Highlights 2026
Simon kindly gave his services to this event at no charge.
Simon is an International Floral Designer who has created floral fabulousness for (amongst others), Elton John, the Beckhams and at the wedding reception of his Majesty King Charles III and her Majesty the Queen. With skill, imagination, and always a pinch of humour, Simon’s bold, artful and abundant creations encompass and celebrate the seasons.
Since its inception he has been a proud supporter of Flowers From The Farm, giving them use of Lycett Towers for meetings and for their RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winning exhibit. He has worked with them to create amazing, innovative installations for British Flowers Week at The Royal Opera House.
Born and raised in Warwick, Simon has been fascinated by flowers ever since he was seven years old and still loves the buzz of creating dreams and magical settings with seasonal and sustainable stems. In 2022 Simon was announced as the RHS’s inaugural Ambassador of Floristry & Floral Art.
For the first time we welcomed MGL Media to the event to record all speaker sessions and take some fantastic images across the duration of the weekend.
These recordings are now available to purchase for members of Flowers from the Farm, if you are a member please click the purchase now button to find out more.
Not a member but would like to learn from this years events? you can join Flowers from the Farm here or click the join us button below, once a member you can purchase this years conference recordings and take advantage from other member benefit from our peer to peer educational sessions, members discounts and more.
We started the event with some fantastic and inspiring talks with our Fridays guest speakers to include Milli Proust of AlmaProust, Florence and James of Petalon Flowers and Joshua Sparkes Head gardener of Birch Farm. We finished the day with some valuable regional networking and gala dinner.
Millie Proust – of Alma Proust covers the topic of monoculture vs. biodiversity and how to establish resilience. A fantastic and passionate speaker Millie covers how to find your own niche, remain curious and being deliberate and proud of our individual businesses within a collective of growers. A must watch for growers of all scales who want to cement their unique place in the British flower growing industry.
Petalon – Florence Kennedy (Author of Flowers Every Day) and James Kennedy are the owners of Petalon Flowers founded 12 years ago. They share the story of growth from one lady on her bike towing a trailer of bouquets around East London to a national delivery service and 80-acre flower farm now based on the North Cornish coast. Listen to their inspiring journey and the lessons learnt along the way.
Joshua Sparkes is Head gardener of Birch Farm at The Collective at Woolsery in North Devon (working previously at Sissinghurst). Josh has spent 5 years developing a method of Natural Farming based on Japanese farmers Mansobu Fukuoka and Yoshikazu Kawaguchi.
Josh’s talk focuses on resilience for the future. The importance of biodiversity and providing habitat for all nature with an emphasis on agroforestry along with a greater reliance on perennials over annuals. This fascinating talk also covers minimal input systems and Natural Farming. A must watch for farmers that believe humans are nature and must be part of it, despite operating a commercial enterprise. Both inspiring and practical.
Rounding up the event we welcomed some more aspiring speakers along with panel discussions and a range of breakout sessions. We also welcomed our exhibitors.
Short paragraph of what was discussed by each speaker????
Tamsin Westhorpe is a renowned horticultural journalist and author, RHS Chelsea Flower Show Judge, podcaster and lecturer. After editing The English Garden magazine for seven years Tamsin is now a freelance writer, podcaster as well as being curator and gardener at Stockton Bury Gardens in Herefordshire. Tamsin shares practical insights on how to editorialise your business. An opportunity to learn from the very best, with jargon-busting clarity.
Sarah is a flower farmer and educator behind Bloom & Gray, where she has been growing flowers since 2017 for weddings, local customers, and educational workshops. Rooted in regenerative farming principles, her work centres on improving soil health while producing high-quality cut flowers. After years of hands-on experience running a flower farm, Sarah recently transitioned into teaching and supporting other growers through online content, workshops, and farmer-built tools.
Sarah shares new insights on Flower Farms visited across the UK, covering the diverse growing techniques, challenges, and successes within flower farming, market gardening, and other growing enterprises. An insights-led talk that gives a new perspective on our diverse growing community.
Francesca is a multidisciplinary marketing consultant specialising in AI integration, email marketing, User Experience, Customer Experience and service design. She has spent the last 11 years helping tech, creative and lifestyle brands create smarter, more human marketing. Francesca talk covers the fundamentals of AI, sharing examples in how it is being used in adjacent industries.
