'I'm really excited to have been nominated as Best Florist in the Muddy Stilettos Awards 2024! Muddy Stilettos is the UK's biggest luxury lifestyle site outside of London, encouraging it's readers to vote for it's favourite local business. I'd really appreciate your support if you could cast your vote for 'Flourishing Flowers' on this link. Voting is open until 14th March.
Thank you so much ❤️
I'm pleased to be collaborating on the perfect combination - flower and food experiences: ❤
Easter Elegance: A Tablescape Extravaganza with French Macaron Mastery - Thursday, 21 March 2024
Floral Fiesta: Arranging Flowers in a Vase and Spanish Canapés - Saturday, 20 April 2024
Full details and booking on: www.annsmartschool.com
Hello, I'm Janet, an independent Billericay-based florist with a passion for creating natural and fresh floral arrangements for funerals and celebrations. I work closely with my clients to reflect their ideas and wishes in my work, whether that be incorporating flowers from a loved one's garden or adding a personal possession to the design. My style is soft and natural, and I use British flowers, seasonal and home-grown where possible, while also prioritising sustainability by creating foam-free designs and reducing packaging.
With over 22 years of experience in the industry, I have worked on numerous weddings and have freelanced for other florists, while also being the Flower Secretary at our local Church. I love passing on my passion for floristry through workshops on subjects such as wreaths, Mothers’ Day and Christmas arrangements, and I am continually expanding my plant varieties in the garden to enhance my designs. When not working, I enjoy spending time with my family, including our beloved Cockapoo, Rosie, and indulging in my other interests such as gardening, arts and crafts, cooking, and crochet.
Read on to find out more…
When you have lost a loved one and need to arrange their funeral, you will find yourself facing many tasks. Having lost my Dad and Father-in-Law within four months of each other I know that sometimes you may feel able to deal with preparations and at other times you may feel overwhelmed.
For some clients, thinking about funeral flowers is a welcome relief and they find it comforting to plan and discuss the tributes. Others feel it is just one more task to be faced at a difficult time. I am here to help, whether it all seems too much to think about or you want to focus on flowers to help you through. I will help you create the perfect parting flower tribute to your loved one, however much or little you would like to be involved.
One memory that has stuck with me for years was a time when I bumped into a gentleman leaving a florists, clearly upset at the loss of his mother; it was not long after I had lost my own father so I could immedately relate and sympathise with him. It was clear to me that not everyone wants to quickly pick their tribute from a magazine of standarized arrangements over the counter. Personally I would rather someone sit with me in a welcoming environment, so I can feel comfortable talking about my recent loss and how to best convey it in flowers.
I appreciate you might not want to be out in the ‘real world’, so if you feel more comfortable staying at home, I will visit you. You are also very welcome to come to mine and we can have a chat over a cup of tea. My service is completely tailored to you, and I will help you to make the right choices, even if you know little or nothing about flowers.
Did you know that floral tributes can be created to reflect the personality, life experiences or interests of your loved one? Funeral flowers can be comforting and therapeutic, but they can also say something about the person you are remembering. I ask my clients about their loved ones’ favourite flowers, colours, interests and passions, and then I help them decide on arrangements that reflect their personality. For example, football team colours are very popular. For both my father and my father-in-law I created arrangements in the colours of their favourite teams. Tributes can reflect a hobby: for someone who loved knitting, I have adapted an arrangement to incorporate a ball of wool and knitting needles. And I am often asked to include butterflies or feathers, especially when these objects hold special meaning for the family.
I am a specialist funeral florist, but my service goes beyond creating floral tributes. Working with flowers can be remarkably therapeutic and my clients often find their consultations with me, focussing on flowers, foliage and design, can provide solace and relief during a painful time. The process of discussing a loved one, telling me about their life, interests and passions, and, with my guidance, making decisions about beautiful and personalised floral tributes, can be an important part of the grieving process.
As I specialise in this field, as well as drawing on my own personal experiences of bereavement, I am also able to discuss the funeral process with clients in a relaxed environment. I often help with advice and answers to questions they didn’t feel able to ask the Funeral Director.
Following a funeral, I provide pictures of the flowers to my families. These pictures can be an enduring source of comfort, a memory of a beautiful part of a difficult day, perhaps. Some clients like to make ‘memory boxes’ and include these photos as a lasting memento.
Everyone grieves in their own way. For some, it can be helpful to have some practical involvement in the funeral arrangements, and funeral flowers offer a perfect opportunity for this. When circumstances allow, clients are welcome to visit while I am working on the arrangements. It may help simply to see the arrangements prior to the day of the funeral, or they may wish to take some part by placing a flower in the coffin spray, for example. Please feel free to ask if you would like to do this.
“Janet created the flowers for my Mums funeral and throughout the process she was really kind and patient with us while we decided what to have. She gave us helpful suggestions as what would look lovely and how to keep to our budget too. The flowers were of a very good quality and kept well in the heat. The arrangements were beautiful and I feel Mum who was a keen gardener was honoured by Janet’s work. I thoroughly recommend her to you.”
“The satisfaction I gain from helping people with such personal expressions of love is second to none. ”
From a single ‘Happy Birthday’ bouquet to themed floral decorations for a special birthday or anniversary event, I will create personalised arrangements for your special occasion. In every case, I work with you to bring your ideas, favourite colours or themes to life.
I personalise floral arrangements to reflect a personality, design preferences or a party idea. Flowers can be more than beautiful decorations; they can be an integral part of the message, tone or meaning of your event.
Flower arrangements appear natural and ‘green,’ so people are often surprised to discover that materials used such as floral foam can be damaging to the environment. Did you know that floral foam or ‘Oasis’ as it’s sometimes referred too is made up of minute particles of plastic and toxins such as formaldehyde, which will eventually seep into the water system. Even ‘Oasis’ promoted as biodegradable will only do so under quite specific conditions.
I’m constantly working towards a more sustainable business by using alternatives such as moss and chickenwire in my floral arrangements rather than foam. I like to create natural funeral flower designs which incororpate flowers and foliage from my garden and source British flowers where I can, cutting down on transport and the carbon footprint of my designs. I try to use as little packaging as possible and reduce, reuse and recycle where I can.
Zone A or Pickup - Free
Zone B - £5
Zone C - £8
For other areas please phone.
On 01277 650276 to discuss your requirements. Alternatively, please complete the form below:
