British Flowers Week 2021

British Flowers Week is a campaign run by New Covent Garden Market to celebrate all the fabulous British blooms, industry talent and businesses that help make it all happen. And to help mark British Flowers Week 2021, the Garden Museum in central London and New Covent Garden Market asked 5 of Britain’s top florists to create floral installations for a special exhibition to highlight British blooms. The theme this year for the exhibition was ‘Healing’ – especially relevant after the difficult year the world has experienced due to the pandemic.

The florists featured at the British Flowers Week exhibition 2021:

• Simon Lycett - one of the UK's best known names in floristry, Warwickshire born and raised Simon creates show stopping designs and his floral designs are adored by the Royals.
• Cyrill Tronchet - he brought a touch of French Floral Couture to shake up the East End of London when Cyrill founded his own florist company back in 2016.
• Tattie Rose - based in beautiful Dorset, Tattie and her team have been transforming spaces from the ordinary in to the extraordinary with stunning flowers since 2009.
• Jam Jar Flowers - telling stories with stems, the Jam Jar Flowers team in South London are known for their seasonal and wild designs inspired by nature with a modern twist.
• Hazel Gardiner - fresh thinking floral artistry, Hazel has a talent to combine fashion, nature, art and style to capture the imagination of people and get them talking about flowers.

I had the pleasure to visit the British Flowers Week exhibition to explore the magical designs that transformed the Garden Museum with locally grown flowers and foliage - filling the space with colourful petals and sweet scents. So on the hottest day of the year so far, I hopped on the train up to London to enjoy the show – and here are some of my favourite highlights to share with you!

To find out more about British Flowers Week, floral events and how to get involved with the campaign head on over to their website or check them out on social media #BritishFlowersWeek .

Simon Lycett

With the theme of Healing this year, it was the strongly evident in Simon Lycett’s beautiful floral installation.

Simon used a mix of home nurtured blooms and stems grown by local flowers from the farm members that promote natural healing such as cornflower, peppermint, sweet pea, nettle, dandelions and chamomile. Rustic pots and a raw steel frame added that edge to the installation, with the stark contrast to the botanical style flowers. For me it felt like I was taking a peek into Simon’s own wild garden paradise, adding a really personal touch to the design.  

Cyrill Tronchet

Next up for the Garden Museum Healing theme was the glorious installation from Cyrill Tronchet .

The inspiration behind his installation was colour therapy and how beautiful British flowers immerse us in their enchanting world to help heal our souls. Cyril carefully sourced feel good flowers and foliage such as roses, geranium, dill, rosemary and snapdragon to create each panel of the floral carousel. I really loved the invitation to interact with his creation, with guests able to gently turn the carousel to create a kaleidoscope of moving colours to make you feel fully immersed in it.

Tattie Rose

The Tattie Rose British Flowers Week installation for the Garden Museum was simply serene.

They picked British flowers that have been used for many centuries for healing and well being purposes; honey suckle, hops, water lilies and fairy bell flowers to name just a few! I loved the use of water in the design, which not only highlighted the gorgeous flowers and added a relaxing vibe to the design, but also for me represented reflection of your inner self. A really thought provoking floral design.

Jam Jar Flowers

For the Garden Museum British Flowers Week 2021 exhibition, the team behind Jam Jar Flowers invited us to transport ourselves back to Midsummers Day with their installation. The Jam Jar Flowers installation featured simply one of the most beautiful British flowers available for summer season – the peony.  

Shut your eyes and listen to the morning bird song, sit among the carpet of peonies and smell their sweet scent, feel the sun rays fill your heart with hope, watch as the blooms unfold and show you their inner beauty. Heal.

Hazel Gardiner

The power of nature for Healing was the underlying inspiration for Hazel Gardiner’s installation for British Flowers Week 2021.

The magnificent tree was chosen to represent strength, surrounded by a mix of dried and seasonal stems such as sea oats, teasle, wheat, hydrangeas, magnolia, cosmos and lavender to play with height and texture. It was a lovely touch to let visitors write their own hopes and wishes for the future to hang from the tree branches - a real feeling of a community healing together.