06 / FLORISTRY
A BLOOMING SECTOR: CAN IRISH GROWERS MAKE THE CUT?
Renowned independent florist, Ruth Monahan shares her joy and frustration about the Irish cut flower sector and sets out a simple strategy for the creation of a more sustainable and vibrant future
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very morning I have the privileged joy as a florist to walk into our studio to see wonderful flowers ready and waiting for their journey into a bouquet, a vase, or a display. The majority of our blooms have arrived on a night ferry and are delivered into our studio before we open our shutters at dawn. This is a magical picture for floral romantics and we are lucky to be able to experience cut flowers moving through the seasons, constantly bringing us surprises at their bounty and beauty. However, the main problem with this picture is the lack of Irish grown sustainable flowers that are commercially available to use. At Appassionata, we strive to use as much Irish grown produce as possible and we love to have all things botanical that are of the season they are meant for. During autumn and winter, we are blessed with twigs, berries, lichen, moss and pine from Clare and the wonderfully fragrant Eucalyptus from Waterford. Then we’re into the daffodil season where hundreds of yellows and whites arrive every few days from Killowen, to be bought with glee by our Drury Street shop regulars. Then comes summer, and we have nearly no option but to buy through Holland. Even the foliage we buy is exported to Holland, and bounces back into Ireland a few days later at a higher price. It is then that we welcome our Kilkenny grown sunflowers that arrive by the boxload in August. Our Dublin city centre location is just perfect for the urban flower deliveries we do, but it doesn’t lend itself to our being able to access wonderfully foraged elements from the nearby countryside without getting arrested. We depend on suppliers to bring us the best of what they can find or grow. We use homegrown hornbeam, viburnums, bilberry, whitebeam, willows and more to create drama, elegance, and statements in vases all over the city and are proud of making sure that their provenance is known. What is wonderful to see is that there is a new crop of Irish flower growers who, through studious minding of their wares, have created beautiful flower gardens with cut flowers to be used for weddings and bouquets for homes. Having been a super fan of Erin Benzakein from Floret Flower Farm and Sarah Ryhanen of Saipua, I admire and relish every image
they post of the seasonal seedling to blooming of flowers both on their farms and in their work. Flowers are intoxicating things and ignite such passion of discussion about their forms, colours, fragrances and movement. How positive it is to see people like Hanako, The Green Cailin, The Irish Flower Farmer, Ruth Fortune and Jonathan Daunt show and tell about their beautiful produce that can now be found and used to create displays for celebration days. However, the problem for florists like ourselves is that not only do we work lots of weddings and dress venues and homes for events and weekly work, but we also create many bouquets to celebrate all parts of the circles of life. Our hand tied bunches are tailor made to suit the emotion or message they are intended for. The Irish consumer expects that these bunches last a week or more and has been educated in this presumption by the more traditional flower industry or relay companies. As a design-led flower business employing over 20 talented people, we have been criticised for not buying more home grown blooms. But those who criticise should hear some of our customers’ complaints when flowers don’t last as long as expected. We would love to include more Irish grown flowers but there are realistic frustrations with the commercial growing industry here. Firstly, there is very little communication from the more traditional growers with florists who really want to use their flowers. As a result, the more established growers only grow the exact same selection year in year out without looking at flower seasons, trends, or bouquet styles, or without actually talking to the end consumer who is the florist. Currently we can buy lillies or Alstroemeria, but flowers have moved on and there is now very little choice on our island. Our other problem is consistency of quality but mostly the problem lies in delivery where supplies of
“There is very little communication from the more traditional growers with florists who really want to use their flower”
Summer 2017 / www.horticulture.ie / HORTICULTURECONNECTED
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