webs remind us that we don't need to use pesticides because our helpers are very, very busy doing that job for us!

So here we have more perfect roses to choose from.  Now, how many Cicely Lascelles blooms will I pick?  Bred in Australia by the famous rosarian, Alister Clark, this rose is reminiscent of the 1930s.  

But there are never enough roses to choose from in the garden.  So in between hand-crafting posies, it's time to extend the rose beds so we can plant even more lovely heirloom treasures.  

The rose allee is coming along nicely with our climbing roses beginning to cover the tall arches!  Need a ladder to reach the roses now!  Can't wait till the climbing roses and ramblers meet at the top!

But back to the heirloom posies.  Adding a few herbs to the mix now.  And we didn't notice those tiny insect bit-sized pieces missing from the spearmint!  A nice textural touch don't you think?

Now, at last, we have the final heirloom posy, filled with lusciously fragrant heirloom roses and old-fashioned flowers and herbs.  Tied with pretty ribbon, it's time to pop this posy in water and wait for it's new owner to arrive for pick-up at our farm gate.  

A heavenly heirloom posy ready to pop into a special vase or jug!  

Perfection!!  

A Mother's Day Legacy .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

The concept of leaving a legacy is all too often discussed in monetary terms.  But the legacy my mother left to her grandchildren is incalculable;  a love of family, cooking beautiful food, the beauty of simplicity, and doing small acts of kindness that make the world a little better for others.

And as I look toward the next generation, I see the legacy my daughters and daughter-in-law have inherited and that they in turn are passing onto their children, our grandchildren.

So as we celebrate Mother's Day  I wish for a world where our grandchildren can grow up safely, with the ability to thrive and enjoy the many wonders of the natural world.  A natural world without exposure to harsh toxic sprays that are too often seen as a 'necessity' in order to grow food and flowers.

I wish for my grandchildren to experience a natural world that is still safe as well as beautiful, with abundant wonders and delights that surprise; especially when they visit their grandmother's rose garden!!

And as their grandmother, my joy will be complete in watching their childish delight as they explore the natural world around them; such as spying a tiny green frog snuggled among the rose petals;

.. or counting dewdrops on a spiderweb draped between rose bushes;

.. pondering ragged holes chewed into a leaf by a cheeky caterpillar;

.. seeing buds open into full blown blooms;

.. blooms they can safely bury their noses in and breathe in gulps of fragrance;

.. picking daisies with abandon;

                  .. and watching in wonderment the glory of a sun setting 

that is not distorted by smog and toxic fumes.

A legacy I wish to leave my grandchildren consists of numerous simple acts; choosing not to use pesticides and toxic fumigants as part of the treatment for herbs, vegetables and flowers.




Where food and flowers are grown as nature intended, in time with the rhythms of the seasons. 


And where the best of age-old wisdom and scientific knowledge are integrated in sustainable horticultural expertise.




As my mother taught me, small acts can have a lasting impact.  

So when you order flowers this Mother's Day, ask for local flowers that are grown sustainably ..  




That's the legacy I'd like to leave my grandchildren.