I am Liz Doherty and this blog marks the beginning of my journey in developing my new flower business. The first thing I have had to decide on is a name and after a lot of thought I have chosen ‘Meadowsweet’. This is the name of one of the few flowers that are native to England. It has delicate creamy-white flowers and it can be found in English meadows from June to September. It has a lovely sweet smell and has been used for centuries to decorate churches for festivals and weddings. Queen Elizabeth I favoured it above all other flowers to make her rooms look and smell lovely. Meadowsweet conjures up everything that I love most about flowers and the way that they make our lives better – through their colour, their fragrance and their beauty. What I especially like about Meadowsweet is that it belongs in England and that it hasn`t been introduced from any faraway land. I also like the way that the whole flower is good – it can be used to flavour wines and preserves, and it is used in herbal remedies.
I have spent the last couple of years doing courses at Sheffield College and I`ve also been to Jane Packer’s Advanced Floral Design Course in London. My husband Mike and I have been growing flowers to cut in our Sheffield garden over the last three years and we are learning what works well in our urban garden. I am now clear about the way I want to work with flowers. I like them to be natural, abundant and vibrant. I don`t like them over-controlled and forced into unnatural designs. I like to use flowers from as close to home as possible – ideally our own garden, or where that isn`t possible, from British growers. Here are a couple of arrangements using flowers and leaves from our garden this summer.
I am looking forward to sharing lots more over the next few months!
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