British Flowers Week has just finished

Aimed primarily at promoting British cut flowers and their growers, #BritishFlowersWeek has been a great success online, raising awareness about the provenance of that fresh bouquet. And hand-in-hand with buying British fresh flowers goes the concept of seasonal flowers. And what flower is more seasonal in June than the peony?

Seasonal flowers | English peonies in June

I have just visited a local Sussex village flower festival where garden flowers were celebrated at the height of Summer.

Drying peonies

Picking peonies in my garden

Of course my interest in flower arranging is primarily dried flowers: I have white peonies growing in my back garden, some of which I pick and dry every year – their colour becomes the palest of pinks.
See before and after pics of peonies from my garden.

Drying peonies in my workshop

I dry flowers for a living, so it’s a real treat to be able to buy British grown peonies in bulk from an English grower, and smell their heady fragrance in my workshop as they dry. The variety of peony I chose this time was Paeonia lactiflora Sarah Bernhardt which is a lovely mid-pink and keeps its colour on drying. The peonies are delivered as tight buds with just a hint of colour showing.
How to dry flower bunches.

I hang English peonies up to dry in my workshop alongside British astrantia flowers, and sea lavender.

Selling dried peonies

Our Etsy shop is where I sell bouquets and handmade items that are either experimental, or in quantities too small for our main website. There is also the benefit of being able to order from Europe, the US and Canada.
View dried peony bouquet on Etsy

The English peonies shown drying in my workshop are not yet ready. Once they have fully dried, hopefully by the end of July, they will be available on the dried English peony page at daisyshop

Drying turns seasonal British flowers into British flowers which can be enjoyed year-round!