Where I source my flowers from

A bucket of blooms from local grower Homestead Flowers

As a florist, one thing I often get asked is where do I get my flowers from. And there isn’t a simple answer to that question because it depends! I tend to have four different sources for most of my flowers and foliage:

• My own cutting garden

• Local growers

• Larger scale British growers

• My Dutch wholesaler, who source flowers from all around the world

One of the aims of my business is to be as sustainable as possible, so that does mean I try to source as much as possible from my own cutting garden and from growers within a few miles of my workshop, particularly in the Summer months, but outside of this and when I need large quantities for weddings, I do have to rely on larger growers and my Dutch wholesaler to ensure I have the flowers that I need.

A selection of flowers and foliage from my Dutch wholesaler

My cutting garden

Having my own cutting garden enables me to grow the flowers that I want to use and the flowers that I know will work for my weddings. As a lot of weddings are booked a year in advance, I can plan and grow flowers in the right colour schemes for my couples. And I can choose to grow things that suit my natural, whimsical style of floristry.

It also means that these flowers have the smallest possible carbon footprint as they have been grown within metres of my workshop in a peat-free garden.

A bucket of flowers from my cutting garden

Local growers

I am lucky enough to have several growers within a few miles from me who I can source beautiful flowers from in the Summer months. It is lovely to be able to source flowers from other small businesses locally and support other growers. And again, the flowers have a very low carbon footprint as they have only travelled a few miles to get to me.

A bucket of Spring flowers from local grower Hedgerow and Bloom

Larger British growers

Sometimes I need flowers in large quantities for big weddings so I am able to order from larger British suppliers - these vary from being people like Smith & Munson, who supply beautiful tulips, to wholesalers who supply a range of flowers from different British growers. I am also lucky enough to be quite close to the Real Flower Company who supply the most beautiful garden roses amongst other things.

Foliage from a British wholesaler

My Dutch wholesaler

I couldn’t have a year-round business without my Dutch wholesaler so they are one of my most important suppliers but even when I buy imported flowers that have come through the Dutch auctions, I consider various factors in deciding what to buy:

• Are the flowers in season in their country of origin? This means they will have been grown outside without artificial heat and light being required which adds to their carbon footprint.

• Where have they come from? A lot of my flowers are sourced from European farms which means fewer travel miles than those that have come from halfway across the world.

• Are they fair-trade? Ethical standards are also important to me in my purchasing and I want to know that the people that have grown the flowers are getting a fair price for them and that they have certain welfare standards for their workers.

My wholesaler is very aware of environmental issues and one thing they have done is to install solar panels in an attempt to make their business more environmentally friendly so that they can run more of their business on renewable energy. They are also working hard to phase out plastic wrapping on their flowers. This is a difficult one for me as it is often tricky to tell how the flowers are going to arrive wrapped, but I have been pleased to see more and more arriving wrapped in paper.

A box of flowers from my Dutch wholesaler ready to be unpacked

I hope this has answered some questions for you but if you do have any others please feel free to