Hello.
Hello, I’m Emma—a lifelong lover of gardens and flowers, and someone who’s always found joy in nurturing plants and creating beautiful spaces. My journey began with childhood days spent in my grandma’s garden, and has grown into a passion that continues to shape my life. Let me share how those early memories and experiences have led me to where I am today.
My Story.
My passion for gardening began early, with some of my warmest memories rooted in my grandma’s garden. Though her patch wasn’t large, she tended it with devotion and made every part count. Pear and plum trees always offered plenty of fruit, and I remember helping pick pears with her, wrapping them in newspaper before placing them in boxes. Digging through straw to find and harvest homegrown strawberries was an annual delight. My grandma gave me a plot along the edge where I tried growing carrots and onions—without much luck—but those attempts are still vivid in my mind, along with the distinctive smells of her garden. The gentle fragrance from a miniature white rose bush that she let me cut for vases, and the pungent odor of decomposing grass in her immaculate compost heap, linger with me even now. She cherished her time among the plants, and we often enjoyed tea, sandwiches, and jam doughnuts outside together.
Even when I had only small gardens, I loved packing them with shrubs, trees, and flowers. Six years ago, our family finally moved into our dream home, and I got the spacious garden I’d always wanted. Eager to learn more about flower arranging, I enrolled in some evening classes at the local college, where we used supermarket flowers and floral foam to create various designs under the guidance of a very knowledgeable tutor. While I learned a lot and enjoyed working with flowers, I found the arrangements too stiff and traditional for my taste. I started seeking new inspiration, but the pandemic interrupted my search.
During that period, however, a local sustainable florist and flower farm opened up. This provided the perfect opportunity to expand my skills through several courses focused on bouquet-making and installations. Although I hoped to take their intensive career change course, my job as a PE teacher prevented it—until last year, when voluntary redundancy became an option after 27 years in teaching. At age 50, I decided to seize the moment: I left teaching, signed up for the course, and bought myself a polytunnel.