Our breakout sessions formed part of Saturday’s schedule.
Each session provided valuable learning experiences to those that attended.
Master the physical side of flower farming, learn how to lift, bend, and move smartly to protect your body and boost your stamina. Aidan highlights how small habits can lead to outsized returns, with his data-led approach. Aidan takes attendees through a theoretical and practical session to ensure that growers look after their most precious tool – their health.
Techniques for creating photos that tell your story and reflect your brand, along with expert tips on lighting, composition, framing and making the most of your camera or smartphone.
An engaging and no-nonsense seminar targeting growers with under an acre from Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers. Brimming with insights and practical advice the session explored how to grow efficiently, reduce waste, and turn small-scale flower farming into a viable business. A must-watch for those with smaller farms who want to improve their commercial skills.
De-mystifying the language, and making better choices. This session will offer a snapshot of the issues and challenges posed by the use of plastics in floriculture and floristry. The aim will be to help people to better manage their use, re-use and disposal of plastics or even to reduce or eliminate plastics altogether.
We know that well-designed and appropriately scaled wholesale hubs can reduce friction for florists and enable growers to collectively reach markets that would otherwise remain inaccessible. The conference hosted a thought-provoking Q&A session from experts at the forefront of Wholesale hubs. The speakers:
Debbie Scott of East Lothian Flower Farm & Flower Grower Collective
Jules Skelding of Pauntley Petals & Flower Hub at Pauntley
Naomi Persey of Wards Farm Flowers
Amy Kedward of Wild at Heart Flowers
David Bek of Coventry University.
Sarah Wilson our Internal Chair and Olivia Wilson Policy Lead, Cissy Bullock Education Lead, Natasha Midgley Treasurer, Jenna Walker RCO Lead, Georgie Newbery External Chair and Heather Ward Compliance Lead discussed the transformation of FftF over the last year and the vision for 2030.
Here we share a few snaps our event.
Huge Thanks go to our Headline Sponsor of the event Niwaki, we were delighted to welcome the founder Jake Hobson to the stage to share his story.
Niwaki’s fine Japanese gardening tools, knives, and other practical accessories are highly valued by gardeners, craftspeople, chefs, artists, homemakers, and anyone who appreciates thoughtfully designed, extremely useful, and – dare we say it – beautiful items.
The company was founded by Jake Hobson, who first travelled to Japan as an art student to experience ‘hanami’, the annual cherry blossom festival. The trip sparked an interest in the philosophy and maintenance of Japanese trees, prompting Jake to learn as much as he could while working at a traditional plant nursery in Osaka.
On his return to England, he realised the tools he’d come to rely on – including tripod ladders and Japanese shears – worked just as well in Western gardens. With the support of his wife Keiko, he began introducing these items to the UK. The venture grew quickly, and Niwaki, which means ‘garden tree,’ was launched in 2007.
The range has since grown to include a unique selection of Japanese products, including Hori Hori gardening trowels, kenzan, carbon steel secateurs, and the highly regarded Niwaki GR Pro Range. Jake continues to visit Japan whenever possible, deepening his knowledge of the culture and craftsmanship behind Niwaki’s tools. You can read about his adventures in the Niwaki Field Report and browse the full Niwaki collection at the Niwaki showroom in London and Semley, Wiltshire or online at www.niwaki.com.
Email: info@niwaki.com
Telephone: 01747 445 059
We had a great line of up exhibitors join us at the event, if your have a product or service you think may be of interest to our members and are interested in exhibiting at our next event, register your interest now at adminsupport@flowersfromthefarm.co.uk
Niwaki - Headline Sponsor
Halliesphere
Alma Proust
The Fertile Fibre Company
SenseRisk
Containerwise
LSF Wholesale
Perennial
Melcourt
Cherry Tree Willow
Flower Grower Collective
Decowraps
Mole Seeds
The Hampshire Seed Company
Bloom & Gray
LRM Horticultural Ltd
The event was held at Eastwood Hall which offers range of leisure facilities available to guests. There are 150 rooms available at the venue with ample parking on-site and the venue is 10 minutes from Junction 26/27 M1 by car, 2 miles to Langley Train station or 9 miles from Nottingham.
