The Cut Flower Podcast

Unlocking the Beauty of Foliage: Top Picks for Your Cutting Patch!

• Roz Chandler • Season 1 • Episode 126

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Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Welcome back to another episode of The Cutflower Podcast! I'm your host, Roz Chandler, and today we're diving into the lush world of foliage. Join me as we explore the top picks for your cutting patch and unravel the beauty and versatility these green treasures bring to floral arrangements.

Summary:
In this episode, we embark on a journey through the top 15 foliage varieties for your cutting patch. From the timeless elegance of myrtle to the vibrant hues of Ninebark and the delicate charm of Snowberries, each foliage offers unique characteristics and seasonal appeal. Along the way, we uncover essential growing tips, such as the importance of planning for year-round foliage availability and the patience required for certain species to reach maturity.

Key Takeaways:

Abundant Growth: Cultivate more foliage than you think you'll need, replenishing your supply annually to meet demand.
Long-Term Investment: Be patient with species like eucalyptus, which may take years to mature but offer enduring beauty.
Seasonal Diversity: Select varieties like Hibernum Tinnus for their ever-changing colours and textures, providing year-round interest.
Speciality Species: Explore unique finds such as Myrtle, Ninebark, and Snowberries to add depth and character to your arrangements.
Community Engagement: Join the Cut Flower Collective Facebook group to share your favourite foliage varieties and exchange gardening insights with fellow enthusiasts.
Join me in discovering the botanical wonders that foliage brings to floral design, and let's cultivate a vibrant tapestry of greenery in our cutting patches! All the links are below. 

Make the most of your garden by visiting bramblecrest.com and use the code FIELDGATE at checkout. See website for full details.


[00:00:00] Roz Chandler: I thought I'd talk about the top 10 foliages you could grow in a cutting patch. Now honestly, I started with the idea of 10 and I soon got to 14. And then I added another one, 15. I'm sure there's lots, but these are my top. I stopped at 14. So perhaps you want to message me with any additions you'd like to add.

[00:00:21] Roz Chandler: I have a Facebook group called the Cut Flower Collective, and I did ask the members earlier today, what was their favorite foliages. So that's great. I've got those and I've included some of those. What we've found over recent years is a trend in weddings in particular to add more and more foliage.

[00:00:39] Roz Chandler: Lots of weddings have just been green and white with no additional colours. I think the idea of bringing the outside in and being very natural started with Kate and Will's wedding and has continued. People want the natural beauty of foliage and honestly this shouldn't be underestimated. So a couple of top tips, three top tips about growing foliage.

[00:00:59] Roz Chandler: Number one, grow more than you think you'll ever need and keep adding to it annually. I can't tell you How much foliage we use. Number two, foliage can take many years to mature such as eucalyptus. Eucalyptus is a tree and you're normally buying it as a small plant. So just plan that one in it's not instant.

[00:01:21] Roz Chandler: And number three, grow foliage that will take through the whole of the year. So plan to always have foliage from January to December. Like I say, I asked my group if they wanted to share their top foliages and they did and they're included in my list. So we'll start with one, really, that we've only really discovered in the last couple of years.

[00:01:41] Roz Chandler: Myrtle. This featured highly in people's choice of foliages in the group. It's new to us on the farm and we started growing it in pots last year. It's a Mediterranean plant so it doesn't like the cold or frosts or extreme temperatures. We put ours in a sheltered Mediterranean garden that we've got at the back of the house.

[00:02:03] Roz Chandler: I have to say the fragrance is beautiful, the flowers are beautiful. Obviously this plant symbolizes love which is why it's been used in wedding bouquets for many centuries. And after Megan and Harry's wedding, you couldn't buy plants. You couldn't go online and get a hold of myrtle. So it is my recommendation to have a look at that and I'm sure there's more plants you can actually buy now.

[00:02:27] Roz Chandler: In number two is Ninebark. I think you might call this Common Redbark or Common Ninebark. Anyway, this is a favourite of ours here at Fieldgate. We love the deep red leaves and it just adds something to all the arrangements. We found it has a very long season and we were still cutting it in early November.

