
Photographed by Naomi Campbell Photography
Tell us about your British Flowers Week window design…
“For British Flowers Week, I transformed the window of my flower shop on the street corner in Aberystwyth inside and out. Inside, I filled two zinc buckets and a statement zinc bathtub with scented white, pink and purple stocks, Solomon’s seal, box foliage, lupins and a stunning branch of contorted hazel cut from a local garden. Outside, I created a natural, towering arc of beech, lupins, peonies, lilac flowers and foliage, stocks, peonies, sprirea, buxus, cow parsley and limonium that appeared as though it was growing up and out of an old tree stump.
During British Flowers Week, we shall be creating a similar Instagrammable window display with a competition on social media, as well as creating a special British Flowers Week bouquet and selling sell bunches of seasonal British flowers outside.“

Photographed by Naomi Campbell Photography
How did you become a florist?
“I had always been interested in horticulture and had gardened from a young age with my own little patch in the family garden. I took all my RHS qualifications before a bad accident forced a career re-think as I convalesced. After a few years working in a coffee shop, I took a floristry course with Ian Lloyd in Wilmslow, snapped up an empty shop in town for a silly price in 2014, and have been going ever since!”

Photographed by Naomi Campbell Photography
Why do you work with British flowers?
“Nowadays, there is a lot more in the news about the impact of imported flowers, and I am making a conscious effort to reduce that. I know that I can’t be as British as I would like, but I am evolving the business to be more seasonal.
A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to get back to horticultural roots and start growing my own cut flowers, growing a few beds in my back garden to add to wedding flowers mainly . Before Covid, I had joined forces with another farmer in Haverfordwest, two hours away, but once lockdown came, I couldn’t travel anywhere and he couldn’t do it on his own.
I buy in British flowers from Evolve Flowers mainly with some from Flowers by Clowance and a few local flower farmers if I’m after something specific. I’d estimate that 70% of my wedding flowers are British and in summer we sell pick up and go bunches of British flowers outside.
Customers are definitely and increasingly asking where the flowers come from, and they are asking for no plastic in the packaging. Times are definitely changing.”

Photographed by Naomi Campbell Photography
Why are you a member of Flowers from the Farm?
“I’m a member of Flowers from the Farm for the support that it offers me and my business. It’s a way to keep an eye on trends, find suppliers and customers, and to receive growing support on the shared facebook forum. It’s a nice feeling that we’re in it together and that we can learn from the experience of other people so you don’t make the same mistake.”
Visit their website here: www.no21flowers.co.uk