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The abundant wildlife and birdlife around me and i The abundant wildlife and birdlife around me and in my garden are ever present - as is the landscape and views surrounding me, none of which I take for granted and am always looking for ways to share.  I have plans to take on an extra pair of hands this season to keep Lynn company in the garden, and to help with my planned increase in quantities of cut flowers to head out of my field this year, and as well I hope to have a small band of incredible florist freelancers to work with as soon as we can all get back to work. 

I would never have expected to enjoy the act of teaching. It was an idea that more or less terrified me - but now I find some of my memorable working days are those I spent sharing my way of working with my home grown garden flowers. Here are images by @brittwilldyer from two separate one to one classes with Joanna and @flower__n__yunseon . I am planning on 'pivoting' albeit somewhat late :-) and working out ways I can continue this during the year to come. 

Podcasts and audiobooks are another constant companion, who doesn't love a good podcast when you spend too much time working alone! To inspire and keep me connected, in no particular order my regular fixes are – Botanical Brouhaha, Reasons to be Cheerful with Ed Milliband and Geoff Lloyd, Fortunately with Fi and Jane, Keep Running with Rachel Stronger and Armana Rai, Talking Politics, Girl Flower and Music Planet: Road Trip.
#flowerfarmerama Day 7 Who is in my team? My cons #flowerfarmerama Day 7 Who is in my team?  My constant companion is Rio our speedy and forever happy sprocker spaniel, farmer James working far and wide along the fields, and an essential cog in my business. But the most missed are the hugely talented freelancers florists and gardeners I have worked with over the last few years.  Craving green and flowers, I have a summer bowl to remind us of good things to come.
#flowerfarmerama Day 6 Who do you love to work wit #flowerfarmerama Day 6 Who do you love to work with? A day late, I’m so sorry - but with a spanner thrown into New Year of home schooling it’s taking some tweaking to get everything up and running again this year.  Anyway, who do I love to work with. As ever @thebusinessofsellingflowers a thoughtful question, though one I know I should often ask myself.  I love to work with the environment. The heart of my business has to be sustainable and always aware of the footprint it makes on the environment. As essential as my footprint are my clients - brides, florists and flowers for gifts just to make people happy. I’m forever grateful to grow flowers and work with the most beautiful seasonal flowers I can grow in my field for this range of clients. And I can’t imagine growing my flowers with out the super human effort of Farmer James, gardener Lynn and some incredible freelancers like @damsonandvine and @wild.magnolia 💪🌸 Equally essential to me are the friends I have made through flowers and the photographers I have met. This beautiful photo taken by brilliant @brittwilldyer #flowerpower
#flowerfarmerama Day 5 What did you learn in 2020? #flowerfarmerama Day 5 What did you learn in 2020? In 2020 more than ever, being part of a micro farming floristry business I felt how easy it is to literally be at the mercy of the environment in which you live and work.  Though Day 5 prompt inspired oodles of what did I learn ideas, they’re probably more useful as part of my back of house planning for the year ahead. Instead I would say I learned that I deeply missed sharing my flowers with people in possibly my most favourite way - having small floristry and flower farming classes here on our farm and in my studio. Here is a beautiful photo that makes me want to get growing and making, by @beccygoddard during a summer styling class here in my studio.
Day 4 #flowerfarmerama What was your greatest com Day 4 #flowerfarmerama  What was your greatest compliment of 2020!? Simply that my business is still very much here and getting ready for the new growing and working year ahead. With the way of the world, we take nothing for granted and I couldn’t be more grateful to all my clients who supported me last year, the greatest compliment to me - as I am here to grow as many beautiful flowers as possible - to bring you more beauty and joy during the year to come. No flowers today, instead a field that borders my flower field that  I walked through this morning  #flowerpower
Day 3 #flowerfarmerama How did I get here? Well Day 3 #flowerfarmerama  How did I get here?

Well if 'HOWs are the actions you take to realise the belief'  I would say an everlasting love for being outside and in the landscape - and probably also being a bit of a dreamer convinced there is exactly what I needed around the next corner -  is the how I ended up living and working as a flower farmer florist. 

I have grown and learned my gardening and floristry through the power of sheer ignorance and mind over matter. I had a deep and strong enough feeling that this is what I really had to do. If I started again I believe I would recommend it to anyone starting out as a true blue novice - to do an intensive career changing course in floristry, a horticulture or gardening course and a how to run a small business course. 

