This Sunday morning, 30th Nov, the stall will be at Wolvercote Community Market with fresh festive wreaths, pots of bulbs just shooting and bouquets of bright dried flowers.

Pre-orders taken now for delivery from December 1st or for pick up at the market on Nov 30th or Sofacoma Market on Dec 7th.

Delivery is free within 5 miles of Oxford with a minimum order of £15.00

Email: thedevelopingplot@gmail.com

Fresh Wreaths

All the fresh wreaths are made by hand (by me) on a moss and wire (or handmade willow) base and are covered in layers of fresh foliage, berries and beautiful seedheads. Almost all of the ingredients are from my garden or are lightly foraged locally. The moss is bought from a sustainable source while the eucalyptus comes from a small plantation in Wales. Glossy, red crab apples, lichen covered larch and eucalyptus are just some of the ingredients this week.

Each wreath should last well past Christmas and into the New Year if the moss is kept damp.

Prices

Wreath on a 10 inch base: £17.50

Wreath on a 12 inch wire base: £20.00

Wreath on a 14 inch wire base: £25.00

If you would prefer a different size, please let me know.

Indoor Bulbs:Paperwhite Narcissus & Hyacinths

Paperwhite Narcissus: 5 bulbs in metal container £15; 3 bulbs in glass vase: £12.50

With their delicate , highly scented flowers on multi-headed stems these are one of the prettiest forced bulbs of all.

Forced Hyacinths: Delft Blue, Jan Bos & Woodstock: £15 for a metal container with 5 bulbs

These bulbs have been treated so that they can be forced into bloom for Christmas or for the sometimes gloomy, dark days of January and February. Planted afterwards in the garden, they should come back year after year with slightly more delicate blooms.

Delft Blue is a beautiful blue hyacinth with a wonderful sweet scent. Woodstock, for many, is the most beautiful hyacinth of all with its deep beetroot coloured blooms and lovely scent. Jan Bos is a gorgeous bright pink (not reflected in the image above) and also highly fragranced. All share the same care as Delft Blue.

Each metal container contains peat free compost dressed with moss and 5 bulbs with strong emerging shoots.

Everlasting Bouquets & Wreaths

Each one of the wreaths and bouquets is unique and made from flowers grown by me just outside Oxford using an organic approach and then dried naturally . The wreaths have a willow or vine base onto which generous handfuls of flowers are woven. These and the bouquets will last for years and years and keep their bright loveliness if kept in a dry place and out of bright sunlight.

Bouquets: Lights & Brights with at least 40 stems £12.50 to £6.50

Everlasting Wreaths: £25.00

Using an organic approach and avoiding chemicals and dyes, my flowers have as light an environmental footprint as possible at the same time as being beautiful.

Early Miniature Spring Bulbs

The first of the Spring bulbs are pushing their way up into the light. The beautifully delicate miniature iris reticulata is first which despite its fragile appearance is tough and will withstand deep frost without protection. There are two varieties available with 5 bulbs in each small very old and very lovely terracotta pot: Pixie and J S Dijt £5.50 a pot

There will be a range of other bulbs available in these upcoming markets:

Sofacoma Market: 7th December

Wolvercote Market: 14th December

Please sign up below if you would like to know what’s available

Extremely sorry for the late notice, but the dire forecast of wind and heavy rain for tomorrow means that the stall won’t be making it to Sofacoma Market after all. Almost all the wreaths and bouquets this week are made from dried, everlasting flowers which cannot cope with getting wet and the paper and cardboard packaging I have won’t be enough protection in a potential downpour.

Feeling disappointed to miss the market, but will be back at Sofacoma with fresh wreaths and pots of bulbs on Dec 8th whatever the weather. Meanwhile if you would like to pre order for delivery or pick up at the market, please email me.

thedevelopingplot@gmail.com

Apologies to anyone who was planning to buy plants or flowers from me this weekend at Sofacoma, but for unavoidable reasons I have to take a break from the markets for awhile as family commitments mean I haven’t enough of the time needed to garden and grow in the way I would like. Hoping very much to be back in September with dahlias, biennials and plants for Autumn sowing.

This Sunday we will be back at Wolvercote Community Market with lovely Spring flowers – the last of the tulips and the ranunculus in full bloom. There will also be a range of plants. This will be the last market until mid May as, despite it being an awkward time for a gardener to be away, I am on holiday; because of this, there will be some tender plants on the stall that you might like before then. See below for the details and if you would like to pre-order for pick up at the market, please email me before 6.00pm on Saturday, 20th April.

Apologies no deliveries this week.

Email: thedevelopingplot@gmail.com

Flowers

All the flowers this week are home grown including beautiful tulips, ranunculus, camassia and geums together with fresh foliage and emerging apple and quince blossom.

Jam Jars: £7.50 with at least 15 stems and usually more

Pickle Pots: £10.00 minimum of 20 stems, but again usually more

Market Bunches: £12 with at least 25 stems

Bouquets from £15 (at least 30 stems) to £25 (at least 50) can be pre-ordered for pick up from the market.

Plants

Hardy and Tender Annuals:

Cerinthe Major: an unusual and attractive plant with its silvery leaves and purple hanging bells, this is a magnet for pollinating insects. It is a generous plant which gently self seeds so it will organise its own return year after year. The seeds are very easy to collect too. It likes sun, but tolerates some shade in my garden and also copes with my clay soil. These little plants have been grown from seed and have been completely hardened off so are ready to be planted out from their small 7 cm pots. They will put on good growth when put in the soil and in the right conditions can grow up to 60 cms. Each pot: £1.00

Nasturtium Black Velvet: a sumptuous, glamorous dark flowered nasturtium which is a great addition to both the garden and containers, producing flowers throughout the Summer. As well as being very attractive to look at, it is also edible and its flowers and leaves make a great peppery addition to salads. In small 7cm pots, these will need to be protected from frost. £1 a 7cm pot

Perennials:

There will be a small range of individual perennials in small 9cm containers and larger 2 & 3 litre pots propagated from divisions and seed including Knautia Macedonia; Bleeding Heart, Cupid; white campion and geum.

First of the Tender Vegetables:

It is a few weeks earlier than I usually sell these and they will definitely need protecting from frost and hardening off. For most plants, the roots are just reaching the bottom of their pots, but they all have plenty of room to grow in their existing containers. They will need to be kept under cover in a greenhouse, conservatory or bright windowsill and then gradually hardened off outside. It is best to plant them when their first flowers appear. Then they will need regular watering and weekly feeds with either seaweed solution or tomato feed. All tomatoes enjoy sun and can be grown in the ground or in containers in a greenhouse or outdoors in a warm spot. All the varieties below are of the indeterminate kind which means they need support (tying into a bamboo cane) and to have their side shoots removed as they appear. This may seem a lot of bother, but it is worth it for the delicious taste of a home grown tomato.

If you prefer to wait until later in May, I expect to have these plants available then and others too.

Courgette Blanco di Trieste: this pale ivory-green skinned courgette is a very healthy, quick growing variety. It is tasty and productive and it is also known for producing lots of flowers which are good for stuffing. £1.50

Tomato Black Russian: an old heritage variety, ‘Black Russian’ has large, deep red fruits with dark green shoulders. The flavour is excellent and is very rich and sweet with a hint of acidity. They start ripening nice and early indoors but also do well outside in a sunny summer. I grow this every year and it is a real favourite. £1.50

Tomato Chocolate Cherry: a small tomato which ripens to the colour of cocoa, it tastes delicious and has a sweet and fruity flavour. £1.50