Can you introduce yourself and what you do at Wivenhoe Flowers?

I’m Susie, and I’m a flower farmer and florist based on the North Essex/Suffolk border. I’ve been growing flowers for sale for 5 years on an organic flower field, and between March and November I offer garden-inspired gift bouquets, wedding and funeral flowers and local flower subscriptions. I specialise in DIY wedding flowers and also wholesale flowers for florists, providing buckets of seasonal blooms that are scented and characterful. Around 90% of the flowers that we buy in this country are imported, usually grown and transported with a high carbon footprint and treated with pesticides and chemicals to help them last lengthy transportation, and I do this demanding - and muddy - job because I’m so passionate about providing a sustainable alternative that supports biodiversity and is every bit as beautiful.

Reflecting on the summer what have you most enjoyed?

One of the joys of being a flower farmer is that I notice every change in the season, and each year the flowers arrive like old friends - to me and to my customers. The start of this summer was challenging, as we had a period of drought as the plants were trying to establish and grow, so I was even more delighted when my flowers managed to pull through and started to bloom. I think my most anticipated flowers are my sweet peas; I only grow highly scented varieties (because can you imagine the disappointment of being given a bunch of sweet peas with no scent?) and once they start to flower in June the floodgates really open, and for a few weeks in early summer I’m swimming in their glorious ruffly petals which fill every container, and you can smell them from across the field!

Giving flowers is a love language, what else does it mean to you as the grower?

Its a brilliant job, getting to deliver bouquets for birthdays and celebrations which are sent with so much love. But the part off my work that I love the most is creating sympathy and funeral flowers. Flowers can have important role to play in expressing our feelings while we are grieving or comforting those who are, and working with customers to design the funeral flowers which will be a final tribute to a loved one is incredibly rewarding work, even more so when I have nurtured the flowers in those designs from tiny seedlings. I make sustainable funeral arrangements which are fully compostable, and often also shareable so that they can be taken home by family and friends and popped in a jug or vase as a memento.

Of course, every flower that goes into all my arrangements also has a history for me as a grower - the snapdragons that were saved from greenfly by the timely appearance of some ladybirds, the shrub that I thought had been killed by a hard frost, only to discover shoots appearing in the spring, the zinnia that I had to set an alarm to order coveted seeds as soon as the online shop went live…every petal has a story!

Looking into the winter, what is on your to-do list ahead of the spring season?

Early winter is a really busy time for a flower farmer - before the ground freezes or gets waterlogged we’re racing to plant tulips and other spring bulbs, and to plant shrubs and perennials while they are dormant to grow strongly next year. I also get through the massive task of mulching all my beds - soil health is so important. But when it gets really cold, I can stay in the warm planning my growing season, browsing seed shops, making sowing schedules and doing all the admin that gets pushed to the side during the peak flower season.

Why is Falcon enamelware so useful for floristry?

I’m finding that the Falcon jugs are so perfect for arranging flowers - tall enough to provide stability for longer stems, and tapered the exact amount to support flowers and foliage in a pleasing shape. They look beautiful on the kitchen table with a farmer’s market bunch - I can’t wait to put tulips in mine in the Spring! I love that the colours of the enamelware bring out the beauty of the flowers, just a few stems of dahlias or chrysanthemums in the tumblers look really stunning. Of course, I’ll be using every item that I own for sweet peas by next summer!

Also, people very often ask me how to make their flowers last, and the answer is to use a spotlessly clean container. If you would drink out of it, its clean enough for your flowers! I always recommend having two vases or jugs the same so that you can rotate them every few days and pop them into the dishwasher for a proper clean, so enamelware is absolutely perfect for this.

Finally, what are some simple ways to bring beauty into your home over the festive period with what is available now?

While the flowers are asleep for the winter, I think that foliage has loads to offer to decorate our homes. I love to use scented herbs fill jugs, and to make wreaths and simple swags for indoor and outdoor use. My favourites are rosemary and bay, which are the smells of Christmas for me! Winter is also eucalyptus season, and you can source bountiful bunches from British growers which will scent your whole home. If you need some colour with your foliage, dried flowers such as silvery honesty seedheads look so festive. You can also plant up bowls with indoor bulbs such as paperwhite narcissi or hyacinths which will bloom so beautifully while it is grey outside - the window to plant these bulbs for Christmas flowers is around September - November, but you can also buy them in pots and transfer them to your containers.