To help me get started in the beginning I did some courses with the incredible flower farmers and designers @gandgorgeousflowers which greatly helped me along the right direction and gave me comfort that it was possible to grow and make flowers and a business too. There are so many brilliant and essential flower growing and gardening books and inspirational working with flowers books that have been by my side for the journey, my first and most worn is Grow Your Own Cut Flowers by Sarah Raven, and much to the joy of my grandmother my first flower arranging book was Flower Decoration by Constance Spry. But really how did I get here - really and truly - mainly from lots of hard yakkaa and believing anything is possible.  Amongst the wonderful people I have met along the way, thank you @wild_meadow for this photo, in the beginning are seeds...
A day in the life of a flower farmer florist, day A day in the life of a flower farmer florist, day 2 #flowerfarmerama  To be perennially positive as a flower farmer florist is essential. For me there isn’t a typical day, rather a rhythm or patterns of days guided by the season and weather.  Growing an acre and a half of flowers and foliage  for cut flower sales and for event work requires a vision of planning for the cycle of selecting varieties and growing flowers, tending flowers, harvesting flowers and then working and creating with them for clients. Harvesting the flowers for cut flower sales, bouquet sales and for weddings and events is the general weekly routine outside. It’s magical really, sowing seeds, nurturing them to bloom then cutting them to bring joy to people. Back to my day. In general Monday’s I am planning the week, ensuring all orders are ready to be completed small or large, tidying the studio, checking on the garden, planning my cutting schedule and also essential work to be done in the garden. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have an incredible gardener - Lynn who keeps the garden in check. While I am in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays is the start of preparations for weddings - cutting flowers before prepping in my studio in general Thursdays and Fridays. Though I cut flowers for orders in general most days of the week during the growing season, and depending on my schedule depends on how many extra freelancers I will be lucky enough to work with. As my work is guided by what I grown I find it natural to spend a lot of time outside, I have to, to be inspired and to know where I will be able to find the special pieces that make all the difference to my work or an order. A highlight of my week will always be when I have some quiet time alone in my studio to make and work with my flowers. But in short - aside from Tuesday - Office day no day is ever the same and so often work for the day really does depend on either the weather or flowers needed for that week 📷 Seeing my late Autumn garden from the beautiful vision of @wild_meadow
How I wish a happy new year to you all.  However How I wish a happy new year to you all.  However our days unfold during January and the months to follow, in my experience to embrace and be bewitched by the captivating beauty of flowers is an alluring tonic. My Christmas holiday finishes tomorrow and I just happened across the brilliant idea of the 2021 #flowerfarmerama from the super trio of inspiring flower farmers  @businessofsellingflowers, which sounds just the thing to refocus again on the flowery year ahead.  Today who am I...An architect who yearned once too often to spend time roaming the landscape in search of hills to explore, where I met my love and pragmatic sustainable traditional farmer. Always searching for exquisite textures, colours and shapes to work with - I love the creative potential of making flowers for brides. It’s also deeply important to me to spread their power and to have them available by the blowsy delicious bunch, or for bespoke styling creations. The act of growing and creating my garden is as important to me as is the creativity they inspire, and so it’s important to have them available by the stem for florists as well as growing sustainability for my brides and clients. When  I started down this road I never imagined the variety of incredible people I have met along my way, another miracle inspired by the magic power of flowers. This photo is by one the most inspiring photographers I have met @georgina_photo and is the result of a collaboration with @katecullenstyle on an elopement engagement in my garden and on our farm #flowerfarmerama #flowerpower
A tangle of marshmallowy chrysanthemum. These mus A tangle of marshmallowy chrysanthemum.  These must be the hardiest yet softest looking flower I grew this year.

Bowtie and Belle Photography

Bowtie and Belle Photography

Taylor and Porter Photography

David Jenkins Photography

David Jenkins Photography

Taylor and Porter Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

Bowtie and Belle Photography

Bowtie and Belle Photography

Taylor and Porter Photography

David Jenkins Photography

David Jenkins Photography

Taylor and Porter Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Jess Withey Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

Taylor & Porter Photography

"Let us permit nature to have her way; she understands her business better than we do." - Michel de Montaigne
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