Counting down to Christmas - with an advent candle ring

“An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility into reality; our desires being often but precursors of the things which we are capable of performing”

— Samuel Smiles

When I was a kid you didn’t get chocolate in advent calendars. You just opened the little cardboard doors and had a little picture. That was it. If it was a particularly good advent calendar, we closed the doors and saved it for the following year! 

These days it’s a whole different ball game. Those well known Christmas characters of Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol have their own sugar loaded cheap chocolate offering. You can also get cheese calendars, gin calendars, beauty products calendars and even a dog biscuit one!

But what are these calendars all about? Of course they are a countdown to Christmas. A reason to get excited early (as if my kids need any excuse - and over sugared treats are not the ideal pre breakfast snack!) 

Traditionally they mark the weeks of advent. “Advent” means “coming” in Latin, so Christians mark the four Sundays and weeks before Christmas to prepare for the coming of Jesus. 

Since the 17th century they have used the advent candle ring to mark the passing of these weeks. They would create a circle of evergreen foliage with four candles - each week lighting a candle to celebrate that week. 

And the candles would stand for:

Hope Joy Peace Love. 

Hope, joy, peace and love. Are they not the four words that we repeat like a mantra day after day in this ever so troubled year? Our mindful affirmation as we head towards Christmas. None of us really know what Christmas will look like this year but whatever happens what we really want is hope, joy, peace and love. 

Samuel Smiles, an author, whose quote started this blog off, believed that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws - and that was nearly 200 years ago. But how apt are those very sentiments in these modern times?

So treat yourself to an all fresh, all natural advent candle ring from Church Park Flowers so you can be ready for the first Sunday of advent on the 29 November and light that candle for hope. 

Hope that this Christmas will be filled with joy, peace and love - after all surely this year we deserve it more than ever. 

All natural Christmas Advent Candle ring

A year in the life of a florist in North Devon: 2019

“I always say the minute I stop making mistakes is the minute I stop learning and I definitely learned a lot”

— Miley Cyrus

As I’m sure we all do, January is a time to sit down and reflect on how things went last year. I do this on a personal scale but also more of a business audit as I also have accounts to put together for the HMRC

As it is a relatively quiet time it is also good to try and get ahead in planning for the year ahead and look at what went well and what could have gone better!

So, I thought – lets be honest and tell you how it really was to be a florist in 2019!

Behind the scenes

The year always starts quiet – so I have such good intentions of planning, tidying etc. For the last three years I have promised myself that I will redo my website. I have built my own website using Squarespace. Self-taught, it’s not too bad but I do recognise that it needs updating from a visual perspective (New images etc) and a new layout to mirror the growing trend of predominantly mobile usage. I also feel it looks a bit dated (do you agree?) and could really benefit from a freshen up. In theory this shouldn’t be a difficult job. Most of the copy is there. The structure is there. I have stacks of new photos. But I’m scared. The current website may not be perfect – but it works. What if I re jig things and it doesn’t work! A success of a business can really be affected by its’ Google ranking. When you Google ‘Wedding flowers in North Devon’ – I need to be at the top. Not three pages down. I needs to be brave and go for it as the longer I leave it the more dated it becomes…..

Growing British Flowers (or not)

January is also the key month for taking stock (Both physically and virtually) of seeds and what to plant. By this stage I normally have lists of what seeds I have and what ones I need to get. What are the ones to stay in the patch, what to forget about and what to try new for this year. First honest confession; growing did not go well in 2019. I planned my planting and flower list for the year. I was realistic and really cut down on what I saw as ‘essential’ varieties and flowers to grow. I ordered the seeds, sorted out the greenhouse and bought a second propagator. It started well. Germination rates were higher than previous years and I was excited about the prospects ahead. But then it all went a bit wrong. Although germination was good, seedlings refused to grow. Nothing moved. I’m no horticultural expert, I have more of a sow and hope approach, but this was disappointing. After some embarrassed chats with more green fingered people than me – it seems like my failure may have been down to using cheap compost. Now, compost is expensive and I can use a lot so I do shop around online, around the garden centres, supermarkets etc to see where the best cost per litre is. And yes, I went for the cheapest. Seems like this was a big mistake as cheap does not equal good and said compost probably didn’t contain the right nutrients to get my seedlings underway and growing into strapping good plants. I failed my little offspring. I am ashamed. This had consequences:

Overall the number and quality of flowers I grew last year was significantly down. This meant I had to buy in lots more stock – British of course – which obviously impacted costs and overheads. That expense can make a crucial impact on any profit for the year. 

Still unsure what direction I want to take with growing this year. Maybe even fewer varieties and just concentrate on a handful of easy growers to get my confidence back up. It’s a lot of patience, time and work to get those blooms a blooming.

