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Brides, Blooms & the (Almost) Summer Season

May 2026 Update from the Flower Field


A bride and groom walk out of a church as guests throw confetti, the bride holding a colourful summer bouquet from Firth Flock Flowers.

Photo by Nathan Roberts Photographer - Emma & Chris's Wedding, a favourite from 2 summers ago


May is always a funny month on the flower farm — a little chaotic, a little in-between, and full of tiny joys that remind us why we do this work. Here’s what we’ve been up to, what’s blooming, and what’s coming next as we tiptoe into summer.

 

If you’d like to read previous monthly updates, you’ll find them on our blog — a lovely way to follow the seasons with us.






May Wedding Flowers — A Month of Surprises


May is a notoriously tricky month for British flowers. The spring beauties have mostly finished, and the summer staples are still stretching and yawning their way into bloom. And yet — every year — May surprises us. We still have a wide range of seasonal flowers to work with for weddings. Here are three completely different May bouquets I created for different brides, colour palettes and styles. Soft pastels, bright pops, meadowy textures, romantic movement… May gives us more than we expect, every time.


A collage of three May bridal bouquets created at Firth Flock Flowers, showcasing sustainably grown seasonal blooms from our North Wales flower farm.


Our Wedding Flower Process — A Little More About How It Works



1 - Enquiry

Once you send in your enquiry form, we invite you to share anything that helps us understand your style — colours, ideas, Pinterest boards, saved posts, or even just a feeling.


2 - Consultation

Then we arrange a relaxed consultation (usually via video). It’s a gentle, creative chat where we explore ideas, talk through your venue, and begin to sketch out what your flowers could look like.


3 - Proposal & Deposit

From there, we create a personalised proposal, and a £100 deposit secures your date.


4 - Growing & Sourcing

We grow as much as we can ourselves, but if the British weather misbehaves, we source from other sustainable UK growers to make sure your wedding flowers are perfect.


5 - Collection/Installations

We offer everything from DIY flower buckets for creative couples, to flowers packed up and ready for collection, all the way to full bespoke installations where we style everything on-site. Whatever level of support you need, we can shape the flowers around your day.


6 - Final Details & Collection

As your wedding approaches, we finalise details 6 weeks before, with final payment due 3 weeks before. And the next day, we can return to gather your flowers into bunches for guests to take home — a beautiful way to let the blooms live on.


7 - Wedding Favours

Many couples also choose to give away jam jar posies or living plants as favours. These are yours to keep, and they make such a sweet, personal gift.


8 - The Firth Flock Flowers Vision

Your flowers will look like a meadow in full romance mode — movement, texture, soft colours, real scent, and that unmistakable feeling of something grown with love. Our secret hope is that years from now, when you’re walking through a garden and catch the scent of a flower that was in your bouquet, it will take you right back to your wedding day.





A bride and groom walk together outside Soughton Hall in Mold, looking at each other lovingly as the bride carries a warm‑toned summer bouquet.

Photo by Nathan Roberts Photographer - Kara & Sion's Wedding, a favourite from last summer



Venues We’re Flowering This Month & Next


We’re lucky to work with some beautiful venues across North Wales:

 

Tyn Dwr Hall — one of our favourites. Couples often describe it as warm, welcoming and magical, with staff who go above and beyond. They always make us feel so welcome.

Ruthin Castle — historic, atmospheric, and full of character (and in our town). The peacocks are also fantastic additions to the wedding photos!

Château Rhianfa — new for us, but already coming up in several consultations. A fairytale venue on Anglesey with incredible views.

Pentre Mawr — a long-time favourite. Family-run, relaxed, and full of heart. Couples always mention how personal and joyful their experience is.


Wedding guests listen to speeches during a late‑March reception at Tyn Dwr Hall, with spring table flowers designed by Ellen Firth of Firth Flock Flowers.

Feature Wedding Flower of the Month: Zinnias


One flower we’re especially excited to use as summer wedding season arrives is the zinnia. Zinnias are the divas of summer — beautiful, unusual, endlessly varied, and absolutely worth the fuss. They come in every shape and size imaginable: domed, spiky, ruffled, button-like, and sometimes all of the above in one stem. They’re incredible as a filler flower, adding structure, colour and texture to bouquets.

 

But… they’re fussy.

They hate rain.

They rot if you look at them the wrong way.

They want heat, heat, and more heat.

