Jan’s blog

We went for a walk with the dogs this morning, shortly after sunrise in Windsor Great Park.

We’ve been using Zero Couriers to deliver some of our bouquets for a few years now. Their bikes are custom built, with a large container on the back that looks like an old fashioned pram hood. Delivery costs can be kept to a minimum – no parking tickets, no congestion charge, no fuel charge and better still, no environmental damage.

In a day, it’s rare that all deliveries will be going in the same direction, and you only need a few traffic jams to make it impossible for one van driver to cover all the deliveries on time. And more often than not, the bikes reach mayfair, The West End and Kensington more quickly than a van!

Florist Kensington. Florist Mayfair

Rolo is the youngest member of our family. We got him when he was eight weeks old – a beautiful little chocolate roan. He is now three years old, and is like a cuddly teddy bear. Monty washes his face for him every morning, & keeps him in line. He loves his food and hates having a bath. He’s had two eye operations, due to the sockets being too droopy, allowing all the moisture to run out of his eyes. As you can see, he is equally handsome with long or short hair.

It seems like only a few years ago when we found the beautful little shop empty on Sicilian Avenue. It was 1985, and I was back in my old stomping ground from my days as a student at UCL. There used to be a tie &  herald shop in the Avenue, & the guys in my year bought bit & pieces from there. We used to marvel at the architecture then, but it wasn’t until I moved in that I discovered that it’s a replica of a Sicilian hotel.

Having just moved back from Sweden, I incorporated the Swedish style of flower arranging with the use of all the wonderful English foliage. I don’t think anyone else was making hand tied bouquets at the time, and it didn’t go down well with many! Luckily, the staff & students at Central St. Martin’s across the road loved it, as did Time Out Magazine, who wrote greast things about the shop, & employed me to provide flowers for The Eating & Drinking Awards.

Sean & I had a flat in Islington, & we used to get up at 4am every day & go to the flower market. Sean has always been the PR man behind Stems & me the flower arranger. We had a couple of big hotel contracts which we lost during the early 90’s recession, due to cut-backs in budgets. The bank was being unhelpful, so Sean used his PR magic, & went out & found me a whole load of new clients, most of whom are still with  us today.

We’ve had some fantastic staff over the years – Gerardine, Caite, ( Miss Kitty), Fenella & Aldona, ( the two fairies from Central St. Martin’s), the gorgeous late Chris Gallaccio, Anais, ( with pointy lime green shoes), Rella, ( with purple wellingtons), and Tomoko, our lovely Japanese girl. Most of the staff are Arts students, and have brought a wealth of ideas &  fun to the shop. Now, it’s Stephen, Charlotte & Yunny who create the Stems magic. Long may it continue!

 This is my beautiful Monty. Eight years ago, someone asked us if we knew anyone who wanted a dog. We took him home with us,  three and a half years old, & apparently, too naughty to stay in his first home. We waited for the naughtiness with bated breath – but nothing. He is a very vocal dog – not just barking, but lots of funny noises,which I assume is talking. He sticks to me like glue, and gives me so much love. When Willow, our cat died, Monty witnessed Sean burying him in the garden. The following day, Monty took his teddy into the garden, dug a hole in the opposite flower border, & started burying the teddy. We decided to get a new pal for Monty – his name is Rolo, or Rolypolio as we call him. Photos of Rolo next time!

Apparently, Valentines Day dates back to 496AD, and  St Valentine  remains in the  Catholic list of  Roman martyrology. He was a priest & a martyr, & it appears that he married Christian couples, which was a dangerous thing to do at the time. There must have been an amazing story behind this – I would love to know it!

Nowadays, Valentines Day is treated by some as a fun day, some as a chance to express an interest in someone that has so far been less obvious, and for others, just an expression of love to their nearest & dearest.  The main thing is, it’s a feelgood day – like May Bank holidays – there’s a buzz in the air.

As a florist, the interesting thing is when it comes to serving the customer, the choice of flowers is easier than the card message. All year round, people reel off card messages, but all of a sudden, deadly serious, brain-racking men need to call me back when they’ve given it some thought. I’ve had six foot two guys pacing up & down, wrinkled brow, considering the right words.

When I think of romance in the written word, I think of  Shakespeare’s sonnets, John Donne  & D. H. Lawrence. But is it acceptable to quote from someone? Not unless it really has a special meaning in the context of the gesture. That’s why those guys find it so tough.

My own love is an old one. Sean will give me a card with a beautiful message, penned by someone else on the cover, & inside will be his own personal message. The best of both worlds.

The message can be like trying to buy a dress for a special occasion – in & out of the changing room, looking in the mirror – this is gorgeous, but too ostentatious – love this, but is it mutton dressed as lamb? – I feel great in this one, but it’s black again….

I found one quote that, for me, is the equivalent of the classical black dress: ” Love does not dominate: it cultivates”  Goethe

   It’s always interesting to see whether or not it will be a red rose Valentine’s Day . Some years people go for mixed bouquets rather than the traditional dozen red roses. Roses are obviously not in their natural season in February, but the beautiful “Grand Prix” roses from Holland are absolutely stunning.

There are lots of tulips, anemones, ranunculae, waxflower & genista around if you love spring flowers. Give a good florist your budget, & they’ll come up with something unique and beautiful for you.

I really felt spring is in the air this morning. The days are definitely getting longer, the birds sound more chirpy, and there’s lots of green. There are huge buds on the old magnolia tree, just waiting to burst. It reminds me of the Karin Boye poem – ” Yes, of course it hurts when buds burst open. Otherwise, why would

spring wait?”  These robust daffodil leaves look like they’ll withstand a snowfall if necessary. And the brilliant green mosses growing like a cushion on the old tree trunk – just beautiful.

I  saw my first cluster of snowdrops  in the churchyard yesterday, while walking the dogs. Absolutley beautiful! They look so tiny & fragile that you wonder how they can cope with the snowy weather. There are also clusters of strong stems with buds of daffodils, all in amongst the brilliant green cushions of moss. I’ll take my camera next time!

England that Takis thought only existed in fairy tales

We managed to get to the shop & buy some bird seeds while we were snowed under.  We moved the bird table to the middle of the lawn, so we could appreciate the feathered visitors, and Sean hung the coconut halves  full of seeds in the trees. The garden was remarkably bird free beforehand, & then, all of a sudden, my favourite robins were back, along with blue tits, chaffinches, ravens, wood pigeons, magpies, green paraqueets, song thrush, wrens and of course, squirrels!

Hey squirrel, leave something for the birds!
Monty & Rolo love the snow – especially Rolo. He’s not happy to come in until he has a large blob of snow on the end of his nose!  Takis is from Athens & really felt the cold, but loved it