Conference Time

Winter is a quiet time for British flower growers. The weather doesn’t allow much activity outside (bar maintenance and tidying jobs) and there really isn’t much growing (that’s not to say you can’t cut a stunning seasonal bouquet from a winter garden full of perennials, simply that finding it requires seeing beyond the obvious brown-grey-mud-twig look of January!)

So a Monday in February is the obvious time to host an annual get together, and at the beginning of the month I attended my third Flowers from the Farm conference, hosted this time by the South East region in Maidenhead . I was so pleased to learn about this organisation when I set up my business in 2017, and the inspiration and practical advice I’ve received from it is boundless.

The conference is attended by around 200 flower farmers and florists-growers from around the UK, with a jam-packed itinerary of great speakers, workshops, stands and networking opportunities. The line up was great this year, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to and watching Royal flower bedecker Shane Connolly, coach Elizabeth Cairns, and Jake from Niwaki tools not only reminding me that I should take better care of my tools, but giving me practical tips and encouragement to do so!

I met up with loads of friends and colleagues from my flowery world, met some fab new folk and came home exhausted by enthused. i think i’ve found my tribe!