Florists, growers and industry specialists gathered at the picturesque Fullers Mill Garden in Suffolk on Tuesday 9th June for a celebration highlighting the vital role floristry plays within horticulture.

The event, titled Celebrating Floristry at Fullers Mill Garden, was held in collaboration with the British Florist Association (BFA) and celebrated creativity, connection and community.

Set against a tranquil woodland setting, among the many highlights were high-level floristry demonstrations, the chance to network with colleagues, and raise funds for the Perennial charity that supports people working in horticulture.

“Perennial is the only charity that looks after everybody working in or retired from horticulture and their families,” explains Kate Cooney, Perennial’s Partnership Manager. For Perennial, fundraising was equally as important as raising awareness of the charity’s work, with attendees echoing a wider need to raise visibility of support services within the industry. “You can contact Perennial for completely free and confidential mental, financial and physical advice,” says Kate. “No matter what the problem, we can offer support at every stage of your career.”

The event came about through collaboration across the floristry sector, with the Bury St Edmund’s Flower Club approaching Perennial with the idea for a floristry-based day, who then combined with the BFA to make it a reality. The result was a programme featuring demonstrations by internationally recognised florists Morgan-Douglas Nuth and Katrina Skybak Doyle, both of whom are no strangers to New Covent Garden Flower Market.

The duo created a series of designs that were auctioned off to raise funds for Perennial. “We used more than 50 different varieties of flowers between Katrina and I,” explains Morgan-Douglas, pictured above, who now works as a freelance florist and business consultant after running multiple shops and a flower school.

It was Morgan-Douglas’s commitment to Perennial’s cause that made him want to take part. “I believe in the charity,” he says, adding that you can’t support everything. “There’s only so much you can do, but when this event came along and the BFA asked me to be involved, there was no way I could say no.”

It’s a similar story for Katrina, pictured below, who owns Chelmsford-based florist Cloudhill Flowers as well as being a director at the BFA. “It's been a pleasure to be here today and celebrate our partnership with Perennial,” says Katrina. “We wanted to tell everyone about the great works that Perennial are doing.”

With British Flowers Week being celebrated from Monday 20^th June, Katrina’s keen to use locally grown flowers whenever she can and says the demand is out there if the general public can get hold of them. “I think the demand is there, it's a matter of being able to navigate to your local grower, to something that works for you,” she explains. “There are now many flower farms forming collectives and I work a bit with the Essex Flower Collective in terms of getting access to local flowers in that way so that they have a platform to sell, as well as lots of independent growers.”

While the morning programme focused on celebration and inspiration, the afternoon addressed more practical topics for the industry, detailing how Perennial can help support businesses and their staff.

“Lots of visitors shared their impressions with me,” says Kate. “One attendee told me it was an amazing day, while also admitting they had previously been unaware of Perennial’s work. That’s why outreach events such as this are so important, combining support, wellbeing and community.”

Perennial is the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping people in horticulture facing every day or life-changing challenges. You can find out more about the charity here.