Seasonal British blooms
A bouquet of flowers should bring a smile to your face, not conjure up worries about single-use plastic, chemicals and air-miles. Louisa at Bohemian Blooms is a local flower grower whose business celebrates British blooms and holds nature close to its heart.
Louisa du Rose
Louisa loves colour and grows her own country garden seasonal flowers from seed to flower just outside Bath. Picked and arranged on a daily basis, Bohemian Blooms is on hand for all occasions. Follow on Instagram @BohemianBloomsUK
Image © Bohemian Blooms UK
How did Bohemian Blooms start?
While on maternity leave I was desperate to turn my patch of grass into a beautifully colourful and scented cottage garden. My maternity pay was shockingly awful so the only way I could accomplish this was by sowing seeds. I sowed a ridiculous amount. They all germinated and flowered so I started to make posies and arrangements for my house. All the excess flowers were sold outside my garden gate to fund my new seed addiction.
It was from here that I met my first bride to be. We started chatting and she asked me if I would do her wedding flowers. She liked the fresh, scented, pretty flowers that were not available on the high street. These cottage garden flowers lent themselves so beautifully to a natural free flowing design that I immediately said yes and I have never looked back.
What's your favorite thing about being a florist?
Being a florist and flower grower is a fantastic job. I love it even when I'm foraging in the pouring rain. It’s always different and there is always a new challenge: one week I will be running floral workshops, the next I will be cutting and preparing flowers for a wedding. I could be sowing seeds, taking cuttings or fixing a drain pipe to my polytunnel. I could be listening to you telling me all about a loved one that has departed and how special they were, and how could we transfer that persons individualism and personality in sympathy flowers. I might be packing up my car to come and make flower crowns and flower jewellery at your hen party.
No two days are ever the same!
I know you grow your own flowers – what grows best this time of year and do you import flowers?
Louisa with one of her beautiful creations
The British flower season predominantly runs from April–October but with the knowledge of growing seasonally it is possible to have flowers throughout the year.
January and February will bring Hellebores, Paperwhites, Narcissi, Tulips, Anemone, Alstromeria, Snowdrops, Catkins, Viburnum, Skimmia, Iris, Amaryllis and incredible amounts of foliage which are often scented.
I don't tend to import flowers. British blooms have a better scent, are fresher and last longer than imported ones.
As a grower, if I haven't got what I need on my plot I will predominantly buy from other local growers, the majority of whom don't use pesticides or chemicals.
I also encourage wildlife and biodiversity. I have a compost heap full of slow worms, grass snakes and I regularly see newts, toads, mice, voles, owls, bats and there's even evidence of fox and deer. A hive of bees help to pollinate the flowers and there is a family of squirrels living in the shed roof. It's a chemical free oasis for the local wildlife.
I can also use dried flowers all year round. Dried flowers, grasses and seed heads are fantastic and on trend. I preserve the seasonal excess of my flower crops and garden flowers so that they can be used to add colour and texture to installations, wreaths and bouquets.
Can I create a beautiful valentine’s bouquet without Roses? What other flowers can I use?
Absolutely yes.
Why would you want to be predictable? Where's the thought, care, love and imagination in a bunch of Roses that have travelled here by plane and usually come from Ecuador?
Why not pick Tulips, Anemones, Ranunculus, Hyacinths, glossy and variegated foliage all in beautiful reds, purples and pinks. All of this gorgeousness can be gift wrapped by your florist or local grower in paper and tied with twine. It’s all 100% compostable with absolutely no airmiles or pesticides and you will be supporting a small business.
What are the biggest challenges you face as a seasonal florist?
The weather, and educating the public.
All my water is harvested from the polytunnel roof and stored in thousand-litre units. The butts are generally overflowing in the winter months but by the end of May I'm getting twitchy as the water levels are low and I'm hoping for rain. I should probably invest in some more storage units but they are not cheap, especially for a small business.
“I can use dried flowers all year round. Dried flowers, grasses and seed heads are fantastic and on trend. I preserve the seasonal excess of my flower crops and garden flowers so that they can be used to add colour and texture.”
I also grow on heavy clay so the ground is either incredibly dry and solid or ridiculously soggy. I have been enriching the soil over the years and it is definitely improving.
The wind has also been problematic. Staking thousands of plants in order to support long stems takes a lot of time. In the early years a very large patch of gorgeous Snapdragons were neatly decapitated by an unsecured length of weed suppressant membrane. I sobbed, a lot!
I now grow a native hedgerow around the perimeter of the field to act as a natural windbreak. It even provides me with year round foliage and berries.
What other eco-tips have you got for people when buying flowers this year?
There are two main areas I would urge you to look into:
Buy local
You can find a network of flower growers throughout the country who will sell you buckets of flowers, arrange bouquets, run workshops and generally share our love of seasonal flowers with you.
Floral foam
Floral foam is a toxic single use plastic but there are sustainable alternatives. The RHS have just banned the use of floral foam at all their events from 2021. Please ask your florist for foam free wedding, event or sympathy flowers. If they won't help you, find someone that will. There are plenty of us that would love to.
