2015 was our busiest year to date and we enjoyed every minute. We met friends from around the World, promoted British Flowers, launched our one to one workshops from the new ‘garden workshop’ in Yorkshire and held more classes at our Lancashire workshop than ever before. There were lovely brides who wanted natural and seasonal bouquets with exquisite ribbon, parties and afternoon teas and we had to sample new food for each event- what a chore! Christmas also brought us some beautiful houses to dress as well as almost a hundred guests who wanted to make wreaths and centrepieces whilst indulging in Mrs B’s fine food and wine. Classes for 2016 have been announced and our customers will see both of our workshops packed full of seasonal flowers and of course they will all get to enjoy Mrs B’s food. New recipes are being tested and new varieties of flowers and foliage are being grown and sourced from around the region.

Here are a few of our best memories from 2015:

We hosted Debra Prinzing and her mother, adding Yorkshire and The Cotswolds to their UK tour. We were honoured to be interviewed for Debra’s Slow Flowers Podcast (no 198 see www.debra.prinzing.com)

To promote Yorkshire grown cut flowers for British Flowers Week we used some famous Yorkshire venues. At Hardcastle Crags we (together with Fiona from Firenza Floral Design and Sarah Mason photography) created an iconic British photograph with a Land Rover Defender stuffed full of British flowers. You’ll be seeing more of the real image soon.

And, we were lucky enough to be allowed to use The Bronte Parsonage too.

Our tulips from Peter Nyssen grew well and were used in spring workshops to great effect.

Our favourite social media tool, Instagram, brought Holly Marsden to us. We have loved helping her develop her floral skills and very much enjoy having her as part of the team and, she certainly made Roger next door more aware of British Flowers in June!

Summer saw floral workshops with champagne in the garden, gorgeous hair crowns and dahlias galore.

And, for the clever brides who knew that October would be the best month, we still had roses, dahlias and strangely the odd foxglove for bouquets made in the new ‘garden’ workshop.

Christmas was busy. Mrs B excelled in her canapé selection for wreath-making workshops and I’m still thinking of the melt in the mouth chicken from our full day workshops. As for the Dulce de Leche ice cream well, that was as our guests said-“awesome”.

Here’s to more flowers, food and laughter in 2016.