[00:02:46] Roz Chandler: It does take five to ten years to reach its maximum height, so I suggest you put it in quick. We have been growing it probably here for about five years, and it's now, I would say, five foot, if that gives you an idea. Number three, Hibernum tinnus. Or Tynus, I think it's pronounced. And my pronunciation of some of these plants is really not that good.

[00:03:11] Roz Chandler: So you'll have to forgive me for that. I'm really not very good at Latin names either. I can remember them, but I can't pronounce them. I have a little book to help me on Latin names. But, I'm quite happy with the common old garden names. So do forgive me. So this one is an amazing shrub that gives you different colours in different seasons.

[00:03:32] Roz Chandler: It's an evergreen so it just keeps on giving. We use it in spring as green foliage and at Christmas we have the little red and white flowers that we're using that in Christmas wreaths. So it is value in the winter and it is value early on in the year. And when the flowers finish you're rewarded with little blackberries that actually look really good with hindranges.

[00:03:52] Roz Chandler: So just to bear that one in mind. So there are lots of varieties of verbenum but this one verbenum tinnis. Ortinious is my favourite. Going on to number four, Bells of Ireland as its common name. This one's a little tricky to grow. You're meant to put the seeds in the freezer. And this year I actually forgot to put them in the freezer and put them straight out.

[00:04:19] Roz Chandler: And last year I put them in the freezer and left them in the freezer. So that's probably why it doesn't work for me. It has lovely apple green spikes. And it's great for summer and autumn arranging. In fifth position is Brisa Maximus. Now this is a grass and I really what could I say? I really recommend that you start to look at all the grasses.

[00:04:42] Roz Chandler: We add loads to our arrangements. It just adds texture and flow. This one we do grow but there are lots actually out in the fields which are just native. I counted one day 12 different species of grasses, so I recommend you do have a look around. But this one has very long stems. It has tiny hung green flowers.

[00:05:02] Roz Chandler: Which to me look like raindrops. Have a go. It is frustrating when you're cutting it, if I was really honest, because obviously cutting each stem takes quite a lot of time, and it doesn't look like you've got very much for it after quite a period of cutting. But if you can keep going with it, you will be rewarded.

[00:05:23] Roz Chandler: Number six. Euphorbia obligata. Obligata. It's a favourite for florists, this one. It's an acid green and adds so much to an arrangement. Be careful though because the sap is an irritant. It's a little white sap. So I'd recommend that you pick it with gloves on. Some of us here don't have any problem with it and others do as an irritant.

[00:05:47] Roz Chandler: So I recommend that you just put gloves on. Number seven. Halfway there. Snowberries. Really, we only started to grow this year. I think up until now, I've always thought of this as a kind of shrub that you get in car parks. Ooh, I shouldn't really say that. But actually it's small, dense clusters of bell shaped white flowers at the end of barches.

[00:06:12] Roz Chandler: And then the autumn, the flowers are replaced by white berries. So it's a really great foliage. The berries are the showiest feature of the shrub. And then obviously and that's great in the winter. So I would add that to the list. And actually today I've just ordered some more. So in seventh position, which shouldn't be forgotten, of course, is eucalyptus.

[00:06:35] Roz Chandler: Of course, a list of foliage wouldn't be right without eucalyptus. For me, there's only one supplier for eucalyptus in the UK. I would go to the UK's largest grower, which is Grafton Nurseries. This is headed up by the wonderful Hilary Collins, who I did meet. The Fortunate of Meeting last year at the Flowers from the Farm Conference.

[00:06:58] Roz Chandler: Now, Hilary is a font of all knowledge and is more than happy to share that knowledge with you. I have to say it's not easy to grow, or should I say it's not easy to prune and cut back, but Hilary's written a book called Cut Foliage Book, Fantastic Foliage and How to Farm It. So I would recommend that one.

[00:07:16] Roz Chandler: Obviously eucalyptus is essential for florists, certainly if you do weddings. It grows well in the UK, but does like a sheltered spot. They will grow quite fast. The roots are big, but just remember this is a tree. This isn't a shrub. There are easy ways to cut it back, obviously, and they call that pollarding it.