Weddings, weddings and more weddings

My main income stream is wedding flowers. And 2019 was the most amazing year for weddings. The final count was 51 weddings in the year. When you think that weddings are predominantly on Saturdays between May and September then you get an idea of workload. Of course not all of these weddings were big fancy affairs, I do a lot of small scale weddings where the request is just for a bridal bouquet and a buttonhole. But it still saw me doing at least 6 weddings every month in the key wedding season. Two a day is my max – and only if they are both of manageable size and located near each other. Ideally, I would only want one wedding on any given day. I did slip up last year and found myself booked for three weddings on one Saturday. Completely my fault and it shouldn’t have happened. All were completely different styles, not too far apart but included archways, flower crowns and copious bridesmaids and buttonholes. Because I was so worried about it I did actually plan and prep much more than I would normally in a working week. It was a lot of work and a lot of hours but I was really proud that it actually all come together and all went to schedule. Yes, I was tired and slightly stressed, and I’m never doing that again. But I did it. (an added complication was that I also had a courtesy car from the garage as my vehicle had spectacularly died the week before – more on that later)

If you don’t work in the floristry or wedding industry, then you may not realise how much work goes on behind the scenes in the actual planning and admin. It’s not all playing with pretty flowers you know!

Enquiries come in all year, sometimes several a week. All these need an initial response and then quotes, conversations, phone calls, face to face consultations – this all sometimes before I even have the booking! Email threads with upcoming brides can get a bit out of hand – I need to learn how to ‘manage’ this better as my record is a thread of 84 emails over one wedding! Add to this Facebook messages, whatsapp messages and texts and it can become a full time communications exercise. This was probably one of biggest areas of ‘failings’ last year. I struggled to keep on top of my admin and as current Brides obviously took priority, I was guilty of ‘forgetting’ future potential brides and as such I believe I lost some bookings for this year. Major learning in the consequences of being not as organised as I should be. There is no repeat business when it comes to weddings (!) so however amazing one year has been, you still have to keep working on the next.

But with a rare proud ‘me’ statement: I achieved over 50 weddings, single handed. Every one unique and special – and honestly enjoyed every one of them. I was proud of what I created. There were some stand out moments. A staircase at Halsannery, an arch at Sandycove, hanging hoops at a marquee, eleven bridesmaid bouquets, several jaw dropping bridal bouquets - and not a single issue. Flowers are obviously a natural product with no real guarantees of colour, quality and size. I rely on wholesalers for some of the stock and interpreting brides’ visions for their wedding is not always straightforward, so of course there is plenty of scope for ‘error’. But it was a perfect year for my perfect brides and for that I say a big ‘Thank You’ to all of them.

Mechanical failure

Of course it was not without a few stressful moments. Deliveries not complete, or wrong colours can cause a bit of panic but I must admit what let me down most in 2019 was my car! A trusty Volkswagon that actually was pretty Tardis like in its capacity but it had a rough year. On one wedding day I had delivered the bridal flowers to a bride at her cottage then was driving to deliver the buttonholes to the groom and drop off bouquets at the venue. Unfortunately, I then punctured a wheel in a spot with no mobile coverage and little ability of changing a wheel myself! I was utmostly grateful to a passerby who stopped and assisted and got me on my way before the ceremony started! But two weeks later it was all over – the car died on the North Devon Link road and was towed away. The garage tried hard to resuscitate it and I had a courtesy car for four weeks: a Fiat Panda!!!  The most un Tardis car there is. Try doing three weddings in one day with a car the size of a wheelie suitcase and that tests your nerve!

But the upside is that I now have a good practical van. Loads of room and fabulously signwritten. Look out for me in and around North Devon delivering flowers to all!

…and up pops Christmas

As per usual the year ended with Christmas! I have had a pop up Christmas Shop in Butchers Row, Barnstaple for the last 4 years but this year there was ‘no room at the Inn’. I frantically looked at other options and blindly followed others suggestion in trying Mill Street, Bideford instead. I was dubious. I know Butchers Row worked, Barnstaple is surely busier than Bideford, would people find me? But I needn’t have worried; Mill Street was amazing. I was so lucky to secure such a ‘pretty’ shop in such a good spot. Footfall was frantic and even though I was open two weeks less than last year I did just as well! So another big ‘Thank You’ if you were a Pop Up customer.

Wreath workshops? Well who knew they would prove to be so so popular. I ran seven workshops this year at five different locations. Some were sold out by October (Thank you Johns) All in all I taught 63 people how to make their own natural Christmas wreath. And feedback was tops – I even put out a questionnaire to see how it went and yet again another big ‘Thank You’ if you attended and said such nice words. 

