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Its me again, spring is nearly here.

Writer: Liesa Bellairs
Liesa Bellairs
Sep 8
4 min read

Note; I said spring is nearly here despite 1 September having come and gone. I know we are going to have one last monster snap of cold after which, I may feel more convinced that Spring is finally here.


 June and july are the quieter months for me and I've used the time to collect my thoughts, come up with new ideas as well as change a few of my methods. I've been diligently planning my new growing area with foundations learnt from completing the Floret Flower Workshop. Many hours have been spent researching and sourcing new flower varieties and I am adding quite a few to my plans this year(did I mention that 'bravery' is an essential characteristic of this game)! Generally, this time of the year requires more time at my desk - it's not my favourite and of course the chilly weather doesn't invite me outdoors as much as I would like but its good to touch base with admin, website improvements etc. There has been some backbreaking work done to prepare a new growing area with the help of my right hand man Andrius, and latterly a new gardener. It's not glamorous work at all but provides my building blocks for the upcoming season. I keep returning to this quote by Anatole, "I prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom."

 

Sadly Andrius has moved on to better prospects and after 14 years, I feel like I have lost a limb. I can only be unselfish and wish him and his family well with his new endeavours, he has been invaluable to me in my efforts to become a bona fide flower farmer along with his other skills. He also cared and looked after our darling horse and was an excellent groom. Hopefully in time, I will add some mechanisation to my project.

 

I remain committed to being more of a grower than a florist but my country bunches were so well received that I am introducing a few more themed bouquets as well as the very popular DIY Buckets of Blooms for brides and other people who like creating their own vessels of beauty.

Lets talk - new varieties for 2026/2027

So, these are not necessarily "new" on the market, but rather new to me as a grower. I realised last season that I needed more variety, more disc flowers and interesting fillers. Here's the thing though, I find, I only want to grow what I like, so I am trying to step outside my realm with new colours and differnt flowers. Being lucky enough to search internationally, these are a few of my additions this year.

 

  • Scabious, both perennial types and annuals. These airy, delicate flowers come in a large array of colours and hover above your bouquet like little ballerina's in frilly skirts. They definitely fit in with my rather wild and less co-ordinated style.

  • Thlaspi Arvenses commonly known as Pennycress. These have been harder than I imagined to germinate but I am pushing through. They have less significant tiny white flowers but these develope into tall, wispy, flat green seed pods which are simply delightful. They age to lime green and yellow and eventually dry into a beautiful pale straw colour adding to their versatility.

  • Rudbeckia hirta in Sherry Bronze which is a very giving cut and come again annual. Its got a fancy daisy type flower head and I simply love the warmth this colour brings.

  • Atriplex, otherwise known as Orach. I have not sown these seeds as yet but I look forward to the long full spires of different coloured foliage that they produce. I have chosen the green, the red and a new colour called Ruby Gold.

  • Another perennial, called Asclepias, also known as milkweed. It has umbrella clusters of flowers. I believe it produces a toxic sap but is also a vital host plants for monarch butterfly larvae. Who does not want butterflies as well as bees in their flower patch?

  • Dahlias, of course, have become a fascination(read: addiction) for me, and I will be adding new tubers to my growing collection. There are so many South African growers and its easy to understand why, the most magnificent flower, I defy anyone to poo poo them.


    There are a few other new additions including some interesting new varieties of Sunflowers that are named as if they were a sunset on the beach... think Soluna Bronze, Desert Sun, my all time favourite remains the pro-cut white which has a pale center with buttery lemon coloured petals. I read somewhere that Sunflowers could be described as 'satellites for sunshine'.

 


Big 'thank-yous' all round.

 

I continue to be reminded how lucky I am to have the space and support to drive my quest. I am not very good at taking no for an answer and it turns out this is quite an asset, since this farming game is full of hard graft, challenges, curveballs and sometimes outright destruction. One must have the resilience to simply clean up, fix up or re-plant and move on. My mind is constantly on "garden duty", and it's a bit like having children(again), they need checking regularly, to be kept warm, well fed and of course with out water there is no life. Thankfully my daughters are young adults as I am not sure I could do both...

My Love always,

Liesa

  

 



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