Pick of the bunch

Home-grown blooms are beautiful in their imperfection. Bruised and nibbled petals, strangely developed heads and disease-touched leaves are all part of it. There is much you can do with polishing them up during the conditioning phase, but equally, the focus should remain on the calm time spent handling them and the satisfaction in growing these creatures yourself. You aren’t selling your work, just filling your cup.

I readily pluck the dying collar off an otherwise perfect dahlia bloom, shaking out the earwigs at the same time. I don’t worry about missing Japanese anemone petals and simply scrape off the lower, shrivelled heads of snapdragons to enjoy the pristine ones at the top. Nature doesn’t wait for us; be happy with what she offers.

Hydrate hard

If you aren’t harvesting with a bucket of water, you need to plunge your stems right up to their necks in clean water as soon as possible. Fill the sink or use water-filled vessels to support them, ensuring they are all submerged. If time allows, it’s a great idea to let them hydrate for a few hours or even overnight before arranging.

Strip

This process is about preventing the water from rotting. Either as you hydrate or as you arrange, work through your stems and remove all leaves or buds