The annual celebration of British Flowers was held from June 10th- Sunday 16th June. Founded by New Covent Garden Market it promotes the British flowers and foliage’s available from the growers and florists. Events went on through out the country with exhibitions at the Garden Museum and Royal Opera House. Here in Malmesbury I celebrated the week too.
I’m passionate about using British flowers in my work so the chance to celebrate it in this week and show others the fabulous flowers we have on offer was brilliant and so well received. Through the growing season where British flowers are available I stock a selection every week. During British flowers week I called upon extra suppliers through out the Cotswolds some from just a few miles down the road and some brought up from Cornwall. Meaning I could offer my customers a mix of the best seasonal British flowers. One comment that was repeated several times was the fact the flowers were so fragrant. The shop was smelling better than ever.
During the the week I held two workshops making hand tied bouquets using all British flowers and foliages teaching the skill of the spiral. Fuelled by tea and cake the ladies had a really enjoyable time. And by using flowers that they may find In their own gardens it certainly showed them what they could do at home with their own flowers. We started with how to prepare the flowers with tips on cutting and conditioning and then they picked out the flowers to create their bouquets I demonstr the spiral technique and finally I showed how to wrap them for a gift. All leaving with unique bouquets.
The workshops were a great success and I will be hosting more. I will also come to you if you wish to gather up a group of friends or colleagues just contact me for further details.
British flowers are available from the shop throughout the main growin season April-September. Supporting local growers with no airmiles on the flowers and often grown organically and packaged in buckets rather than plastic they’re are great way of looking after the environment. The week was a great success and really raised the profile for the flowers and growers.