When we got a call asking us to help out a Lincolnshire Florist with a design for British Flowers Week, (19-25th June 2017) we were only too delighted to say ‘yes’ and we sent them a large bag of RWBFC British grown sunflower seeds for Abigail MacNiven’s creation.
Do you know that currently only 12% of all flowers bought in the UK are actually grown in the UK? British Flowers Week is a national campaign that showcases the best of British flowers and foliage; and with the beauty, variety and wonderful smell that British flowers can have, why wouldn't we all only buy British flowers?
Five florists within the UK were chosen by a team of top judges (two of which are the Queen’s florists of choice!) to represent this special week within the floral calendar. Petal & Stalk were the only non-London based Florist shop.
"A village florist and flower school set in the heart of the Lincolnshire countryside, with a delicate neutral style incorporating herbs and unusual foliage", Petal and Stalk have made a name for themselves by combining exceptional seasonal flowers with their unique P&S style to service weddings, events, dinners and stunning bouquets delivered throughout the Lincoln area.
Abigail MacNiven, owner of P&S says:
“I was so pleased to have been chosen to be a part of this campaign. My design incorporated a beehive and a variety of Lincolnshire grown flowers from my local supplier Maria Clark, who grows in a natural way, without greenhouses or tunnels. It has been a busy year for Petal & Stalk. In January, I opened Petal & Stalk Flower School in the Bell Tower within Wellingore Hall, a beautiful old building in the next village. We offer monthly flower classes and host a variety of bridal showers, corporate activity events and birthday parties. We’re also busy cultivating our own cutting gardens, which is very exciting."
Abigail says: “I wanted to create a hidden magical space which was full of detail and wildflowers, not too perfectly placed and as natural as possible… almost as if it had been self-seeded. I have a lot of brides asking for a woodland style wedding - trees and lots of natural foliage brought into the venue - I am so lucky that we have access to the trees - we have also dug them with the rootball intact too!”
We provided the sunflower seeds which Abigail used to represent bees. She says “I thought about having a magical enchanted woodland scene and set within the scene was a beehive (a hive of activity with British bees swarming around and swishing through the trees etc..) - I wanted to decorate around the hive with flowers and woodland style planting and then on top of the hive have a collection of flowers which looked like they had almost self-seeded on top of the hive.
When I researched images of swarms of bees - you can’t really see any detail at all they just all mass together and I thought using seeds would be ideal but I wanted them to be British grown sunflower seeds. We sprayed some dull gold and some bright gold to give a bit of shimmer and texture to the swarm. When I was drawing up the shape I suddenly thought why not make it into the shape of the British Isles!! So I drew an outline on paper, lay the chicken wire on top and cut around the silhouette of the UK. Onto the chicken wire, I laid a thin voile material and sprayed it gold. The seeds were stuck on and then stuck to the hive too individually and the swarm effect had to be held up with the thin chicken wire!”
Well done Abigail - we love what you have created with our sunflower seeds!
Abigail also bagged up the unused sunflower seeds which we sent her into little bags and gave them out to the visitors for their garden birds!
Rona Weeldon, Founder of Flowerona writes:
In Abigail’s magical woodland, set within a hexagonal honeycomb outline, a vintage wooden beehive takes centre stage. It’s embellished with a ‘swarm’ of bees, represented by sunflower seeds, in the shape of the British Isles. Sprouting from the top of the beehive are ferns, chive flowers, flowering nettles, poppy seed heads, flowering parsley and Saxifraga.
We agree - we think it is lovely!
Started by New Covent Garden Market in 2013, British Flowers Week is a week-long celebration of the wealth and variety of the best of British cut flowers and foliage. It aims to showcase great British flowers through great British floristry, raise awareness of which British flowers are in season and encourage the public to buy more British flowers
British flowers and foliage are enjoying a long-awaited resurgence in popularity. Buyers are increasingly demanding more locally grown produce to celebrate the seasons and support British growers. Often scented, British flowers have a natural charm, beauty and ‘just-picked’ freshness that make them the florist’s favourite.
The Fantasic Four judges who chose the five florists to represent are:
- Simon Lycett, head judge and celebrity florist
- Shane Connolly, florist by appointment to both HRH The Prince of Wales and HM The Queen
- Alice Vincent, Daily Telegraph journalist ‘treading the line between plants and pop culture’
- Amy Gray, Horticultural Adviser, National Farmers’ Union
About Petal and Stalk (Lincolnshire)
Petal and Stalk are a village florist and flower school set in the heart of the Lincolnshire countryside, with a delicate neutral style incorporating herbs and unusual foliage. Abigail opened her shop in 2015 after she launched a successful Christmas pop-up shop, they’ve gone from strength to strength, managing to decorate 30 weddings in their first two years alone. With a devotion to locally sourced foliage and flowers, often from their customers’ land, this is a florist wowing their local community. Part of the team of top florists selected to create the still-life floral installation in Trafalgar Square earlier this year, Petal and Stalk has made a name for themselves using exceptional seasonal flowers for weddings, events, dinners and unique bouquets delivered throughout Lincoln.
Would you like to grow wildflowers in your own garden? We offer a range of wildflower seed that will help you attract bees and butterflies into your garden!
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