A little bit of Enchanted floral magic!

When we made the decision to re-launch The Pilgrims Rest as a wedding venue we wanted to work with young businesses as well as enthusiastic older ones.  We were delighted to discover that Cara who had opened a flower shop from her shepherd’s hut at Great Park Farm in Catsfield had decided to branch out into wedding floristry. 
 
Cara’s enthusiasm for all things floral is infectious which, alongside her talent for floristy is why we recommend her so highly.  We interviewed her last week to find out how her business started but, more importantly how her love of flowers all began…
 
“My love of flowers and becoming a florist all began as a little girl helping my Granny tend to her beautiful English country garden. If I worked really hard, I was allowed to collect some eggs from the hens & pick myself a beautiful bouquet full of scented flowers (even back then, I’d make a bee-line for her David Austin Roses!).
 
Each year we would open the garden to the public & serve cream teas on the lawn where I filled little jugs with flowers from the garden & place them on the tables as pretty center pieces. This was my first taste of seeing the effects flowers have on people, the visitors always seemed happy in the garden & I’m sure the birds & bee’s were smiling too!
 
My love of the outdoors stayed with me into my adulthood, where I was lucky enough to be selected to return a rundown estate garden back to it’s former glory for the public to enjoy.
 
I worked from very old plans left by former gardeners & managed to get the Rose garden looking beautiful once more. Working around the Roses alluring scent proved too tempting for me; once more I found myself rewarding my efforts by picking the most gorgeous seasonal blooms & making myself a bouquet to go along with my end of week pay packet! 
 
It was then I decided I needed to do something about my flowery fetish & enrolled at flower school where I finally became a florist!
 
My favourite flowers in a bouquet are of course, roses.  The beautiful natural garden varieties such as 'Sweet Juliet’ & 'Gertrude Jekyll' are among my favourites.  I also have a soft spot for Spring flowers.  To me, they bring hope & promise of brighter days ahead.
 
Ranunculus are my absolute favourite flower in all their beautiful silky textured shades.  I also love Anemones, again for their cheery variety of colours and Narcissi varieties such as “Paper Whites & Winston Churchill” for their sweet scent. Ohhh!  did I mention Peonies?..!”
 
Look out for our future “Pilgrims Loves” articles where will shall be letting you know Cara’s top tips for wedding flowers and her views on flower trends for 2017.  

For enquiries please see Cara's website www.theenchantedflower.co.uk