Ahead of her book launch on Tuesday 4 April, we are delighted to share this extract from flower grower Rachel Siegfried’s new book The Cut Flower Sourcebook: During the six years I spent growing cut flowers for the elite, I began to wonder why these garden-grown beauties were not more commonly available. It seemed strange that we had a slow food movement in the UK but not a floral equivalent. Surely enjoying flowers in your home should be a simple pleasure, without the environmental burden of air miles and chemicals? As a nation of gardeners, why were we so disconnected from the idea of buying flowers locally and seasonally, or even growing our own? Growing your own flowers for cutting brings the pleasure of the season indoors and cuts out the air miles associated with many shop-bought flowers. In ‘The Cut Flower Sourcebook – Exceptional perennials and woody plants for cutting’ Rachel Siegfried identifies the best perennials and woody plants to grow for cutting. The Cut Flower Sourcebook lives up to its promise, offering invaluable advice for anyone beginning to grow their own plants for cutting, as well as prospective flower farmers. The author, Rachel Siegfried, is a grower and florist who uses the seasons’ parameters as a spur to creativity. With her partner Ashley Pearson, she started Green and Gorgeous Flowers in Oxfordshire, England, 15 years ago, doing innovative (yet quite traditional) things like selling at the farm gate on Saturday mornings. Now there are many more competitors, but hers is the cool, level-headed voice, demonstrating that beauty can also be found in slow-growing and permanent plants, reducing work and environmental damage. Above: Rachel Siegfried making full use of crab apple trees in blossom. Photograph by Rachel Siegfried. Trees and shrubs are the foundation of our planting on the flower farm,” says Rachel. They act as a structural foil for the flowers, in a parallel role to the one that these “woody cuts” play in an arrangement. They are also vital for shelter, along with cutting hedges. “One of your first jobs will be to establish the direction of the most damaging winds and plan a shelter belt for fast-growing woody cuts to protect your planting,” she advises. Deciduous trees and shrubs planted as hedges have an advantage over evergreens because of their blossom, autumn color and berries. Native crab apple, Rosa glauca, Viburnum opulus, native spindle and hawthorn all grow on the farm. Above: Climbers are trained against reinforced steel mesh at Green and Gorgeous Flowers, Oxfordshire. Photograph by Eva Németh.

Rachel has worked in horticulture for 25 years and so her experience is more than valuable. At her flower farm, she and her partner Ashley Pearson, grow hundreds of varieties, carefully selected for their cut-flower credentials. I was also pleased with the range of grasses Rachel introduces in the book as these are often valuable in arrangements and sometimes much overlooked. Unfortunately, these are the sort of hardworking, decorative plants whose impressively good-natured urge to grow no matter what the growing conditions has left them vulnerable to a certain kind of silly garden snootiness that values exclusivity above all else. I say silly, because these are the very kinds of plants that have proven their ability to stay the pace, even as the challenges of climate change increase.It will sit next my other best loved plant book, The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Plants & Flowers edited by David Joyce (Ebury Press) which complements it very well. Rachel is owner of the celebrated Green & Gorgeous flower farm and in this new book she shares her selection of 128 rigorously trialled plants that, together with her garden-led philosophy, can bring such exceptional results. Chancing upon this quote by Constance Spry, I found it so relatable to my own experience. I too see myself primarily as a gardener with a love of plants and a deep connection to nature, so my floral style comes from that perspective. Working in the garden and walking my dogs in the surrounding countryside are my sources of inspiration and my design philosophy is simply about bringing some of the outside indoors.

Long-lived, hardy, very easy to grow and with a graceful growing habit, it likes a moist soil but will tolerate drought once well-established. Others include a very pretty white-flowering currant known as Ribes sanguineum, “Elkington White”; an unusual variety of berberis called Berberis “Georgei” that Siegfried singles out for its yellow and coral-red berries, and the pink-catkinned Salix gracilistyla, “Mount Aso”. What Rachel also understands is the need for different key floral ingredients to be available at any given seasonal moment. Both views on the specific design elements and then the advice given for creating the achingly beautiful and British aesthetic that is recognisably Rachel is both honest and heart warming. The author makes a great case for seeing the cut flower potential of existing perennials and planting more perennials in beds as you would annuals. Annuals do use up way too many resources, including your time!, when there are so many longer lived alternatives. So I'm sold. Following that, there isn't a bevy of really unique information here. Beautiful photos though. There are plenty of useful tips on creating your very own seasonal foam-free arrangements, as well as oodles of photographs of mouth-wateringly gorgeous arrangements Rachel has worked in horticulture for 25 years and has experience in design, landscaping, nursery work and productive horticulture. In 2008, she founded Green and Gorgeous, a flower farm and floral design studio near Wallingford, Oxfordshire.I was first, and hope last to be, a gardener, it was an unanticipated combination of circumstances that led me to do professionally something I did once only as a relaxation, and much as I love doing it, I don’t like the groove to be too deep.” Constance Spry, 1940 I can say that this book answers these questions authoritatively. There is practical wisdom is every sentence, experience and a genuine knowledgable enthusiasm for growing that Rachel is keen to pass on. So when she was confronted with the complex challenges of climate change, as well as the practical demands of ensuring a steady supply of cut flowers for her business throughout the growing year, she soon made the decision to put the focus on resilient species, or what she calls “trusty performers with a relaxed attitude and natural style”. Step by step guide to making floral arrangements, with all aspects of the composition discussed and illustrated. With the range of seasons’ we experience in this country (UK) it is ideal to know which perennials and shrubs Rachel ( pictured right) has discovered through her own particular challenges growing for the flower market. As she says in the introduction: “ These stalwarts have also played a central role in developing my natural floral style as I moved from garden designer to flower farmer and florist.”

Growing flowers for cutting brings the pleasures of the season indoors and cuts out the air miles associated with many shop-bought blooms. This book turns the spotlight on the best perennials and woody plants which return year after year with little effort or waste, offer valuable habitats to garden wildlife and bring a natural quality to arrangements.Directory of 128 tried and tested perennials and woody plants selected, based on years of experience, for their reliability and natural style. Growing your own flowers for cutting brings the pleasures of the season indoors and cuts out the air miles associated with many shop-bought blooms. This book turns the spotlight on the best perennials and woody plants which return year after year with little effort or waste, offer valuable habitats to garden wildlife and bring a natural quality to arrangements. Over the last few evenings I have had the pleasure of reading “The Cut Flower Sourcebook – Exceptional Perennials & Woody Plants For Cutting” by Rachel Siegfried.