Flowers from every corner of the British Isles

Revelling in the creative window challenge for British Flowers Week were floral artist, Firenza Flowers in Yorkshire and grower-florists Drumcroone Cut Flower Farm in County Londonderry, Farhill Flowers in Monmouthshire and Tomnah’a Flowers in Perthshire.

In celebration of last year’s British Flowers Week Windows campaign, four members from all four corners of the Flowers from the Farm network were commissioned by New Covent Garden Flower Market to indulge in a spot of wildly creative window decoration. And they did not disappoint! Seasonal, scented, romantic blooms of roses, delphiniums, campanula, peonies, sweet peas and have appeared to spill out of upstairs windows and down walls, frame windows, float in mid air and burst out of farmhouse windows.

Tomnah’a Flowers, Scotland

In the idyllic location of Comrie Croft in Scotland, Kristie Gilbert and Judith McGowan have developed a thriving cut flower farm on 1.25 acres, part of a 5 acre market garden growing vegetables and soft fruits. Whilst the onsite tea house, restaurant and wedding venue closed to the public at the start of lockdown in 2020, sales of local bouquets, stems for florists and funeral flowers soared. Tomnah’a flowers are delivered to homes across Scotland as part of a grocery box delivery scheme.

Farhill Flowers, Wales

Wherever military life has taken her and her family around the world, Justine Scouller has created a flower-filled garden, only to be heartbroken when the time came to leave for the next posting. When the family finally moved into their forever home, a farmhouse in the Monmouthshire hills, Justine’s first priority was the garden. It was after studying Horticulture at Sparsholt College that Justine embarked on a career as a flower farmer. She has demonstrated and designed exhibits at RHS flower shows, created arrangements for countless weddings and events and in 2019, Justine took on the role of Co-Chair of Flowers from the Farm. The 2020 lockdown has been challenging for Justine’s event flowers business, tucked away down the rural lanes and away from passing traffic, and yet she has noticed a marked increase in people seeking her out for local bouquet orders, funeral flowers and buckets of flowers for arranging.

Firenza, England

A member of Flowers from the Farm since its inception in 2011, Fiona Pickles is a celebrated floral artist, teacher and a passionate advocate of sustainable, foam-free florals. Known internationally for her wild, seasonal, sculptural designs inspired by her love of nature, Fiona cultivates a stunning array of flowers and foliages in her cutting garden exclusively for use in her floral installations and design workshops. Foraging in the hedgerows around her Yorkshire home and turning to local growers amongst the Flowers from the Farm network to supplement her stock, Fiona is able to guarantee that her flowers will always convey a sense of the seasons, nature and authenticity. Firenza used lockdown to work on her cutting garden and on design projects for later in the year.

Drumcroone Cut Flower Garden, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s first ever member of Flowers from the Farm, Sharon Millen is a flower farming pioneer. A florist by training and a plant-lover by nature, Sharon embarked on her cut flower adventure just three years ago to offer a little something extra to her brides and event hosts. Fuelled by the enthusiasm of the flower farmers she met at Flowers from the Farm’s annual conference, she returned to Coleraine as a flower farming evangelist, converting customers to the beauty of locally-grown, seasonal and scented cut flowers. Under lockdown, Sharon was amazed by the upsurge in demand. She launched farmgate bouquets, and found herself selling as fast as she could grow.