Another wonderful market in Ilkley with Real Food Markets!
We’ll be taking a short break in July whilst we get through a month of glorious weddings, but we’ll be back on the 6th August.
Olivia & Adam - April 2023, Eaves Hall.
What an absolute joy and a pleasure it was to create the florals for this beautiful couple back in April. Olivia had a strong idea of the sort of colours she’d like to fit inline with her wonderfully illustrated signage and stationery. Of course, i’m more than happy to oblige with a mouthwatering strawberry, lemon, peachy palette.
Photography by Dan Cuthbertson
A River Of Flowers for a British country wedding.
This morning when I stepped back after making B’s quintessential country style bridal bouquet, I gazed at the organic shapes created by the stems forming a river of flowers. Finished with the delicate float of freshly cut Clematis vine. I am completely in my comfort zone creating romantic, whimsical, country arrangements - this is the style of work I love to create and (I think) what my clients come to me for. So thank you.
B’s bridal and bridesmaid arrangements were designed to be highly fragranced too, reflecting the finest bounty this time of year has to offer with the sweet stocks and Hesperis. The drive over to Austwick was a pleasant one, counting the tractors working hard in the fields and inhaling the natural scent of these late Spring blooms.
T’s groomsmen buttonholes were created using entirely dried materials it’d stored from last summer. This is a great option for those requiring early delivery the day prior to the wedding. In fact dried buttonholes are requested 95% of the time for reliability and ease of attaching, making every step of your day stress free. These delicately wrapped little works of art were then finished with velvet ribbon and boxed neatly to be handed over to the groom. The grasses really bring the designs together, reflecting the current produce out in our meadows in late May.
B & T’s wedding was mostly a DIY supply, delivering to them 3 buckets bursting with the finest stems available to cut at this time of year. I can’t wait to see how they use the material to finish off the wonderful setting of their wedding tomorrow. B’s mother had been out foraging this morning, cutting cow parsley and hawthorn blossom, wonderful editions to this sustainably sourced wedding.
With love from Honour Farm, have an incredible wedding day x
Spring Tree Planting.
Magnus planted his first trees today, Malus Domestica ‘Discovery’. A couple of apple trees to you and I. It feels pretty virtuous to be bringing new life to this forgotten place, when most days are unavoidably non-virtuous in so many ways.
But we’re trying as often as we can to offset the imbalance, continuing to learn and grow, altering our bad habits, nurturing the good. Life’s life, we do our best, but there’s nothing quite as honourable as planting a tree.
There’s been plenty of ‘slow moments’ this week spent potting up plants, cutting tulips for market & florist orders and mucking out the ducks. However, I need to lean on the word ‘slow’ more, as life seems to be quite busy right now, as it is for so many young families.
Just reminding myself to check my emails less frequently when i’m doing land work and to embrace the days the way we intended to when deciding upon moving here. Which is easier said than done but completely attainable, with some conscious thought and action.
I just want to soak up all the moments, slow and fleeting, that are spent with my sweet boy and husband, finding our feet during our first summer living from Honour Farm cottage. I so already know that these will be the memories I look back on for a lifetime. x
It's good to be back.
As mentioned earlier in the week on Floral Notes, today we were at The Real Food Market in Ilkley and it felt better than expected to be back (which made the late night bouquet session worth every hour). I had forgotten how much it’d missed connecting with the lovely people in our local communities and how much that conversation and engagement means to be as a grower and small business owner.
Earlier in the year I took part in the DEFRA New Entrant Pilot Programme, ran by the government. One of the comments land workers and farmers across the country fed back to their cohorts was how much that peer to peer support meant to them and for me atleast, I get that same reassurance from speaking with the public and sharing our tenderly grown produce for all to see.
It was another sell out market day for us, just the encouragement I didn’t realise I needed to motivate me through the rest of high season. So thank you to everyone who took the time to stop and chat flowers and support the work we’re doing by buying a bunch. See you next month x
Find Us: Ilkley Real Food Market, Sunday 7th May, 10-3pm.
This weekend is our first market of the year and it’s set to be a good one as the Kings Coronation celebrations will be in full swing across the town of Ilkey in all it’s well dressed regalia.
We’ll be proudly positioned across from Betty’s, the world famous tearoom, once again with our petite flower cart bursting with spring grown blooms fresh from our walled garden.
All bunches are £15 - we like to make our bunches inclusive for everyone to enjoy at home or gift!
See you there, Hattie x
March Snow Drifts in the walled garden.
I can’t keep up with this weather, however it did make for a beautiful late winter scene in walled garden this week. x
Honour Farm Cottage: February Renovation Update.
The February renovation update is coming to you from the first week of March, as time seems to be quite literally vanishing in front of my eyes at the moment. Some days I don’t know if i’m coming or going but an end is in sight and we might, just might, have moved in by the end of March , eek.
February was the month of new windows! The upgrade I was probably looking forward to most our renovation journey.
Below Before > After.
Sliding Sash windows installed by Fox Kitchens.
