Tell me why we don't like (blue) Mondays?

“When I have a bad day, I dream about opening up a gelato stand on the streets of Sydney. Doesn’t everyone have a random escape fantasy?”

— Nancy Lublin

Blue Monday: the day (allegedly) that we are supposed to feel at our lowest in the year. Lack of pay check, grim weather, festive adrenaline died out, diets and resolutions boring, the list goes on. But if this is the worst day then let's get it out of the way and enjoy the rest of the year!

Nancy Lublin says that her dream was the ice cream booth in Australia. Mine was that I always wanted to be that sho sho florist in the south of France. Painted in shabby chic Farrow and Ball colours with vintage pails full of frothy flowers in the never ending sunshine. Chic people buying armfuls of flowers and putting them in their wicker bike baskets as they pedal away. A pipe dream? Or an aspiration?

Okay so there may not be wall to wall sunshine (especially today) or fancy paint effects. The pails are black plastic and not all my customers are necessarily 'chic' but I'm still living the dream. Maybe the parameters just needed to be moved a little. 

There is nothing wrong in dreaming big, many a time in a soulless office I would daydream where I would rather be and how I would tell my boss exactly what I thought of them. It helps you get through the bad days and then other days would be 'wow' days. Everyone has bad days, some more than others, but if we can dream our way through them then all the better. 

Now this pipe dream of mine is not all a bed of roses (excuse the pun). There have been plenty of compromises and sacrifices along the way. January is not a good month for a flower grower or florist. My to do list is all about admin and accounts. Income is minimal. Motivation is scarce. But I know in the coming months the flowers will start to grow, the weddings will continue to build. There will be sunshine. And maybe I could paint the door of my very shabby but not necessary chic workshop a hue of Farrow and Ball. 

So what will you aspire to this 'Blue Monday' ?

oh and some lovely pictures of 'blue' flowers to lift the mood...... 

The Friday Photograph - the Sharing One

“The more we share, the more we have.”

— Leonard Nimroy

Due to strong winds I have been without phone and Internet for most of this week. Very frustrating and the inclement weather is not conducive to making much progress outside either! So in someways it was lucky that I had a little road trip planned for Tuesday anyway. 

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to invite myself along to the impressive Tallulah Rose Flower School in Bath. Right at the top of the salubrious Milsom Street, the flower school is modestly hidden behind an unassuming door. Up some steps and little corridors and you find yourself in the most delightful flower workshop and studio. I instantly went green with envy. Light and airy the space is styled to perfection with props, vases, organised storage areas and every sundry you could ever require. 

The equally modest and instantly likeable Rachel has run the Tallulah Rose flower school since 2009 - following on from a successful career in fashion and floristry. Her courses are amongst the most sought after in the country with florist skills classes, business skills and the much in demand career change course running throughout the year. 

I shared this incredible day with 14 fellow cut flower growers and florists from across the South West. A fabulous bunch of inspiring women (Was it a coincidence it was International Woman's Day? - I think not!) each with a plethora of experiences and knowledge to share. Some had enviable walled gardens, perfect soil conditions, locations and client bases whilst others had the challenge of clay soils, inaccessible fields and relocation. There were old timers with decades of experience and newbies with infantile businesses like me. But what we all had in common we were more than happy to share - passion, belief and commitment to growing British flowers and spreading the love of anything floral. 

I came away enlightened and upbeat. It doesn't matter that technology or weather is fickle. There are few guarantees in this world but the knowledge that others are committed to locally grown flowers means at least the future looks (Tallulah) rose- y. 

www.tallulahroseflowers.com