The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
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Growing | My year-round cut flower guide

Lottie Storey May 22, 2018

It's not difficult to fill your house with something flowery all year long. It just takes a little planning and imagination.

On page 106 of May's The Simple Things, Francine Raymond shares her productive small garden in Kent, including this guide to a year-round cut flower guide.

January 
Indoor bulbs planted in October come into their own. This is the time to enjoy narcissi, hyacinths, cymbidium orchids and amaryllis. 
February 
Flowering cherries, sweet box, daphne, helebores and mahonia are fragrant additions to the home. Pussy willow, hazel and birch twigs add interesting structure to any vase. 
March 
I snip branches of pear before the buds burst: the warmth of the house brings them into leaf and bud. 
April
Time for tulips. I like to display them in a row of little glass bottles or bunched together in a crate.
May 
One of my favourite plants, auriculas, flower now. They can be brought indoors and displayed on a windowsill out of direct sunlight. 
June 
Sweetpeas flower in abundance this month. I keep picking to ensure there are plenty of blooms.
July 
Lavender is at its headiest now. Once bees have finished with the flowers, I clip off the stems and put them in a big basket.
August 
Succulents are at their best in August. I put pots of sempervivums and sedums on the kitchen table. 
September 
Now is the time to forage hedgerows for berries to display. A few sloe branches and some rosehips add extra colour.
October 
I grow pumpkins for decoration, then pile them high in the porch and festoon them with Virginia creeper.
November 
I press the heart-shaped leaves of cercis between sheets of paper; and dry seedheads and flowers for festive decorations. 
December 
I take cardoon heads and little pumpkins and turn them into nightlight holders.

  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well

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InGrowing Tagsgardening, wildlife, may, issue 71, flowers, cut flowers
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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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