This year marks two decades since I began my journey in business. I started out as a fairly traditional event florist, arranging wedding flowers, offering retail flowers, and hosting workshops. Over time, my focus has shifted; now, my priority is harnessing the power of flowers and nature not just for beautiful celebrations like weddings, but for healing and well-being as well.

In hindsight, this feels like the path I was always meant to follow, although it’s not easy to know your direction when you’re just starting out with a flower business. My academic background didn’t provide a network of growers and gardeners for inspiration and support—at least, it didn’t feel that way, especially since I started before the advent of social media. Building connections was much trickier then.

Coming from academia, I was always comfortable teaching, so workshops became a staple of my business from the outset. It quickly became clear that working with flowers had a calming effect on people, prompting relaxed, meaningful conversations. This was the side of workshops I loved, and my experience mentoring students helped me appreciate the therapeutic benefits these sessions could offer.

The true turning point came when I trained in Reiki. Initially, I was sceptical—my background in nutritional biochemistry made me dismissive of alternative therapies. However, grappling with severe anxiety, I followed a friend’s advice and visited Yvette Karan, an intuitive practitioner who uses Reiki. Despite my resistance, desperation led me there, and it genuinely helped. This experience challenged my preconceptions, so to understand it better, I completed my Reiki 1 qualification, and over the years progressed to become a Reiki Master. This training was pivotal, teaching me how to hold a therapeutic space professionally and support those needing more than just a pleasant chat among flowers. I was drawn to the healing side of the practice and went on to train in mental health first aid and counselling.

The philosophy of Reiki—that everything living is connected by universal energy—made perfect sense to me in relation to my garden and my vision for it. I felt a deep connection to the concept of regenerative gardening, where the garden actively restores and improves its ecosystem. Compelling studies on nature, gardens, and well-being linked directly to my business’s therapeutic aspect. With my husband, a garden designer, I set about creating a space that fosters calmness; where once production was paramount, now aesthetics and form are key, creating a therapeutic environment where people can connect with nature and the ecosystem can flourish. The flowers I grow now serve a different purpose. They’re still grown productively, but with an emphasis on their healing properties. Each flower has its own energetic personality, and I incorporate them into energy healing, both in one-to-one sessions and my one-day floral retreats. This combination is a remarkably powerful tool.

Helping others reconnect with nature has profoundly deepened my own relationship with the natural world and with myself. Twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined my business evolving in this way. I still maintain a healthy dose of scepticism, but I know that what I do has a powerful impact. We know, too, from robust evidence, that spending time in nature offers significant healing benefits for both mental and physical health.

Reflecting on these twenty years, I am grateful for the way my business has grown—shaped by flowers, energy work, and a constant desire to help people find calm and connection in nature. My journey from traditional floristry to healing and therapeutic practice has been transformative, for both myself and those I have worked with.

If you feel drawn to experience the healing power of flowers, energy work, or simply wish to reconnect with nature, I invite you to join me in one of my workshops or retreats, or get in touch to discuss bespoke floral and healing services tailored to your needs.

Floral arrangements for weddings and celebrations
Therapeutic workshops using flowers and hands-on creativity
One-to-one energy healing sessions harnessing Reiki and flower energies
One-day floral retreats designed for relaxation, connection, and well-being
Support for mental health and well-being through nature-based practices

Energy Work and Flowers