Sustainability is an important consideration for any business

I aim to be as sustainable as possible in both my personal life and in the way I run my business. First of all I only use sustainable floristy techniques. This means no floral foam!

I use biodegradeable packaging and a cellophane substitute made out of cellulose that breaks down naturally. Although I am happy to travel within the UK for any event or occasion that requires flowers, I try and limit my miles where possible. I operate primarily around the Bristol and West Country area, and across South Wales. I will only travel for events or occasions, not individual bouquets.

I use seasonal flowers to limit their inputs and reduce the impact of transporting them across the world. I will always use local, British grown flowers where I can. However, this is not always possible due to the British flower growing season being quite short, and flowers being in demand all year round.

The other thing I like to do is forage, particularly for foliage. I have the advantage of having access to my family’s wild and organic farm in Wales, where I can sustainably gather branches of catkins and wild flowers in season. Similarly, when I am working with a family for a funeral, I will offer the option of using flowers from their or their loved one’s garden. That way there is a personal attachment and meaning to the flowers, as well as them being very local.

Finally, when working on a commission, I like to consider the idea of living arrangements involving bulbs, succulents and potted plants. This allows the flowers to be kept and reused after the event; planted into the garden as a memorial, or kept in the wreath, and left to come up again. This, to me, is a magical way of keeping the memory of the event alive.