Introduction to Picked At Dawn

Suzie Rush • August 5, 2026

An introduction for those of you who are new to us.

Hello and welcome,


You have found your way to the Picked at Dawn blog ,hopefully this means you have an interest in growing and or cut flowers, because that's what we do here from our nursery in North Yorkshire. We specialise in growing plug plants and garden ready plants that produce amazing cut flowers.


Picked at Dawn is 10 years old this year and  more people are finding there way to our little community of flower lovers through all avenues. If you've found us through social media, You Tube, met us at a flower show, a garden club talk and to those of you who have learnt of us from a plant loving friend you are all very welcome.


When I diversified my old perennial plant nursery into a cut flower garden those 10 years ago I didn't realise that I would end up coming full circle through growing flowers for wholesale, designing and creating beautiful wedding flowers, running floristry and growing workshops to arrive back running a plant nursery again ( that must be what people refer to as destiny) The focus is still very firmly focused on growing fantastic cut flowers, now we just send out packages of plants packed with that potential to other flower lovin' folk and fill your gardens with as well as our own.



If you are new to us then you may find we do things slightly different from large nurseries, sometimes people struggle to understand our supply set up initially, but you settle in once your used to us. Id better start  by explaining what we DONT do so you are not misguided : glossy magazines of our plants, 12 month availability, grow every plant under the sun,  schedule deliveries way in advance, grow in peat, use pesticides or herbicides on our nurseries, we will not send you any  plastic, and we will never compromise on quality. oh and we don't have discount sales.


Now for what we do and we do well;

Passion, we love what we do, the joy of growing plants to produce beautiful flowers that provide so much potential pleasure whether you choose to enjoy them in your growing space or want to get involved in picking your stems to fill every corner of your house with flowers I get that pleasure and you have  found your people.


we are answerable, as a small business every plant we send you has been nurtured from seed or cutting, by us that means we spend alot of time with these plants and we know how much you want a beautiful boarder packed with flowers (just as much as we do) therefore it is in our interests to make that happen for you, by sending the best quality plants and providing you with as much advice as we can to ensure that your flowers bloom a plenty. At the end of the day we are a small business and the buck stops with me. If your not happy I am only a phone call or an email away and I don't like confrontational phone calls or emails in capitals so it matters to me that all our customers are happy.


Spending 90% of my life surrounded by plants and nature means I see alot of the effects first hand caused by an unstable environment and climate and it makes me Care. I care how we grow, only in peatfree compost and never using nasty chemicals. we grow in unheated tunnels we don't use artificial lighting just growing along with nature, and trying to store as much water on site as we can. This carries thorough to how we hand wrap each plant using compostable packaging. I only want our plants to add beauty to the environment.


SOUND LIKE YOUR KIND OF FOLK?


If you share our passion for all things flowery and are wondering how to order our plants. Id better explain how we work, this Friday 7th August we return from our summer break, caused by a natural cycle of not sowing plants during the month of July. We will have plants on the website from now until mid November. In the turn of the year our season them returns from mid February until June.


Plants are listed on the website on a weekly basis, they are never listed until they are ready for sale meaning you will always receive your order within 7 days of ordering. The plants change with the seasons releasing plants when appropriate to the best planting time.  There are so many beautiful plants in the world but we tend to favour those which will produce great flowers or foliage for cut flower gardens, these are grown in batches. The website is updated with the latest availability every Friday at 6pm during our growing  season and plants are ordered directly from there. You will receive a tracking code when we dispatch your plants with DPD 24hr delivery unless your nestled on a hillside in the highlands then it will be 48hr delivery! or Northern Ireland then  it will be 48hr Royal mail. Sadly for those outside the UK we cant send you our plants but your very welcome to follow along for plant tips and floral inspiration.


thanks muchly for joining me here

speak soon

Suzie


Up next of Fridays Blog - What to expect from our August plug plants and how to care for your biennials and perennials


SOIL

Understanding your soil is the most important part of the decision-making process. You don't need any fancy tests; it is just a case of knowing if your soil is heavy and holds water over winter or if it is light and free-draining. you will be able to tell this by holding a trowel of soil if it remains crumbly and can trickle through your fingers, it is likely to be a bit sandy, if it holds together, it is likely yo be more clay and will hold water and be colder and heavier over winter. In which case it may be best keeping your plants in pots over winter and planting out in March.

GROWING LOCATION is another consideration. All of the plants we are dispatching during Autumn are hardy. They will all survive an average UK winter, in pots or planted out in free-draining soils. We grow in a rural frost pocket in North Yorkshire and all our plants will make it through our temperatures. If you are growing in a more urban or southern location your ground is likely to remain warmer still than our here, so you have nothing to worry about in terms of temperature. Do, though, watch out for any periods of persistent snow lying on pots; it may be benifical to keep pots in a cold frame. All plants will need to be housed in a sunny location whilst potted.

Potting plug plants initially into 9cm pots helps them establish a larger, more developed root system. If you feel your plants may benefit from being a bit bigger to withstand your soil conditions, then potting on for 3 weeks will allow them to develop further. be careful, though, not to keep your plants to warm as they may stretch. Cooler plants will be happier, healthier and more robust. If you wish to over-winter your plants in pots ensure they stay damp but not wet over winter. 


The plants won't require any additional feed other than the fresh compost they are potted into. Over winter, plants need to develop their root system rather than producing lots of top growth. Perennial varieties are likely to lose thier top growth altogether this is a natural part of their growing cycle and is nothing to worry about.

I hope you find this information of help when deciding how to maintain your plants over autumn and winter

Suzie