Meet Mel

What attracted you to a career in floristry?

I fell into floristry by chance. A family member had bought a florist and I offered to work a few hours helping him condition flowers etc.  I had been working for my Dad in the family engineering firm, but he was winding the business down for retirement. So, what started off as a few hours a week ended up being full time and becoming shop manager. One day a new florist started and suggested I learn how to make simple bouquets up and the rest as they say is history, 10 years and counting!

What is your ideal flower arrangement?

My favourite flower arrangement or certainly one to make up is the Autumn pumpkins.  Scooping them out and filling with bright autumnal colour and some fabulous textures.

What’s the one top tip for looking after flowers?

Giving the flowers a good cut and fresh clean vase.  Also not keeping them in a warm space helps keep them.

If you hadn’t become a florist, what would you be doing?

The fact that I came into floristry in my late 30s I already had an important job alongside working for my Dad and that was a parent to my 3 kids.  However, when I was younger, I always wanted to be a nursery nurse, but life had different ideas and I became a travel agent.  Floristry is something I wish I had gotten into earlier as I do love my job.