Beautiful, seasonal flowers grown in Gloucestershire
One of the things I love most about flowers is how they often bring excitement and expectation along with the changing of the seasons. I’m certain this feeling is a result of having spent the first twenty-odd years of my life in a part of America where the seasons differed dramatically from one to the next. My harbingers of spring were always the crocuses, peeking through the snow and reassuring me that winter would soon be over. I can also remember exploring the woods in springtime for the native Mayapple plant which meant the school holidays were right around the corner. And then there was summer, which was baking hot and humid to boot, yet it was plentiful and delicious, giving us sugary sweet corn, juicy blackberries, colourful zinnias and sunflowers, and fields of nodding Queen-Ann’s-Lace.
Flowers that grow with the seasons are flowers that are kinder to the environment, and looking after nature is as important to me as growing gorgeous flowers. I started Harebell & Bee because I wanted to bring a little floral beauty into the lives of others through sustainably-grown flowers. Even though my gardens might not produce flowers all year long, the flowers that do bloom there are all the more special for the few weeks or months that we get to enjoy them.
I’m Shanna, the flower grower, floral designer, wildlife cheerleader and business owner at Harebell & Bee. I grow a variety of flowers to harvest from April through October in my own garden near the centre of Lydney in Gloucestershire, by the beautiful Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. I love straight-from-the-garden bouquets and enjoy creating natural-looking arrangements using both fresh and dried flowers, as well as experimenting with foraged natural materials I find in the wilder areas of my garden.