We opted for sliding sash to keep in-line with the age of the property. They were on the higher end of our budget but our thought process was, and has been through-out all our decision making, do it once and do it right. Certainly not the cheapest approach at times, but hopefully choices that’ll stand the test of time. We updated 8 out of the 10 windows we have, leaving the existing in the kitchen and spare room for now as our plan is to extend out from the kitchen in the next 5 years.
A considerable amount of change has happened in the kitchen however. We wanted to tidy the room up, making it practical and somewhat attractive whilst we work towards saving for the extension. So we asked our builders to instead of re-skimming the walls, to clad the entire room with tongue and grove panels. The cladding will be prepped and primed this coming week ahead of being painted and the sink unit being installed.
The kitchen is very loosely designed using all freestanding furniture and oven. I wanted the flexibility to reuse the sink unit in my workshop in the future and invested in an oven which is far too large for this space, but like our mantra has been for, do it once and do it right, rather than spending money on a smaller oven and only having to replace in less than a decade. I managed to find this refurbished Falcon oven second hand online, I was really particular about finding a stainless steel and brass edition which are quite hard to come by. I’m really pleased I stuck with that vision as it’s just as impressive in person and I’m very much looking forward to cooking for the family on it. I’m yet to find or have made a larder cupboard, but I hope during one of my antiquing trips this year i’ll be able to find exactly what i’m looking for. Hopefully by the time the next renovation update is due, the kitchen will have come on a significant amount more to show you.
All the rooms are now freshly plastered and it’s incredible to see the house all pieced back together and reimagined. It’s exciting to finally allow myself to think about all the possibilities when it comes to decorating, although i’m finding decision making particularly difficult as I hate fixing myself to trends and often doubt my choices. So, I don’t anticipate the house will be finished for many years to come but it’s going to be a home very soon for us. After 2 years of daydreaming of being inside, this is music to my ears. x
PRESS: Love My Dress, 2023 Floral Trends Report. Insight From British Flower Farmers, Wedding Florists & Floral Stylists.
We are so grateful to have been invited to share our experiences from the past year and projections for the future for the Love My Dress 2023 Floral Trend Report.
A hugely insightful read for clients, couples, florists and budding growers. We share our climate change woes, the cost of living impact and of course why it’s so important to support your local flower farmers.
Read now - click here.
Hannah & James - North Yorkshire Winter Wedding
‘I've always admired Hattie's creative ability and with a vague brief of 'wild and wonderful' I was confident in her ability to deliver just that.
I also love the sustainable ethic of her work, having a winter wedding might seem quite limiting when you take that into account but the product was anything but that.
I don't think I've been to a wedding where SO many people have admired and commented on how beautiful the flowers were!
Everything was so relaxed and hassle free I could not recommend Hattie more and I look forward to all of the exciting things to come from Honour Farm Flowers.’
Hannah & James
Honour Farm Cottage: January Renovation Update.
The main bedroom, January 2023 - mid renovation.
2023 has begun and i’ve been taking some time to reflect on how far we’ve come with the cottage since our renovation journey began. After a slow start with architect technicians and finding the right building team we finally started the huge task of completely renovating the existing house at Honour Farm. Our goal for phase 1 of the build has been to lovingly restore the building back to liveable standards which involves replacing all the windows, tanking the basement, rebuilding interior walls, damp proofing, stud walls in every room and completely re-insulating, a complete rewire and plumbing, fitting a new kitchen and bathroom etc (the list goes on and on). Phase 2 which will come at a later date, will be to knock down the building which was added later than the original cottage which was built in the mid 1800’s. This building currently consists of a small kitchen accessed from the ground floor and an unusual third bedroom from the first floor. We’ll then work to architect plans to build a new extension which is sympathetic to the property and our style.
The main bedroom, post the ceiling being vaulted and mid the stud wall and insulation work.
Not one for the faint hearted, as from the basement right up to the rafters needed extensive work. Thankfully we bought and sold just in time before the mortgage rate increase, however we’ve certainly been stung by the rising increase of materials and labour costs which is being seen across the board in various industries atm. Luckily by October 2022 we finalised plans and since November our building team have been in almost every day working long hours to bring the project to fruition. They’ve been truly incredible to work with so far, being someone who really appreciates detail and craftsmanship it’s been very refreshing to work with a team who have the same set of standards and pride their work so highly.
An example of the work being carried out in the main bedroom. The ceiling has been vaulted to expose beams, all walls have been studded, insulated, rewired, waiting to be plastered.
The main bedroom prior to renovations, a damp uninspiring space.
We’re at about the half way mark now, keeping positive and optimistic that by the start of March we’ll have moved in and be able to start working through the interiors of the house. The bathroom will thankfully have been fitted and complete, so if all else fails i’ll have breakfast, lunch and dinner sat in there… We sold our previous house last April so it’ll have been almost of a year of living with family nearby by the time it comes to us leaving. Which we are eternally grateful for, but at this point also chomping at the bit to nest in our own home.
The living room, mid stud and insulation. (The entire basement and ground-floor also had a slurry treatment prior to studding).
I’ve been documenting the progress pretty extensively, so when we do come round to getting our feet over the threshold i’ll take some time to share it all in much greater detail, with plenty of before and afters.
