Thank You!!

 ..we are in the final countdown to Christmas....we are sorry that the posts have been pretty thin on the ground lately....the madness started on the 29th November and is still going.......we are so immensely grateful to all our fabulous customers who come into our little shop and tell us they love it....thank you for supporting your local independent florist, whether you are a regular, an occasional or a once while passing through visitor we want to wish you and all those you hold dear a most fabulous Christmas....and hope that all your dreams come true....
 With much love from Martin, Emma  & Kay....xxx

bouquets and jelly moulds

 our penultimate wedding of the year..... a gorgeous wild array of rannunculus, scented roses and heather 

rose  heart wreaths on the door before the spruce and berries take over......

 the winding down of our garden.....grapes left for the blackbirds.. and just another 80 roses to plant.....

 part of our store of vintage pots, jelly moulds and other eclectic containers......

 all waiting for the martin & the magpie magic......

and one we made earlier........

how are your Christmas preparations going?

The 'C' word

I know it's a tad early...However I know how excited you all get about our Christmas (there I said it!) wreath course, so we are offering two dates this year.

Do you fancy making your door wreath? or a fabulous floral table wreath?

We will give you a tutorial on both and you can decide which you would like to have a go at. 

We hope you are able to join us and surround yourself with floral beauty & lots of festive cheer!

If you are interested please feel free to phone us on; 01488 681062

email us on; martinandthemagpie@hotmail.co.uk

or comment on here and we will get in touch

Give us a clue.......

our lovely old walled garden was a clue a few weeks ago in the telegraphs general knowledge crossword.....always attempted hardly ever finished, but this was one clue we all knew.....

Every day we thank our good fortune to have been allowed to grow our flowers on this famous piece of land.......

 more than once in the early morning or still sunlit evening we have felt that maybe we are not alone here...

and that the late Harry Dodson is watching us and shaking his head in despair at our flowery attempts!!!!

Playtime!

 We have recently been asked to make a Carmen rose bouquet for a bride of ours ....not something we get asked for every week..so we decided to sharpen up our rusty Carmen rose making technique! 
There is a lot of wiring involved......but some of us really like wiring........we practiced on lovely red roses from the garden.......

 ..we all decided it looked fab.....and incredibly, it lasted really well.

seeking inspiration on pinterest we happened upon flower jewelry........in as long as it took the glue gun to warm up these were made....

 I managed to snap them before our Monday girl took them home!!

The dark flower is 'Black Knight' scabious from the garden......it's so beautiful......

Mix & Match

we spend our days creating........the summer has been good to us,,,,,,,,our tentative start in flower farming has been a steep learning curve but we are so pleased we have grown flowers we can sell...they are mixed in with our normal lovely stock of flowers....but there is a small joy in seeing them there....

the next beauties to flower.......sunflower red ruby...can't wait to see her!!

Splendid Succulents

             

An order for fifty planted succulents in terracotta pots makes for a pretty photo shoot!

             

I got a little carried away...

             

I love the writing on some of the pots. There was 'marrow' 'kale' '& melon'...sounds like an interesting potting shed to me. 

             

Some moss and a few shells work a treat on these. I wish I could have taken them all home!

             

Top Tip

Image via Pinterest

Part of the joy of being a florist, is constantly smelling of eucalyptus...It is a regular visitor to our shop adorning many a bouquet! However it often only really bought and asked for at christmas...the silver/grey  foliage works so well for that frosty look, and it will scent your house beautifully.

However recently I saw this Pin on Pinterest...and I do not know why I had never thought of it before? 

Really simple...hang from your shower rail, out of the water stream and the steam will do its work! 

The benefits of Eucalyptus are great!

~Antiseptic

~Anti-stress

~Anti-inflammatory

~Deodoriser

~Mood enhancer

~Decongestant

~Mental Clarity

The last one is obviously the most important to this sleep deprived Mama of a toddler!!

The added bonus is that it will look pretty too! 

Happy Days :)

Bounty

If we had started our gardening venture last year we would have been washed away.....this year we are sizzling in the hottest temperatures ever......

Well, we like a challenge!

The zinnias have started flowering....at least they like it hot....

 the first cucumbers harvested and the tomatoes are going on apace..

 courgettes...beetroot and of course sweet peas... if you are near the shop we have fresh cut sweet peas in daily at the moment...they sell out fast though....

the view from here......we must have counted 50 bees on this finished crop of cornflowers and clary sage...we are leaving the plants in until the bees have had their fill and seriously thinking of putting a few hives in next year....Martin & The Magpie Honey anyone??

This Weeks Review

                             

A few new vintage items are making an appearance...this fab typewriter is in full working order, perfect for that novel you have always wanted to write! 

               

The colour pops have been showcasing well this week...These cute kiddies chairs with the lush green ferns and stunning mini orchids in 1950's green glass.

                

Or this turquoise dresser with white orchids and red peppers...the fallen from our fabulous plants we had in this week...they flew out the door. The lovely people of Hungerford sure adore their veggies!

                                   

The soft delicate tones for a beloved Nan

                                   

These gladioli could not have been any redder!

                                   

Someone has developed a love affair with the vintage rocking horse...{No we don't have any more space at home for him...sorry Auggy x}

The colour clash...oh how we have fallen for you. Orange, hot pinks, and reds, with a touch of purple. 

The only thing that would make it better is a deep red dahlia with her many petals!

                                        

Green, white and blue a classic! I wonder if Kate got and giant poppy heads in her bouquets?

Lush green is always a winner to the florist.

This week we had buckets full of British grown flowers arrive for a wedding....we have battled with another week of heat by having fresh flowers each day...Martin celebrated his Birthday with a huge chocolate cake, and a fabulous day off....we have rescued too many bumble bees....and consumed quite a few yummy ice creams!!

Happy Weekend!

Evening Heat

               

Well it is safe to say that the Summer is here...it might only last two weeks so we are soaking it all up! The heat in the Walled garden is immense...not a smidge of shade to be found. The sweetpeas are finally flowering, and we now are stocking them in the shop...the dream is finally becoming a reality and we couldn't be more thrilled.

               

Our plant sales man for the shop kindly gave us some of his New Zealand spinach...perfect eaten right off the plant and such firm leaves...he has 30 acres.... and we thought 2 was hard work!

The first courgette was harvested and roasted...the smallest member of M&TM devoured it in surprising speed, so has the official seal of approval.

                

Evening gardening is the only way in this heat. however this energy zapping sun has us watering and weeding in record speed...and we harvest in the cool of the morning. 

Fresh for the shop today is clary sage, ammi, cornflowers, mixed ageratum and sweetpeas! Why don't you pop in and treat yourselves to a bunch. You can be safe in the knowledge that they are the freshest, most locally sourced and grown flowers around.

                

The drive home is glorious...the golden wheat fields and ripening oilseed rape fields remind me of my childhood...and the warm air blowing in our faces is very welcome after the gardens heat.

We are so proud that our dream is blooming into something so exciting...the hard work is paying off...now all we need is a cover for our rather mahoosive polytunnel and we can get working on next years master plan!

escaping the heat....

The answer is to start early....cutting flowers in the walled garden at 7am.........the suns high and its already pretty warm....

At last the sweet peas are flowering their hearts out.

Bunches now available in the shop!

my Erin moment!!