FLORISTS

Hi Poppy! This reminds me of a Gardeners' World programme a few months back, when Sarah Raven highlighted the case for British-grown flowers as opposed to imported ones (cost, supporting local businesses, the environment, etc). I'm lucky to have such a place 3 miles from home, which was featured). Still, I find it impossible to buy british-grown flowers anywhere else. Your idea to grow your own sounds the best and most fitting. Are you also permitted to make a permanent planting or two next to the headstone?

Great idea to cut your own flowers Poppy. To me it has more meaning when you have grown and clipped your own. As fo planting around headstones, I got around that by planting Crocus bulbs around the edges of the flat stone markers where my parents are laid to rest. Bushes or perennials are not allowed. The Crocus come up in the spring and bloom and by the time they are ready to cut the grass the flowers are gone.

What a rip-off Mothers' Day has become! Poor quality flowers (probably imported as you say) at inflated prices. What a good idea from Mike if you can't find locally grown flowers. I hope you succeed with your cutting garden, Poppy!

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR FEEDBACK. I DO PLANT SOME ANNUALS ON THE GRAVE AS DO OTHERS SO THAT SEEMS OK. WITH SOME HARD WORK & SOME TLC, I HOPE TO BE USING MY OWN GROWN FLOWERS AT LEAST SOME OF TIME.

Hope you have great success in all your growing Poppy as i no myself that buying Flowers for Graves/Birthdays ect is very expensive & even more so when winter is upon us the price seem much steeper? I buy my flowers from Tesco when i do my weekly shopping Or My local Family Run Garden Nursury where their so cheep!

Hi Poppy - dare i say but i am a florist and would just like to stand up for my kind! it is not the florists that wack up prices for peak periods - mothers day, valentines ect... and yes you are all quite right most of the flowers are imported for these occations but then who in this country has roses growing in there garden in feburary? because there is such a huge demand for them, they are out of season so it costs a fortune to bring them all into flower outside of there natural time of year! - this does also effect the quality! it is the growers and importers that wack the prices up to cover the extra cost in making this happen - us florist's do not make more money out of cut flowers on these occations we get same amount of proffit out of each flower we just sell more of them! and when you take into account the hours we have to work to meet the demand, these occations are not lots of florists sitting around rubbing there hands together! i'll give you an example: on mothers day weekend i worked the following: fiday 6pm - 1.30am, sat 9am - 2.am(sunday morning!) sun 10am-3pm - each of these shifts was without a proper break! (sugary food and red bull all round! lol) - absolute nightmere - do you not think that we deserve a little extra for these sort of hours! Most british flowers are available at good prices, better quality during the summer - most florist's do have local growers supplying them - but unfortunately growing roses in this country during the winter is not cost effective! and Jacque how dare you sware at me! lol TESCO are the biggest part of the problem!!!!! ALL of there flowers are imported! and because they buy such huge amounts they have deals with dutch wholesale companies so that they keep the flowers same price no matter what time of year it is! so the local florist ends up fitting the bill for the extra cost involved in importing all of these flowers, the prices offered to us are nearly double what tesco pay! - very clever but putting the average small flower shop out of business because we are unable to compete! and lets face it, tesco flowers may well be far cheeper but then who is going to arrange them for you? - if you are getting married, or have a funeral ect who do you go to? tesco? - i think not!!!! so where is your loyalty????? lol - smack on the rist for you!!! - if no one bought flowers from tesco then the prices in flower shops would not be so high on peek periods!!!! there i'll get off my soap box now! lol

I KNOW YOU HAVE TO WORK HARDER & LONGER HOURS AT THESE TIMES OF YEAR (SUPPLY & DEMAND), MY GRIPE WAS THAT I PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE POOR QUALITY FLOWERS, NEEDLESS TO SAY I WON'T BE USING THAT PARTICULAR FLORIST AGAIN. I WOULD EXPECT TO PAY FOR A NICE BOUQUET, HAND TIED & ALL THE REST OF IT, BUT A BOG STANDARD BUNCH OF EVERYDAY FLOWERS THAT WERE NOT FOR A GIFT,I THINK NOT. BACK TO MY ORIGINAL POINT; MUCH BETTER TO GROW YOUR OWN !!!