[00:07:34] Roz Chandler: I learned that from Hilary. And as they get bigger, the leaves will change from small and round to long crescents. Eucalyptus actually is quite complicated, and there are so many different varieties. But actually, we couldn't live without them here at Fieldgate, so I recommend that you have a look at eucalyptus.

[00:07:52] Roz Chandler: In 8th position. We're over halfway now. This one, all of us have got in our gardens. It's called Ivy, of course. It's been mentioned in the group, and I probably would have forgotten it if it hadn't been. But, here at Fieldgate, we are a lover of Ivy. We use it, of course, in all our winter reefs and arrangements.

[00:08:12] Roz Chandler: This year we did online reef courses and we mailed out across the UK all of our foliage and all of the all of the components for a reef and part of that was ivy. It's prolific in gardens and my husband keeps wanting to cut it all down. It drives me nuts. So If you can keep your husband, or your partner, or whoever, from stopping cutting it, then ivy is an absolute must.

[00:08:36] Roz Chandler: Number nine, Pitosporum. This is an evergreen, and we love it. Honestly, it's got to be one of our favourites. There are loads and loads of varieties of Pitosporum. We like the variegated varieties. We like the purple variety called Tom Thumb. It's slow to grow but if you can find space, we recommend you put it in.

[00:08:57] Roz Chandler: It'll grow anywhere that's not in full shade. And it hates cold winds a bit like me. It has nice straight stems and it looks great in an arrangement. So we recommend you have a look at that one. Have a look at your particular soil, your particular climate, your, how much shelter you've got, and then decide on which pitaflorum, but I definitely wouldn't leave it out.

[00:09:21] Roz Chandler: Number 11, the dusty miller plant which is an interesting foliage. Dusty Miller reminds me of Windy Miller. Now, was this in 1960s TV programme? Can't even remember. Something beginning with C. Anyway, if someone would put me out of my misery and say where Dusty Miller came from, that would be great.

[00:09:42] Roz Chandler: Actually not, it's Windy Miller. Anyway, Dusty Minder, Windy Miller. But anyway, this is a silvery grey colour foliage. We've got it in the tunnels and that takes us through the winter, which we find fabulous, but that's not necessary. You can grow this outside too. Number 12, Mimosa. This one's quite an unusual one it's the fluffy yellow flowers found during spring, it's widely grown across the whole of the UK and there are hundreds and hundreds of different species. Some are grown in greenhouses, some in the garden. These don't like wind. No, these don't like cold wind. They don't mind wind, but they hate the cold. Again, a bit like me. Number 13 is Alcalia mollusk.

[00:10:28] Roz Chandler: This is often overlooked by gardeners. It's an unpretentious lady's mantle is what it's other name is. It's extremely useful for foliage. We grow a lot of it. It's acid green in colour. It's just great, actually. I would recommend you all grow that. Number 14, and I've been a bit cheeky here because I've put a few in under number 14 because I was thinking, oh nevermind.

[00:10:50] Roz Chandler: So this is herbs, which is very general category. We're growing here, sage, rosemary, lots of different types of mints. and dill. Now for me, dill is a magnificent herb, gives you a great beautiful display at the top, very long stems. We add mint to an awful lot of what we do we have lots and lots of different varieties, so we can look at the different colours of green, but again it just makes everything smell so amazing.

[00:11:17] Roz Chandler: Rosemary, again obviously for its scent but also for its foliage. Sage is obviously a smaller plant and smaller. in terms of its usage really because it's actually not a tall plant so you can't put it in lots of long arrangements. So that's, oh and somebody put, can I have a number 15? Somebody came in and it's a late entry on my cut flower collective group and put in Skimmia, so that's another one.

[00:11:44] Roz Chandler: So if I've missed any, I wonder if you pop over to my Facebook group, which is called the Cut Flower Collective. And let me know which ones I've missed, because I think I have a lot in here, but I know there are loads more that I'd be really interested to know what you think. So that's it on a Sunday evening for me.

[00:12:03] Roz Chandler: I hope you've enjoyed learning more about foliage, and I look forward Facebook group.