I hope you had a lovely weekend. Following on from Friday’s blog post which featured Ellie Jauncey of The Flower Appreciation Society, I’m delighted to share today an interview with Ellie’s mum, Caroline Ede.
Could you tell us what prompted you to become a florist?
When my mother died, I decorated the tiny church with masses of flowers that I’d gathered from friends’ gardens and the wild.
At this point, it suddenly became so obvious to me that this was something I could do to make a living.
I love flowers and I have always grown and painted them…and it comes naturally to me to arrange them.
My grandmother was a proper old-fashioned florist and my mother was a great gardener and loved flower arranging.
Today, my daughter Ellie is one half of The Flower Appreciation Society in London, working in a wonderfully creative way with flowers.
When did you start your business and where are you based?
I started The Flowers from my present home Rough Acre, near Hereford in 2005.
How would you describe your style?
My style is English Country Garden.
What kind of floristry services do you offer?
I arrange flowers for weddings, funerals and events of all kinds, throughout England.
I enjoy a close working relationship with my clients and go out of my way to source exactly the right flowers for them.
I make their flower experience very personal to them and to their wedding.
Buying from several local growers, I really appreciate walking round their gardens with them choosing flowers and greenery and doing gardening chat with them!
What is your favourite flower?
I love lots and lots of flowers, including wild ones such as bluebells, wind flowers, buttercups, cowslips, Queen Anne’s lace, honeysuckle, foxgloves and many more.
My very favourite cultivated flowers have to be the ones that smell beautiful…honeysuckle, old-fashioned roses, sweet peas, sweet rocket and peonies are just a few that are wonderful.
What are your plans for 2012?
Plans for this year are to enjoy The Flowers more than ever and to grow different annuals that I can use for weddings. Ammi majus, white snapdragons, larkspur, love in a mist, cornflowers and sweet peas are but a few.
My one wish is for the brides I work for to be very happy with their flowers.
Many thanks to Caroline for all her help in putting together today’s blog post. If you’d like to keep up-to-date with her news, she has a blog.
(Images: Caroline Ede/The Flowers, Sian-Trenberth, Alex Ramsey, Cameron Swan)
