Today folks I have something rather different to share with you. If you’re a regular to Pocketful of Dreams you will know I have something of an obsession with flowers. But whilst I appreciate their beautiful aesthetics I know very little about flower types, origins and how to grow them myself. So it’s just as well that I have a few rather talented friends who do know a thing or two about blooms.
One such friend is Kat Weatherill who owns a gorgeous little flower boutique in Barrowford, Lancashire, Kat cut her teeth in garden design and really does know her hyacinths from her hydrangeas. She is taking part in the ‘British Bloggers in Support of British Flowers’ campaign and bonus points for us will be sharing her journey right here on Pocketful of Dreams as she attempts to raise awareness and support for British Flowers and their growers.
I am positive this will be an exciting journey and I’m really looking forward to hearing all about it, here’s Kat to tell you a little more…..
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
{Gorgeous British grown Dahlia’s, Delphiniums, Mollucella
in a beautiful bouquet direct from the grower Common Farm Flowers in Somerset.}
“I love flowers, I am a ‘plantaholic’, I garden and I believe strongly in supporting ‘Buy British’ and your local businesses. So imagine my delight when Vanessa Kimbell, broadcaster and British Blogger of Goddess On A Budget tweeted about a campaign she is spear heading ‘British Bloggers in Support of British Flowers’. It sent me running to get my soap box (actually a vintage British bushel crate!) and my lap top.
{British Anemones and Prunus in a simple hand-tied bouquet,
grown and created by Green and Gorgeous in Oxfordshire}
The challenge is to help raise awareness and support for British Flower Growers and British Flowers. There has already been a shift in the way we think regarding fresh food, in the supermarket now we try to buy seasonal, with more local and organic produce available. There are more people growing their own veggies, (even if its only a few tomatoes and a herb box, it’s a start!) and allotments becoming more popular again.
Now its the time to think about the flowers, when you put a bunch in your shopping trolley, do you look at the label? Do you wonder how the florist includes peonies in your bouquet in January? No? Maybe its time to.
{Gorgeous Roses & native flower arrangements at an RHS show
by The Traditional Flower Company grown in Staffordshire.}
Many of the flowers we see in the supermarkets and florists have flown thousands miles from halfway round the world, often the flower farms do not follow the ‘Fair Trade’ policy and the workers are exploited. They are mass producing flowers to meet demand, but lets do our bit to reduce the ‘Flower Miles’, enjoy and celebrate the beautiful seasonality of British Flowers, red roses for valentines? I know personally I’d rather have a bunch of white scented British Hyanciths and Hellebores.
{How Handsome! Beautiful British Hellebores
from Green and Gorgeous Flowers}
One of my favourite sayings when dealing with a problem is “How do you eat an Elephant? – One bite at a time!”
So how do we begin this Flower Revolution? Vanessa Kimbell has taken the first bite for us:
“I am starting a campaign to ask that we foodies apply the same principles to flowers as we do to our food and support local, sustainable, seasonal and British. We’ve had a revolution in the way in which we source and buy our food .. it’s time we applied the same logic to flowers.
Think of the impact we foodies could have if we apply the same standards to flowers. We’d revolutionize the way people think about flowers.There are lots of ways we can create change but to start with ..~ Look out for British flowers in the Supermarket.~ Support our flower growers and buy from florist who stock local British flowers.~ Look out for local growers at the farmers markets and farm shops.~ Ask for British Flowers wherever you go.~ Grow your own.. it doesn’t get more local that!”
{Beautiful, simple and effective jam jars filled with flowers
from Common Farm Flowers}
I will aim to assist you as much as I can over the next few months, with further blog posts about this worthy campaign. I will also create a list of British Flower Growers (and their Blogs) as I discover more (including those that deliver nationally) and hopefully advise you on “growing your own”, it doesn’t have to be scary, or a huge task, a simple pot of daisy like Cosmos to cheer your day, or a few sweet peas to bring scent, pleasure and beauty to your home. But if you have a little room to spare what would bring more joy than your own small cutting garden?
{Sweet peas and cornflowers at the farm of Green and Gorgeous flowers}
Meanwhile to further my support, part of the challenge set by Vanessa Kimbell to kickstart British Bloggers in Support of British Flowers Campaign, is for 30 British food & lifestyle Bloggers to grow our own posy of flowers and share this journey with you, with the grand unveiling of the bouquet by 15th August this year. This has been facilitated by the lovely people at Thompson and Morgan, who are generously donating the seeds to us bloggers. I received mine in the post recently, Cosmos ‘All Sorts, Cosmos Double Click ‘Rose BonBon’, Zinnia ‘Candy Cane’, so its going to be a ‘blooming’ gorgeous summer!
I hope you enjoy this flowery journey with me. Have a beautiful day.
Kat x
