Lisa interviews Petalon, otherwise known as Florence and James Kennedy, the Cornwall based B-corp flower farm and delivery company with whom Lisa shared a studio in East London. Here they discuss the impact on their business and their kids from the big move out west.
What is your earliest memory of a garden?
My (Florence's) Dad's veg garden at our family home. I'd go down to pick beans and vegetables for dinner and we'd cut the sweatpeas to have on our kitchen table. He took such time over it in the way you only can when it's a hobby and I still have these vivid memories of the orderly rows, the right angled beds, the tidiness of how everything was strung and supported. It's a far cry from flower farming at our scale!
How has your relationship to nature changed through stages of your life?
It's definitely been a U for both of us. We grew up in different parts of Somerset but greenery, nature and farming were all around us. Then in our 20s we lived in East London and though we always had dogs and made the most of amazing areas like Walthamstow Marshes our access to nature was a bit more rigid. Now we're surrounded by it again and immersed in it through our work and it's almost odd to think about it as something we even have a relationship with, it's so much a part of our work and play.
Growing up on this farm must be having an impact on your kids - what do you hope they'll carry forward?
We weren't sure they'd realise quite how magical childhood this is, being so young when we moved here. But they do seem to get it. They've both had the opportunity to do years of really muddy, sandy forest schools and they love to help with the flowers and the rest of the farm. Our 4 year old son is better with wild plant names than either of us! We are very lucky to be able to have them outdoors so much without needing an eye on them. The beach is just the local playground to them! In terms of carrying it forward, who knows where they'll want to go with it all but we'd like to think that the soil and the surf will just be second nature for them whatever it might be. At the moment Clover (7) wants to go to art school - she's fascinated that there's a school where you can just do art. Ossian (4) wants to be a chef, or as he refers to it - a "Cooker".
How do we make British grown flowers accessible to more florists?
That's a very big question. Probably the most sensible first step would be to have more direct relationships between growers and the florists themselves. In terms of both the cost and longevity of responsibly grown flowers there isn't space for 1/2/3 wholesalers/distributors to come between those two people. By having more arrangements where florists can buy direct and have something cut and posted to them in 24 hours they'll be able to get better value flowers that last in the way they need them to.
What is the goal for Petalon over the next 5 years?
We'll try and continue to grow the business responsibly. 2 years ago we briefly did and all homegrown bouquet for the first time. Last year we did it for a few weeks, this year it's going to be months. We'll keep pushing that forward and creating our own supply for more and more of the year. If that's what the public want then hopefully they'll choose us over some of the bigger businesses and we'll be able to grow and promote it more widely. If it isn't, we'll just keep doing it anyway! We love growing flowers.
On a fashion note.. essential tools for gardening / floristry?
Hairbands (for both of us. And the kids).
Nice secateurs are one of life's true luxuries. We love the Niwaki ones with the small cutting tips
What do you wear to garden in - do you have a uniform?
We can be found in a pair of semi-matching Carhartt dungarees for around 6 months of the year. During the summer Florence will mostly be in dungaree shorts while James will be wearing the legal minimum of clothing with lots of holes in it!
