For a little while now, I've been thinking about the direction I want Cicely Flowers to take, and I've made a decision that might surprise a few people.
I'm no longer doing wedding flowers.
It's not a decision I've made lightly, and it's certainly not because I've fallen out of love with flowers. Quite the opposite. It's because I've realised that I want to spend more time doing the things that made me start growing flowers in the first place.
When I started Cicely Flowers back in 2022, it was a little project in my front garden. I had a small patch of space, a growing interest in seasonal flowers and absolutely no idea where it would lead. Fast forward to now, and that little project has grown into my own flower plot, a flower stand and, more recently, a little flower offering at The Coffee Girl.
It's grown and evolved in ways I couldn't have imagined.
Wedding flowers have been part of that journey, and I've loved being able to grow and create flowers for people's special days. But over time, I've found myself questioning whether weddings are really where I want to take the business.
The reality of growing for weddings
One of the biggest reasons behind my decision is the pressure that comes with growing flowers for a specific wedding.
As a grower, I don't have a warehouse full of flowers to choose from. I grow everything myself, from seed, and nature doesn't always play ball.
I can spend £70 on seeds, carefully sow everything, nurture the seedlings and then watch the whole lot fail. Maybe germination is poor, maybe they damp off, or perhaps something just doesn't thrive. And then I have to go out and spend that money all over again, hoping the second attempt works.
That's just one example of the uncertainty involved in growing flowers. And when you've committed to providing flowers for a wedding, that uncertainty becomes a whole different level of stress.
You're not just growing flowers because you fancy trying a new variety or because you love the colour. You've made a commitment to someone for a very specific date, and you have to find a way to make it work.
I found that increasingly difficult to enjoy. I don't want to spend an entire growing season worrying whether I'll have enough of the right flowers, whether they'll all bloom at the right time or whether a crop failure will leave me scrambling to find alternatives.
There's so much that goes into growing flowers before they're even ready to be picked. The sowing, potting on, planting, feeding, watering and all the hours spent nurturing them. And sometimes, despite all of that, things simply don't work out.
That's part of growing, and normally I wouldn't have it any other way. But adding the pressure of a wedding date and someone else's expectations into the mix changes things considerably.
Doing less, but enjoying it more
I think there's sometimes an expectation that as a small business grows, it should naturally take on more, offer more and become bigger. But I'm beginning to realise that growth doesn't always have to mean doing more.
Sometimes it means making decisions about what you don't want to do.
I want a little more freedom in my working life. I want to be able to grow what I love, work with the seasons, experiment with different varieties and spend my time harvesting and making bunches of flowers that people can simply pop by and pick up.
I want to concentrate on my flower stand and supplying Coffee Girl, building something consistent and sustainable that fits around my life rather than having my calendar dictated by wedding dates.
Most importantly, I want to enjoy the business I've built.
What's next for Cicely Flowers?
Cicely Flowers isn't going anywhere. In fact, I'm really excited about what's next.
There'll still be plenty of flowers, lots of growing, plenty of experimenting and, hopefully, lots of lovely bunches finding their way into people's homes.
I'll be concentrating on my home flower stand, my flowers at The Coffee Girl and the occasional gift bouquet.
There might be fewer things on offer, but that's quite intentional. I want to put my time and energy into doing those things well.
So, if you've followed my little flower-growing adventure from the beginning, thank you. And if you've ever bought a bunch, visited the flower stand or supported me along the way, it really does mean a lot.
This next chapter is about growing flowers because I love growing flowers, and sharing them with the people around me.
Just no more wedding flowers.
And honestly? I'm quite looking forward to it. 💐