 

So here’s hoping for a warm summer — because when zinnias are happy, they’re pure magic.


A close‑up of a pink zinnia growing in the Firth Flock Flowers field, sustainably grown using no‑dig methods in North Wales.

Grow Your Own Cut Flower Garden Workshop at The Source — A Perfect Day


We hosted our Cut Flower Garden Growing Workshop at The Source this month, and it was everything I love about teaching: small, intimate, hands-on and full of brilliant people. Seven participants turned out to be the perfect number — enough to share ideas, but small enough that we all got to know each other over delicious food.

 

Three people returned after attending last year’s workshop (which made my heart swell), and I loved hearing what everyone is planning to grow. One attendee hopes to grow flowers for her holiday accommodation — such a lovely idea. It’s so easy to grab cheap imported supermarket flowers, but learning to grow and arrange your own seasonal, chemical-free blooms is so meaningful. I really hope her guests appreciate the effort — and those straight-from-the-garden flowers.

 

If you’re already thinking ahead, our autumn planting cut flower workshop is coming up in September — the best way to get a jumpstart on early spring flowers.





Ellen Firth pricks out soil in seed trays inside her greenhouse at Firth Flock Flowers, preparing seeds for planting on the sustainable no‑dig flower farm in Ruthin, North Wales.

Laundry Garden Open Weekend — A Fantastic (and Fiery) Bank Holiday


Last weekend we returned from The Laundry Open Garden Event, and what a scorcher it was. The Bank Holiday heatwave was intense — the kind of heat that makes you dream of shady trees, cold drinks, and absolutely no moving about whatsoever… but the atmosphere was wonderful and the welcome as warm as the weather.

 

Jenny and Jenni bravely took on the first day, and Bethan stepped in for the second (and yes, she got her long awaited dairy-free mint choc chip from Ruthin's own ice cream wizards Chilly Cow). The stall was buzzing from the moment the gates opened, and our show-stopping dark pink peonies caused a stir. They were sold out by Sunday afternoon. The pots were a huge hit too — especially the Anvil terracotta filled with a variety of violas — along with the antique bits & bobs and Bathing Beauty skincare we were selling on George’s behalf. It felt like the perfect mix of flowers, craft, and community.

 

By the end of Sunday, the heat had become so fierce that the flowers were really struggling. Rather than risk offering anything less than our best, the team made the call not to return on Monday. It was absolutely the right decision — we never want to sell blooms that don’t reflect the care and quality behind Firth Flock Flowers.

 

Even so, it was a fantastic weekend: joyful, busy, full of familiar faces and new ones too. We’re so grateful to Jenny Williams, who has poured her heart into creating the Laundry Garden since 2013 and welcomes us back with such generosity every year. It’s a magical place — especially when you’re sheltering from the heatwave!


A collage of photos showing the Firth Flock Flowers stall at the May Bank Holiday Laundry Open Garden event, featuring antique vases, handmade pottery, sustainable seasonal flowers, showstopping peonies, and ice cream from The Chilly Cow, the local dairy.


Choosing the Unique Imperfection of Human Hands


You may have spotted my new cartoon drawing with the lambs appearing on social media the other day. I commissioned it from Molly, an artist we discovered on Instagram after seeing her encourage people to support real illustrators rather than relying on AI-generated artwork.

 

That really resonated with us.

 

While we do use AI as a helpful tool behind the scenes for bits of admin and writing support, I’ve always believed there’s something special about paying real people for their craft — whether that’s artists, makers, printers, growers, or small independent businesses.

 

So instead of generating something online, we asked Molly to paint an original watercolour of me in the field with the lambs, flowers, and of course a duck. The finished piece cost £35 including postage and a digital scan, and it now hangs proudly on the wall at home.

 

It feels far more meaningful knowing a real artist painted it by hand, and I’m delighted to be able to use it as part of the Firth Flock Flowers story.  





A cartoon watercolour by Leeds‑based artist Molly Pukes, depicting Ellen on the Firth Flock Flowers farm surrounded by her sheep, ducks, and flowers, created to support independent artists over AI‑generated marketing art.

And with that little piece of creativity hanging on my wall, we’re heading into one of the busiest and most beautiful parts of the year. Wedding season is about to burst into bloom — and we can’t wait.

 

Next time our update hits your inbox, it will officially be summer.

 

With muddy hands and hopeful hearts,

 

Ellen







 
 
 

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