Sustainability
Where do my flowers come from?
I grow as much as I can at my cutting garden in Nottinghamshire, so I know my flowers are without chemicals, grown without heat and have zero air miles. This is a fundamental part to my business.
I also source flowers from fellow growers locally (in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire) or from large scale British growers across the UK. I am a member of Flowers From the Farm and they provide a fantastic network of support for growers and florists who chose to work with British grown blooms.
Reuse, reduce and recycle.
I take care to avoid using single use plastics in my work. All containers in my event work gets reused and customers are encouraged to recycle all containers back to me, which most of them do happily. All of my gift packaging can be recycled...even the tape is made of paper! The wedding industry has an incredibly high volume of waste affecting our planet. I will always work out ways in which floral designs can be shared or gifted. When this isn't an option I will take every stem home and compost them to create next years flowers.
No floral foam.
Traditional floral foam is still used in large quantities in our industry. It is a single use product, made from plastic, which predominantly goes into landfills. People have believed this product to be biodegradable, but we now know it breaks down into smaller pieces of micro-plastics and houses toxins that are dangerous to humans and our planet. I do not use floral foam in any of my work. I have found alternative ways to create beautiful designs without impacting on our environment.
Small and local.
Part of my business ethos is about being small and local. Although many florists will travel the globe to provide flowers I try to work as close to home as possible, reducing my carbon footprint as much as I can. Being a member of Flowers from The Farm allows me a network of recommended florists and growers across the country, which I will gladly share with customers further afield. Not shipping my products or travelling outside the East Midlands is an integral part of my sustainable plan.