October is a time for the jewel like tones of plums and damsons and if you have any in your freezer, it’s a lovely November task to turn them into Plum or Damson Gin or Vodka. Either make most welcome party or weekend gifts.

We have spent the summer flowering some truly favourite weddings for the loveliest couples and their families at venues new and old and in between delighted to be asked to do Masterclasses at the RHS Hampton Court

We were back once more in September to the Strawberry Hill sustainable Flower Festival at the invitation of Leigh Chappell and Janne Ford.

Ivory, white, cream, buttermilk, clotted cream, pale yellow, primrose, paprika, lemon, peach, apricot and eau de nil; these are the colours we are just beginning to welcome

The hellebore has had something of a renaissance in recent years and is a wonderful cut flower stem especially valued so early in the year

We were offered years ago in the hinterland of Provence, at a little auberge high in the hills, Vin d’orange , a favourite apéro down south for its refreshing and gently alcoholic qualities.

The best forced rhubarb from the Rhubarb triangle in West Yorkshire gets us blissfully through February. Sweet, tender and jewel pink, forget overcooked school rhubarb and try this. Robert Tomlinson sends his rhubarb to London, Paris, New York, Hortus Poeticus, Hampshire and all points in between.

A key part of the HP story and one that has given us much pleasure, has been all the work we did to identify and articulate our brand. Who and what were we, and who did we want to be? What business did we want to create, and for whom? Where was our joy, and how did we want to share it

We were thrilled to take part in this super all-sustainable flower festival in the stunning Strawberry Hill House - Horace Walpole’s masterpiece, supported by the great Flowers From The Farm. Conceived and curated by the brilliant Leigh Chappell and Janne Ford, we were invited, alongside others whom we greatly admire, to adorn a space with our exceptional English flowers.