Sussex Grove Flowers

11/11/2024

04/10/2024

Big installation built for a 50th birthday party in Chichester... hope they have fun taking photos in the flower bower!

19/08/2024

What a joy to make this beautiful tribute for a lady who loved gardens and very special to include some from her garden, her daughter's garden and her next door neighbour's garden as well as others from 2 local growers.

24/06/2024

Summer subscription bouquet. The dahlias are finally here... not mine sadly as the slugs have minced them... but they and the sweet.peas are.locally grown... other bits and pieces from the cutting garden... just looking at these flowers makes me happy and the scent is heavenly too!

08/06/2024

On National Florists' Day ... a new one to me ... I'd like to share and celebrate the ladies I've been lucky enough to work with over the past week, very intensely, and a year more loosely, in the planning stage for the at Chichester Cathedral. Sam Ward was the team lead for the 3 installations in the South Transept (sitting in our chair of contemplation and reflection) she did a brilliant job of interpreting ideas in the brief from overall festival designer Hannah Howells (second pic in the flowery jacket) and also did a lovely calm job in directing the rest of us... Hannah , Lottie , Rebeca and Kim . We've never worked as a team before... some of us have met freelancing at weddings and Hannah H brought us together for this project. Ladies, you have all been a joy to work with!

The last 2 photos are very important to me... Mummy, I wouldn't be a florist if it weren't for you... mentor, teacher, guide, support and encourager on this floral journey of mine. I miss you so much and also feel your presence around me all the time, especially when I'm in the garden and when I'm arranging flowers. What a gift you were as a mother! I am grateful.

04/06/2024

Very excited to have created this installation to help commemorate the 80th anniversary of DDay at 2024. So grateful to all the many people who have helped me with the project.

There are so many tremendous displays in the cathedral. The 3 chapels dedicated to the armed forces all have a D Day theme. The rest of the festival is based on the story of Creation as told in the book of Genesis in the bible. I was also very lucky to work on another series of installations in the South Transept with a very talented team of florists... more on that another day.

Hannah Howells Tawny Flower Studio is the festival designer this year. I'm in awe of her creative talent, energy, good humour and positivity. I'm so grateful that she asked me to take part.

If you have the chance to go and see the festival it is a wonderful spectacle...

04/06/2024

2024 opens tomorrow. I was very honoured to take part this year and make an installation in Saint George's Chapel to commemorate the army and it's part in D-Day in 1945.

I'm indebted to for supplying willow for my frames and teaching me how to make origami peace cranes, to for loaning some very special items of her uniform used in active service which are incorporated into the bottom section of my work... representing the Normandy landings (with camouflage colours, seaweed, driftwood and shells) also for helping transcribe moving letters from the front which I found online and being a practical and intrepid help to install the piece at Chichester Cathedral, to for help with panel making, installation and keeping me going all last week with all manner of support when I was getting exhausted, to Zoe Neal who kindly put together information about Selsey's role in Day.

If you want to learn how to make dried flower panel I highly recommend who has a fabulous, practical and easy to follow online course.

Final huge thanks to Hannah Howells the amazing festival designer. She has worked so hard! She is kind, good humoured and professional. So creative and so encouraging to others. Thank you for trusting me to take this on Hannah! It turned out to have a lot of personal resonance as I discovered more of Selsey's role in D-Day ... I was glad to have the link to my town and to play my own very small part in helping to commemorate the 80th anniversary.

22/05/2024

Farewell flowers for a young lady.

It is always an honour to be asked to make a tribute for someone. A final act of love. Often when I'm making such flower arrangements, I find myself immersed in thoughts about the person who has passed away; their story, the impact of their loss on friends and family. I was very glad to know that the family were happy with these flowers. They were sourced locally and included lots of special things from the garden such as the forget me nots, aquilegia, chives, roses and foliage. While I was putting the flowers into their mossy base I heard buzzing and found I had a visiting bumblebee foraging in the flowers.

For me, it is very important to be working as sustainably as I can. I no longer use floral foam when arranging. It is a single use plastic that breaks down quickly into many microscopic pieces that can easily get into our water. Research has shown tiny water organisms with flecks of this green plastic in their gut. Many people are unaware of this pollution. Moss used in a base can be reused multiple times and eventually composted. Something to consider when ordering flowers ...

21/05/2024

Lovely subscription bouquet full of locally grown flowers... some even by me!

What makes your heart sing? I know mine does when I'm busy flowering... also happens when I'm playing my banjo... and swimming at sunrise when the sun pops up and turns the waves a colour not dissimilar to the tangerine dream geums in the bouquet!

07/04/2024

Burst of spring! It smells divine and looks so pretty... almost sad to go and deliver it. What's your favourite flower perfume? This is.pretty heady with the stocks and geranium leaves!

22/11/2023

Birthday bouquet all locally grown. A present and raffle prize from last Christmas' raffle for Saint Wilfrids Hospice. I hope the lady enjoys her flowers!

11/11/2023

Grateful to have had a commission again this year to make the peace wreath for Chichester Quakers. It's caption reads: In remembrance of the military and civilians of all nations who have been victims of war. May we all work hard for peace.

What an important message that is!

31/05/2023

A gorgeous collection of flowers used for a lovely wedding at Square Tower, Old Portsmouth on Monday. It's been a while since I've been this 'knee deep' in flowers!

01/03/2023

Finding it hard to find my mojo and post as often as I should. So enjoying tulips at the moment. Their colours and the squeaky sound they make as I work with them. Hope you enjoy this little pink moment... not sure many will see it as I expect my non posting habits will cause me to be invisible to many! Hey ho!

The lillies and spray carnations in here are just over two weeks old and tulips newly added to the arrangement.

30/09/2022

I've been quiet on here of late ... needed to take a breather. The cooler weather and abundant rain of the past few weeks has made the dahlia patch very happy indeed. I'm never totally sure about Sylvia - the bright orange pompom dahlia ... she's a bit marmite .... are you a lover or a hater? Somehow coming into Autumn I find her less brash and more like a bright jewel reminder of summer ... thoughts of the sun rising over the sea when I swim on the East of the peninsula and setting on evening swims on the West.

30/09/2022

Capturing these Autumn days in dahlias. They have been unhappy this year with the hot weather and my meanness with watering but now, for as long as the frosts hold off, they are loving life and blooming away beautifully. Hope this jewel like gift posy will be well received!

03/08/2022

August in the garden. A little posy to say thank you to a very kind friend! Full of all sorts.of lovely flowers.and scents that the garden has to offer at the moment. Would make a lovely bridesmaid's posy!

21/07/2022