Hattie x
An East Coast Hideaway.
Some much needed space away from the stresses of renovation down on the east coast of Suffolk with Magnus and Jonathan.
Feeling reset for the year ahead as it unfolds beautifully. x
E & W - A Floral Design Story.
Yesterday evening I was so pleased to see the photographs from Erica & Will’s wedding at the Whitworth, Manchester in September appear in my inbox.
The install spanned across two days as we made all the arrangements on site from the gallery. From the broken ceremony arch, tablescape bowls, plinth designs and floor meadows - to the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets, gift bouquets, buttonholes and corsages, each asset was made using sustainable techniques and no floral foam.
Photography by Elle Brotherhood.
Christmas at Castle Howard.
All the razzle dazzle with extra sparkle at Castle Howard this Christmas! x
RV Rogers.
I’ve bought bare root roses from all over this Autumn as we’ve began the first year of planting in the walled garden and I must say that out of all of the established breeders i’ve bought from in the UK, the healthiest root stock i’ve had is from RV Rogers - so you can imagine my delight as we drove past over the weekend!
It’s always very inspiring to see how horticultural businesses present themselves in a customer facing environment. Some don’t always get it right and are stuck in the past but refreshingly the merchandising staff at RV Rogers got the balance right with a simple, classic utilitarian feel, clearly marked products and a curated feel.
I look forward to returning in the future and will continue to purchase online for their healthy plants. Check them out x
Malton.
All I have to say is that if you’re passing through Malton anytime soon then you must stop at The Purple Carrot for the most delicious vegetarian/vegan food and great coffee! x
Early Winter at Helmsley Walled Garden.
A whistlestop tour of Helmsley Walled Garden - it’s marked on my calendar to make sure we come back in Summer to enjoy everything there is to behold there. Until then we took more than enough pleasure in their cafe which serves delightful food throughout winter too. x
Cosmos & grasses.
Fresh floral scenes from September. x
November in the walled garden.
Well, well well… the time has come for what has to be my least favourite task in the flower farmers calendar. Yep, this past week has been spent trench digging for our spring bulbs.
The past couple of years i’ve been working from my former site in Haworth and I quite literally slipped a disc on the hilly terrain trench digging. In 2018-2019 I had a similar experience on my first growing site in Hebden Bridge. This year feels a little (only a touch) less arduous than previous years as we’re investing time in to our own land which seems somewhat more fulfilling. But mostly due to the welcome assistance of my husband Jonathan, who came to my rescue last year too when I had to rest up in bed for 48hours as my back recovered (whilst entertaining a clingy 1 year old Magnus - i’m sure you can imagine how that played out).
Whilst tulips aren’t a particularly profitable crop, especially with the increasing costs from the bulb breeders (rightly so I no doubt), they do bring great seasonal joy and mark the start of the growing season here in the UK. For this, I wouldn’t be without them. I would, somewhere down the line, like to read more about the process of producing bulbs from seed. However, I imagine to be a lengthly process deeming it unscalable at our capacity, it might make for an interesting investigation one year in the future.
We’ve been creating the trenches in stages of approx 1.5m x 3m, which is manageable to do in half a day or so. This space will house perhaps 400 bulbs in total. I’ve not gone too wild this autumn with around 1200 tulips, 300 narcissus, approx 500-600 alliums and whatever else of muscari and hyacinth. It’s about my capacity whilst cultivating from the walled garden and dependant on demand for 2024 I may decide to scale that up by planting in the flower field (which is approx 2/3rd’s of an acre). I tend to find that when I’m desperate to get my first flush of spring sown annuals in the ground the tulips are usually still flowering, but i’ve planned with this in mind and we’ll have 7 beds which are 1 metre x 6 metres readily prepared so I don’t have to rush the tulip season to an abrupt end next year. Here’s a little visual guide of what we can look forward to in spring and early summer…
Last week I made a start by getting some of our hardy annuals in the ground, with the others waiting patiently in the cold frames. First to be planted out have been the Erysimum (wallflowers), Dianthus Barbatus (sweet William), Hesperis (sweet rocket) and Campanula (Canterbury Bells). I do still have around 60 Campanula plants left over, so i’ll spend an afternoon walking around the land finding homes for them in the hopes they’ll reseed, spread and be self sufficient for years to come.
In other, more exciting news, the start of the rose garden is coming together beautifully. It’s become a real obsession of mine collecting various garden varieties, all in those soft ethereal shades that we love. 42 bare root roses will be planted in total here this winter and as we gradually move to cultivating from the flower field at the end of next year, the walled garden will continue to develop it’s collection of roses for years to come.
I have so much to say about this process and all the beautiful varieties we have in-store for our brides and florists in 2023, so keep an eye out for future updates. But for now, here’s a little peak of what you can look forward to soon…
I’ve written before about my endeavours with tulip planting which you can read here.
If you’re a florist or local business and would like to receive wholesale flowers from late April then please email hello@honourfarmflowers.co.uk for more info.
An Autumnal Bouquet.
Still swooning over this stunning autumnal bouquet we created for Natalie recently. x