By Victoria Plum 
By Victoria Plum
I want Sarah Bernhardt! It is the most gorgeous blousy pink peony I have ever seen. There is a cerise, dark red version but the pale pink is my favourite.
At this week’s meeting of the Reepham & District Gardening Club, Sarah Hammond, a local flower farmer from Knapton, gave an interesting talk on peonies, how to grow them (keep soil clear round roots, no mulch, position for hot sun and extreme cold) and how to get the biggest flowers (remove the lower buds) with lovely enticing photos.
She grows other flowers too, and is a member of Flowers from the Farm, a group of growers who are promoting British-grown flowers.
You might have heard about the substantial carbon footprint of cut flowers, from roses to Gypsophila, all sorts of flowers that we regard as everyday, are, bizarrely, flown in from Africa and other countries.
The longer-term costs are degrading of soil by continued overreliance on the same crop year after year, extremely high use of water, which is often at a premium, let alone the cost, in every way, of gas as a preservative, and transporting the product by air and road.
Exponents of this foreign trade maintain that financial and environmental costs are less than the cost of hot-housing in this country, but I feel the time has come to suggest that we shouldn’t expect to have exotic flowers at our fingertips throughout the year; we should accept their seasonality.
I have no desire for roses or lilies all through the year; I am happy to enjoy them all the more when in season, in the same way that I rarely buy tomatoes in winter because they are tasteless.
I happen to know that Alstroemeria, for instance, an excellent long-lasting cut flower, can be grown under glass or plastic in this country with no added heat and very little, if any, water.
Flowers from the Farm is a UK trade association started by Gill Hodgson with members countrywide. On the website you put in your locality and then choose from your local growers who provide lovely home-grown seasonal flowers, conditioned carefully and grown by individuals who clearly love their job. I think our nearest is Norfolk Flower Farm, run by Ellie Frost, a talented florist, at Edgefield.
Audience participation is encouraged at the next gardening club meeting with metal detectorist Graeme Simmonds. Join us on Tuesday 18 March at 7.30 pm in the Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, when we will be invited to handle interesting objects he has found. You can bring any curiosities you have found for his knowledgeable appraisal.
I have already potted up some stray marjoram for the annual gardening club plant sale on Saturday 10 May in Reepham Market Place, from 8.30 am until sold out. I’ll keep an eye out for more “extras” that can be sold.
Photo: Something’s been eating my aeonium. Photo: Tina Sutton
Geoff Fisher