Scarlets Cut Flower Patch 2022/23/24

A little update - friends and family have stolen my gardening time coupled with the heat and really dry weather I've struggled a bit.

Lack of rain has caused lots of plants to go over much quicker than they would normally. Some of the dahlias are half the height they would normally be. Regardless of this I have continued to cut flowers every morning early. During the very hot weather I obviously couldn't sell as much but people popped in and picked up from inside my outbuilding.
I've sold flowers everyday that I've been here and when the weather was too warm/wet and I couldn't put out in the wheelbarrow I posted on local FB sites and people popped in! I'm so happy with that... orders have started to trickle in with the odd large birthday bunches. I'm am struggling a bit on pricing as my small bunches outside in the wheelbarrow are a bit big .... but I've no complaints and I'm already planning next season.

Yesterday I took out the snapdragons and larkspur. Today I will plant up my biennial seedlings. Planting up with Canterbury bells, sweet honesty and sweet williams.

Sown cerinthe- to grow on in pots in the greenhouse

                   

My bells of Ireland, amaranth, carnations achillea and ammi

The scabious - especially the salmon queen have been gorgeous


The rudbeckia- the yellow ones here have been fab - seed started this year.     

Bee balm - lambada.
Started from seed this year- I think it's best grown as an annual. Absolutely gorgeous smell and the bees are all over it.
   

A few more photos for you....
My dahlias patch had increased a little this year. I have 3x 35 foot rows with approx 54 plants in each/ 27 planted in a double row. I added a new bed of 20ft with approx 30 plants in there. Planted later than the first 3.... so it's only just starting to flower. No rain has been difficult as the ground has been very hard to dig.
               

You've done really well with your flowers this year! They're all beautiful. I like that bee balm - must have a rummage in my seedbox.
Will you dig the dahlias up overwinter?

I'm hoping to save some seed...
I've left a few stems on one plant, but it doesn't look like it's forming seed yet.

Yes, will definitely dig them all up. I left all the dahlias in the garden borders last winter. Only a few have flowered. Those have tried to grow haven't flowered yet, maybe lack of water early on? The ones I start off I do so in pots so they are looked after...

Did you suffer with blackfly on the dahlias Scarlet, mine got covered by the blighters.

No..never had an issue with black fly on dahlias?..., maybe lucky?

So my foxgloves bed got dug up yesterday by the biggest mole I've ever seen in my life

I had to left the ground sheet to flatten out the bed and I put the foxgloves back in - fingers crossed

I've sown - echinops - silver frost
Mallow - silver cup

A few days ago I showed -mont blanc mallow, daucus, ammi and a little befor that the cerinthe. Just one seed has popped from those! Maybe I'm a little impatient.... but I want the space in the props!

We finally had rain last night so I'm hoping the dahlias will put on much more growth. I've had trouble with red spider mite. As I don't like to use sprays I've just left it and this probably hasn't been a good idea. I have lost a few plants - they really escalated in the hot dry weather.