Living sustainably to reduce the impact on the environment is something many households strive for. But when it comes to buying flowers to brighten up your home or a floral arrangement for a wedding or celebration, being a conscious consumer can be challenging. In the UK, for example, only 14 per cent of all flowers sold are home-grown, yet a standard bunch of mixed blooms picked in the country has a carbon footprint that’s up to 95 per cent smaller than a comparative bunch of imports.
Jess Roberts and Katie Stone from Featherstone Flowers, a sustainable flower farm in Hampshire, southeast England, believe that the global supply chain isn’t sustainable. ‘There’s no reason for a luxury item like flowers to do harm to the planet, simply for our own pleasure,’ says Jess. ‘A staggering amount of flowers sold in the UK are grown abroad. Although almost all come through the Dutch markets, they’re planted over the world in places such as China, Ecuador and Africa, then flown to Holland and redistributed. By contrast, the flowers we grow are cut one day and delivered locally the next. They are super-fresh.’
‘Sustainability is at the core of our business,’ Katie adds. ‘We want British, locally grown flowers to be available to as many people as possible, as we’re convinced they are the best. They have beauty, scent, movement and grace. We also can’t help but notice how urgent it is that everybody makes changes, and this is a way in which we can work in a job that positively benefits people and the planet. We know it’s possible to be a sustainable business, and [we] enjoy proving it. It’s not always easy, though, especially as many people are tempted by convenience and buy flowers while shopping in the supermarket.’
Jess and Katie, who both opted out of other careers to study horticulture, set up their dream business together in the summer of 2021. They bonded after discovering they share the same passion and vision – to grow as many seasonal flowers as they can. ‘We grow over 700 different varieties on just over three acres of land,’ says Jess. ‘This huge range means that if one crop isn’t up to scratch, we’ve probably got another that will do the same job. We never promise a specific flower to our customers. Instead, we agree on a colour scheme and a style. This means we can always pick the best flowers in the field on the day.’
Wildlife haven
Featherstone Flowers is located in the village of Nether Wallop, where Jess and Katie work out of a 15th-century, Grade I-listed barn. Kings Charles I and Charles II both allegedly held court there. ‘It’s incredible,’ says Katie. ‘It was originally a tithe barn, where local tenant farmers would deliver a 10th of their crop as tax. It’s also been agricultural storage and a dairy. When we moved in, there was no floor, lighting, heating or water. It’s great, though, as we’ve taken a piece of surrounding arable land, with virtually no biodiversity, and created a haven for a huge variety of insects. Our farm is really beneficial to the environment. The field hums throughout the summer with hoverflies, bees, moths, butterflies, ladybirds and all manner of invertebrates.’
As a general rule, flowers are grown using what’s known as ‘no-dig’ methods. ‘A big part of no-dig is to employ mulching to improve the soil and help increase the biodiversity in it,’ says Katie. ‘By disturbing the soil as little as possible, we allow the macro fauna (that’s worms and co), micro fauna (bacteria) and mycorrhizal fungi to proliferate. These directly and indirectly improve the health of the plants, delivering greater nutrients directly to the roots. Sometimes, though, the soil gets so compacted that a little bit of digging is required to break it up and introduce air into the soil. This only needs doing occasionally and we often use a broad-forking method. Simply put, we insert a fork as deep as it goes, then tilt it until the soil cracks. We don’t turn the soil.’
The hard work is paying off. ‘It always takes a few years converting to no-dig, but now we see healthy plants and healthy soil,’ says Jess. ‘The healthier the plants, the better the flowers that are produced. It means we can bring a beautiful product into people’s lives, and they’re safe in the knowledge that we’ve produced those flowers in the most sustainable way possible.’
Weddings and funerals
As well as growing flowers, Jess and Katie offer private floristry workshops, and they’re also proud that the company is accredited by the UK’s Sustainable Wedding Alliance – they’ve even won a sustainable wedding award. ‘We can help with bouquets, buttonholes, flower crowns, corsages and decorative vases for the venue, and we’re happy to pick buckets of loose stems for the customer to arrange themselves,’ says Jess. ‘We’re able to offer zero-waste weddings, where all elements are either reused or composted. Nothing goes to landfill.’
Jess explains that funeral flowers are also an important part of the business: ‘We’re passionate about being able to offer a natural alternative to the normal funeral arrangements, and this often attracts those who have a love of gardening, farming or nature. We create our funeral flowers on locally woven willow bases and use moss instead of the damaging floral foam. Moss, chicken wire and kenzans, or flower frogs, are used for all our floristry. We give our flowers a water source if needed and find we have no problems with this. We have a natural aesthetic and embrace the way in which flowers move and grow, so we work with them rather than fighting them. If we want flowers to tumble over the side of an arrangement, then we use natural scramblers and trailing plants.’
Jess and Katie are aware that British-grown flowers tend to be more expensive than imported ones but claim there are benefits of knowing where flowers come from. ‘Everything at Featherstone Flowers is done by hand,’ says Katie. ‘From sowing the seeds, pricking out and planting out, to weeding, harvesting and processing – it’s an incredibly labour-intensive way of growing flowers. However, when you buy locally, you’ll get flowers that smell amazing, will last and are infinitely more beautiful. You’re also supporting your community, giving jobs to local people and helping it become a more beautiful place.’
How to buy sustainable flowers
Choose local and in-season flowers
Not only will you reduce the carbon footprint associated with transporting flowers long distances, often by plane, but a plant grown in its natural season is more likely to produce a stronger, healthier cut stem. Flowers will also have a better scent, more vitality and resilience. In the winter, when choice is limited, opt for dried flowers or green foliage with berries.
Avoid anything with floral foam
Foam is a non-biodegradable material made up of chemicals and microplastics. It’s often discarded inappropriately, ending up in waterways and oceans. Instead, buy a floral arrangement that uses moss, chicken wire or a kenzan, a practice followed by Featherstone Flowers’ Katie.
Request simple packaging
Ask for your flowers to be plastic-free. They don’t need cellophane wrapping to keep them fresh for their journey home. If there is any packaging, check that it’s recyclable and compostable.
To order bespoke bouquets from Featherstone Flowers, see featherstoneflowers.co.uk. Follow Jess and Katie on Facebook and Instagram @featherstoneflowers