OUR PHILOSOPHY

English floristry began with the beautiful, abundant gardens of our great country estates, from which the freshest, most fragrant flowers were picked to decorate the stately home throughout the year. The fashion for cut flowers today is as strong as it has even been. We all know the pleasure that freshly cut flowers can bring; a jug of summer blooms can fill a room with a heady relaxing scent.

Sadly today some of our most traditional and fragrant varieties are in danger of disappearing. British growers are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the mass-cultivated, imported stems we see filling our supermarket shelves and flower shop windows. Today only a tenth of the flowers we buy in the UK are grown on home soil, compared to nearly half only fifty years ago. Our aim at Essential England is to redress this balance.

Our quintessentially English blooms are picked from British flower farms and delivered within 48 hours. Buying direct from a number of specialist UK growers, we carry no stock, therefore reducing wastage. We work with the seasons and are therefore able to offer great value for money.

At Essential England we believe that all our flowers and plants should be sustainably harvested. Our local sourcing has a positive effect on the rural economy, and our simple delivery system helps to reduce our carbon footprint. The environmental benefits of buying British are far reaching, from the minimalisation of carbon emissions through our zero air miles policy, to providing much needed pollen diversity for our dwindling bee colonies. Read our ethical trading policy to find our more.

FAIR TRADE FOR BRITISH GROWERS

At Essential England we believe in sustainability so we offer our farmers a fair fixed price for their blooms. Currently the Dutch auction system means that the flower markets in the UK are often flooded with certain varieties of imported flowers and subsequently British flower prices tumble.

In a conversation with one of our growers recently he disclosed that last year he grew one million stems of gladioli for one of the leading supermarkets. In order to be competitive with foreign imports he was forced to under price the flowers, so that after all the costs were calculated he was left with only £7,000 profit from one million stems.

We aim to instill a new confidence in British Flowers; we have seen firsthand that the remaining British Growers still have an immense passion for their work; we want to provide them with a strong sustainable platform from which they can grow their businesses.