A fifth generation florist based in Buckinghamshire, Lorna’s great great grandmother sold flowers in markets. When she’s not making up sensational, seasonal arrangements, she can often be seen delivering flowers in their vintage van called Wendy! They also have their own Secret Garden nursery.
My great great grandmother was called Geranium and she sold flowers around Covent Garden in London from 1899. And my grandmother was called Begonia! All I can remember is that she smelt of carnations – she was always making buttonholes. The smell takes me right back.
I fell into doing floristry because that’s what we did. I can’t imagine having a change of career, I love my job. If I won the lottery, I’d still do my job, even if I won £10 million! My dad passed away three years ago and he wrote a manual for my daughter who’s waiting in the wings to take over the business. We have a page of it blown up and framed on our work room wall, he’s always with us. My daughter is called Alice Rose and she loves flowers as much as I do.
We grow a lot of our own flowers in our own nursery. Sweet peas, dahlia and cosmos, the things that don’t travel very well. It’s very popular with our customers who like the idea of locally grown.
Joining the GFG gives us a quality mark that customers can recognise.