‘The climb’

All in all 2019 was the busiest yet. Not all went according to plan, so much could have gone a lot better and I have had to learn from my mistakes in a costly manner. But I am proud of 2019 and buoyant for 2020. It may not turn out to be as busy as last year, but I know I enjoy what I do and what I can achieve.

The unlikely Miley Cyrus may have kick started this blog and she will also kick start my 2020 with some apt words of what lies ahead for me:

Watch this space….

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I
I gotta be strong
Just keep pushing on, 'cause

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Have yourself a 'natural' little Christmas!

“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”

— Annie Leonard, Proponent of Sustainability

 Unfortunately we are still living in an age of mass consumerism, where landfill and single use plastic are top of our conscientious minds. Over the festive period it is estimated that we in the UK generate 30% more waste than usual. Tons of wrapping paper and glittery Christmas cards will end up in landfill, around one in ten Christmas gifts are unwanted and will end up discarded. And even those thoughtful gifts that are treasured – how many are packaged in unnecessary amounts of plastic packaging?

Not good eh?

So, the theme of this years Church Park Flowers Pop Up Christmas Shop is natural, green and recyclable.

All Christmas wreaths are being made with British sourced sustainable moss and foliage – most of it local. The wreaths will be completely compostable with no plastic used in any of the adornment.

Table, centrepiece and tree decorations are all natural and recyclable and new for this year will be recyclable Christmas wrapping paper.

Apparently last year we used enough Christmas wrapping paper to get us to the moon! (220,000 miles worth) with over 85% of it unrecyclable by local councils. The Church Park Flowers Pop Up Christmas Shop will be stocking a variety of recyclable gift wrapping and presentation ideas to make your gifts this year stand out in style whilst being kind to the environment.

To follow through on this green and recyclable theme I’ve decided to republish last years Christmas Pop Up Shop blog post. I thought it was a good one – so why waste it!!?

“In the circle of life, its the wheel of fortune, its the leap of faith, its the band of hope, Till we find our place. on the path unwinding in the circle, the circle of life”

— Sir Elton John

Sir Elton John knows how to write a good song. There was a poll aired recently on TV rating his best songs. I must admit I didn’t watch it or know which one won but if you ask me I would go for “Don’t let the sun go down on me”. The live duet with George Michael on Live Aid in 1985 brings me out in goosebumps every time. 

But I digress. I chose these lyrics as my opening quote as they sum up two subjects that are monopolising my life at the moment. 

It’s a leap of faith, it’s a band of hope

So once again I’m taking the plunge into high street retailing. The Church Park Flowers pop up shop is back. Now in its fifth year - I know! - I am venturing to pastures new. This year I can be foundinI a new home in Bideford! Unfortunately there were no free units in Butchers Row, Barnstaple this year - my home for the last four years - which is such a shame as I had great affection for that little row of shops, my fellow shopkeepers and my customers. But I never know what is going to be available. So with a lot of leg work, cold calling and a little help from some friends, I have managed to find a little shop in the heart of Bideford. Number 4, Mill Street. I guess being my fifth year means it’s not such a leap of faith as it has been. But that little voice of doubt always sits on my shoulder whispering; will people find me, will people buy my wreaths and decorations for their homes, is it the right decision. 

Put my positive hat on and it’s a different story. Mill Street Bideford looks a great place to be. Full of independent businesses and lots of new customers to lure into my festive grotto. Some new this year, others been there for yonks. I’m sure it will be a very friendly place to be. I love being somewhere I can meet the public. Working mostly from home in a workshop in the garden can be pretty lonely at at times - so an opportunity where people can pop in just for a chat - and hopefully spend some money - is very welcome in the winter months. 

And of course it’s Christmas. I love Christmas. My little pop up shop is a tiny slice of a natural rustic Christmas. Twinkling lights and (unlit) candles. Pretty sparkly ribbons galore. And the scent - well where do I start: pine, eucalyptus, cimamon, orange slices. It’s potpourri on a massive scale!

Circle of Life

The best seller of this pop up enterprise? The natural Christmas wreath. It's circular shape represents eternity, for it has no beginning and no end. From a christian religious perspective, it represents an unending circle of life. The evergreen, most frequently used in making wreathes, symbolizes growth and everlasting life. Holly, ivy, spruce are all good winter growing evergreens. Add some eucalyptus and rosemary for scent and you have a pure “green” wreath. Fresh for the festive season, all British grown, but of course fully biodegradable afterwards. See, the circle of life manifests itself again!

A selection of wreaths in different sizes and styles will be available to buy at the Pop Up shop. Or order something bespoke.

