Closing date for voting is 20th September...

We used the roses Gertude Jekyll, Chandos Beauty and Evelyn and the herbs variagated sage, lavender, oregano, peppermint and rosemary.

If you haven't tried Nyetimber's fabulous sparkling wine yet then I urge you to do so - they really are fabulous and produced from grapes grown on vines at the UK's largest vineyard estate, where Nyetimber is based, in West Chiltington, Sussex.

The Nyetimber pavillion was one of the most beautiful stands at the show according to the Hot Dinners website ...and the flowers get a mention too! There's a lovely article about the festival highlights on Eat Like a Girl blog scroll down to see a great photo of Nyetimber's stand with our flowers. The stand was described as one of the 'prettiest' at the festival.

This little shoot was to capture a lovely backdrop for us to use on our RHS Chelsea Flower Show stand. We're featuring a little wedding table and we wanted it set against a gorgeous garden.

Penny White has organised this exhibition herself in order to raise money for the wonderful Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres which are totally reliant on private funding.
John Martin has gifted his gallery space in Mayfair for the exhibition and Penny will be donating the first £5000 of sales and thereafter half of all sales directly to the charity.

The roses in her paintings were grown on our Hampshire farm so I have sent a large bouquet of our roses and herbs over to the gallery today to help dress the space for the press and private view this evening.

Of her own work Penny says

Curiously, I do not think of myself as a 'flower painter', I am only interested in representing the flower. I try to paint the ephemeral quality of the flower, its soul, its scent, its colour, its pattern, its eroticism, that transient quality that for me is the flower.

The exhibition runs between 30th March and 10th April 2010, although it's closed for Easter between 2nd and 5th April.

Truly inspirational and worthwhile.

Click on the image to see The Real Flower Company's Mother's Day Collection...

Farbridge has been created from a complex of old barns on the West Dean estate (the West Dean Estate is facinating take a look at the website www.westdean.org.uk)

In the lea of the South Downs with beautiful views all around, Farbridge has a capacity for 60 to 150 guests and is licensed for civil ceremonies and partnerships. With ample parking and ten double en-suite rooms Farbridge is a very high quality blank canvas and with a list of recommended, (and excellent) caterers, vintners and florists (including our good selves!) only your imagination will stop you from creating a perfect event. Visit their website to find out more www.farbridge.org.uk

Spring is definately on it's way now though. The snowdrops are out in their beautiful drifts and the wonderful, colourful crocus's are starting to open.

It always amazes me that the slightly longer days that we've been enjoying can have such a dramatic effect on on our plant life and that snowdrops are waiting for the temperature to reach 6 to 7 degrees centigrade so that they can burst through the cold ground.

It won't be long now before we start to see the narcissi and hyacinths showing colour but until then here's a little jug of cheer..

Well, we've walked miles, de-thorned thousands of roses, made many, many bouquets and arrangements and it's been a lot of hard work but we get to work with scented flowers!

A big thank you to all of our Realflowergirls and boys in our office, workshop, Selfridges and on our farms for your hard work and sunny dispositions.

Finally, a massive thank you to all of our wonderfully supportive customers.

What a start to the new year we've had. The snow has been absolutely gorgeous down here on the Hampshire and West Sussex borders.

It has been hugely disruptive though so I can't say we'll be sorry to see it melt. Here are some real snow photos...

Preparing for Valentines Day.

Snowflakes on the window.

Snowy trees.

Snowy Landscape.

Here is a photo of the wreath Georgie will be displaying on her front door this Christmas...