Cut flower grower and award-winning florist Jo Thompson of Wye Valley flowers, is now entering her fifth growing season and reflecting on a bumper year following a phone call asking her to supply flowers for the Coronation ofHM King Charles III. Wye Valley flowers was one of the members of Flowers from the Farm, whose beautiful, seasonal, sustainably-grown flowers from across the UK decorated the Quire and the Grave of the Unknown Warrior of Westminster Abbey for the Coronation Ceremony.
As 20 million people tuned in live to watch the state occasion, Jo was one of those proudly flower-spotting and knowing that the flowers she’d grown on on her plot between the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley were now part of history. Jo tells us, ‘Wye Valley Flowers is part of a farm diversification plan I drew up 5 years ago on a 13-acre working farm, including glamping. Based between the gorgeous Wye Valley and Forest of Dean, the flower farm covers less than an acre -Including 45 raised beds, perennial borders, hedgerows and a polytunnel to extend the growing season. On the flower farm you will find florals not common in traditional florist shops, such as delicate tissue like ranunculus, wispy cornflowers and cerinthe. Most of my work is for weddings and events, but our new on-site shop supplies bouquets and dried flowers to the locality, visitors and hospitality venues. We also sell wholesale to florists looking for something unusual and DIY brides, as well as through our floral workshops. I studied florestry in her early 20s and have always had flowers in my life - either as a gardener or running floral workshops over the last 12 years. I discovered most bouquets travel over 4000 miles and I was interested to see if there was a more environmental alternative to buying supermarket or wholesale flowers, so I retrained in sustainable floral mechanics and began growing. More information on the 40 events, workshops and volunteer days on the fair Farm is available on this link:
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