Our story so far – Having grown up surrounded by flowers with both parents and all grandparents having a love for gardening, in 2014, the urge to work with flowers became so great that I made a massive life change and started work in a local floristry. With a background in fine art and all things creative, I replaced paints for flowers embracing their delicate structures, colours and textures as my medium with each design being little pieces of art.
Having trained using British flowers, this became my passion. I loved using seasonal foraged materials, herbs and seed heads, bringing the wild natural look and feel into my work. In July 2022, a chap I knew from the local pub introduced me to a Victorian walled garden in Letton, Herefordshire. The idea was that I might take on a small section of it and, at last, pursue a long-held dream of growing my own flowers.
I wanted to use flowers I had started off as tiny seeds, so I had the whole story from start to finish for each piece of my work. As soon as I walked into the garden aptly named “Gardener’s Cottage”, I could see the potential and feel the magic held within its 8ft red brick walls. With a sunken Victorian greenhouse, cold frames, orchard, poly tunnel frame, box hedging and fruit pen spread over an acre and a half, it was clear this garden needed to be loved and brought back to life having been neglected for many years. The grass and brambles in the orchard were almost as tall as me, the fruit pen was overrun with brambles and out of control raspberry canes, all the lawned areas were threadbare and full of weeds, but I knew with a lot of hard work and passion for the project I could do this. I accepted the mission and started work.
My first job was to strim, mow and cover the area in front of the greenhouse – plot 1, which would be ready for rotavating and planting in the following Spring. In the meantime, the poly tunnel was rotovated into which I planted perennials from my garden to get established. My vision for the garden was to grow cottage garden style flowers similar to those grown by my parents and grandparents. Simple and beautiful, loved by bees, butterflies, insects and me!!. I noticed there was not one butterfly in the garden on my initial visit.
The garden was originally looked after by the estate gardener who grew veg and fruit for the Letton Court estate. The soil was rich, dark and full of worm’s perfect conditions for my flowers to grow. It was obvious this garden had been loved in the past and well looked after.
With the bit between my teeth the second area was strimmed and covered which we later named The Moon Arch bed.
During the following January the trees in the orchard were pruned, I was amazed at how many fruit trees of different varieties there were. All manner of apples, plums, damsons, pears and figs. The pear trees in the top section of the garden were espaliered against the wall; this garden must have been spectacular in its hay day.
Spring 2023 was the start of seed planting, I started with lupins, delphiniums, fever few, moon daisies, calendula, honesty, Mexican sunflowers, Californian poppies, fox gloves, verbena, stocks, sweet William, holly hocks, achillea, zinnia’s, cornflowers, cosmos, ammi-majus, love in the mist, penstemons, scabious and statice to name a few. It was the most rewarding feeling watching these tiny little seedlings grow and after the last frost planting them out into the garden. Emergency fencing had to go up around the three beds once they had been rotovated and planted to stop the rabbits feasting on my babies!! The Wild Florist Garden was born.
In June 2023 I had my first wedding order, and I started to supply Oakchurch farm shop with fresh flowers three times a week, this was incredibly exciting! At this point I gave up my job to concentrate on my business full time.
Since this time the garden has grown literally from strength to strength, each year I have brought in new varieties of flowers, shrubs and cleared more areas, we have rescued chickens who live in the massive semi cleared fruit pen and more recently having bees, and fish in a 6ft deep water butt we uncovered.
We have a puppy Walter and three cats Betty, Fergus and Arthur, who have been excellent regarding pest control. We have hedgehog boxes and bug hotels, and now during the summer months, the garden is swarming with bees and butterflies. It is very important I work with nature on this project, so we all get to benefit from it.
In 2025 I grew over 4000 helichrysum ( straw flower) plants which I mainly use for drying. These flowers are harvested, bunched and hung to dry in my kitchen and greenhouse, they see me through the winter months until my fresh flowers have woken up after Winter.
As each year passes, my love and passion for the garden grows, the once overgrown orchard is now looking loved and a fabulous space for events and workshops. More areas initially untouched are being pruned and cutback revealing spaces which had not been seen for years. Of course, working with nature does have its difficulties, if it’s not slugs eating everything, it’s too wet, then too dry, too cold or too hot!!!! It keeps me on my toes, constantly problem solving.
Each day fresh flowers are picked and taken over to my workshop where they are conditioned then made up into that days orders.
When I first started the project I knew it would be hard work, I think some people thought I’d be skipping around the garden in a gingham dress holding a trug of flowers, the reality is quite the opposite. I can spend days on the petrol strimmer, mower and hedge cutter, talk about blood sweat and tears!!!!. The weeds especially nettles are the bain of my life, but would I take on this project again knowing what I know now ????? Absolutely yes…. In a heartbeat. This project is not just a garden and a business but a way of life which I love. xx
Oh, ps, you know the chap in the pub who let me use the garden…… well, a year after the project started, we fell in love and I’ve moved in, what a story, it was all meant to be ! 😊