Want to make your own? Then the shop is the place to come to buy all your materials: copper rings, moss, foliage, reel wire, cones, dried citrus fruits, ribbons and plenty more beside. All the sundries and natural supplies you need to make your home truly Christmassy. Advice and tips always given freely!

So it may be a small temporary space but again in the words of Sir Elton John:

“There's more to be seen than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done”

Church Park Flowers Christmas Pop Up Shop

4 Mill Street, Bideford EX39 2JT

Circle of Life

“In the circle of life, its the wheel of fortune, its the leap of faith, its the band of hope, Till we find our place. on the path unwinding in the circle, the circle of life”

— Sir Elton John

Sir Elton John knows how to write a good song. There was a poll aired recently on TV rating his best songs. I must admit I didn’t watch it or know which one won but if you ask me I would go for “Don’t let the sun go down on me”. The live duet with George Michael on Live Aid in 1985 brings me out in goosebumps every time. 

But I digress. I chose these lyrics as my opening quote as they sum up two subjects that are monopolising my life at the moment. 

It’s a leap of faith, it’s a band of hope

So once again I’m taking the plunge into high street retailing. The Church Park Flowers pop up shop is back. Now in its third year, an empty unit in Butcher Row, Barnstaple becomes my home for four weeks. I never know what is going to be available, I only get 2 weeks notice of an agreement between myself and the council to have a temporary licence to sell natural Christmas goods to the masses of North Devon. I guess being my third year means it’s not such a leap of faith as it has been. But that little voice of doubt always sits on my shoulder whispering; will people find me, will people buy my wreaths and decorations for their homes, is it the right decision. 

Put my positive hat on and it’s a different story. Butchers Row is a great place to be. Full of independent businesses. Some new this year, others been there for yonks. It’s a very friendly place to be. I love being somewhere I can meet the public. Working mostly from home in a workshop in the garden can be pretty lonely at at times - so an opportunity where people can pop in just for a chat - and hopefully spend some money - is very welcome in the winter months. 

And of course it’s Christmas. I love Christmas. My little pop up shop is a tiny slice of a natural rustic Christmas. Twinkling lights and (unlit) candles. Pretty sparkly ribbons galore. And the scent - well where do I start: pine, eucalyptus, cimamon, orange slices. It’s potpourri on a massive scale!

Circle of Life

The best seller of this pop up enterprise? The natural Christmas wreath. It's circular shape represents eternity, for it has no beginning and no end. From a christian religious perspective, it represents an unending circle of life. The evergreen, most frequently used in making wreathes, symbolizes growth and everlasting life. Holly, ivy, spruce are all good winter growing evergreens. Add some eucalyptus and rosemary for scent and you have a pure “green” wreath. Fresh for the festive season, all British grown, but of course fully biodegradable afterwards. See, the circle of life manifests itself again!

A selection of wreaths in different sizes and styles will be available to buy at the Butcher Row shop. Or order something bespoke.

Want to make your own? Then the shop is the place to come to buy all your materials: copper rings, moss, foliage, reel wire, cones, dried citrus fruits, ribbons and plenty more beside. All the sundries and natural supplies you need to make your home truly Christmassy  

So it may be a small temporary space but again in the words of Sir Elton John:

“There's more to be seen than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done”

Come say “hi”, came have a nose and have yourself a natural little Christmas. 

Church Park Flowers will be at 16 Butchers Row, Barnstaple EX31 1BW from 27 November until 23 December. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10ame til 4pm

Making a Christmas Wreath

“Ho, Ho, Ho!”

— Santa Claus

This the season to be jolly, and as the flower beds become dormant for the winter it is time to bring the outdoors in (or at least as far as the front door ) with the making of a Christmas wreath.

Pine, holly, ivy, eucalyptus, poppy heads, daucus heads, berries, rose hips - all can be gathered in and wired together to make a natural, seasonal door adornment.

Start with your wreath ring. Buy a metal one or fashion your own from straw or willow. Cover in moss - and there you have your starting base. Make small bundles of your foliage of choice and wire them onto the wreath ring, slightly overlapping each bundle as you go. Continue all the way round until the base ring is covered. 

Leave as is or add cones, dried orange slices, seed heads by wiring them in. Add a fabulous bow and your door will be perfectly dressed for the festive season.

Need a helping hand or some more inspiration? Then come along to Church Park Flowers pop up Christmas shop and discover our world of wreaths. Ready made noble fir wreaths, fully dressed or all the sundries and natural supplies you need to make your own. Your can also stay for a drop in workshop to learn the tips and tricks for making your own wreath or door swag.

Have yourself a natural Christmas at Church Park Flowers pop up Christmas shop, Butchers Row, Barnstaple. EX31 1BW.