Tell us about yourself, Julie
I’m Julie the owner of The English Garden Florist, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne. I’m married with three fabulous sons and a super cute dog Miss Mila. I’m a Dorset country girl born & bred! I love walking in the surrounding woodlands & heathlands around me always inspired by the wonderful Mother Nature. I have been a florist for over thirty years & I’m totally obsessed and passionate about flowers. I simply love flowers!
Tell us about your business
I started my career at sixteen years old & now over thirty years later I’m still in this most wonderful career & trade. My passion for flowers has and is the driving force behind my business. I wanted to bring to clients beautiful flowers for all occasions, everybody deserves to have beautiful flowers designed with natural artistry, thought, and careful attention to detail. My style is natural, considered, and authentic working in harmony with nature’s rhythm to create designs that reflect the changing seasons, selecting blooms at their very best. Designing hand-tied bouquets for birthdays, anniversaries, and funeral flowers for truly personal & meaningful designs and wedding and event flowers for heart-led couples who want to make their wedding uniquely theirs.
I’m always furthering my skills as a florist & throughout the years I have earned my City & Guilds , achieved Master florist & various awards and qualifications within the industry- I love to continue to learn & achieve. I have perfected my skills & artistry over the years & my love for floral design remains an enduring passion.
What inspired you to start your own business?
My business evolved from a not-so-great experience in the industry, but out of something negative, my business bloomed! It’s not been easy, being knocked back hard within an industry I absolutely love was awful, and then there was COVID-19 where the wedding industry was impacted, and then the UK financial crisis & recession.
Can you share a pivotal moment or milestone that significantly impacted your business journey?
During COVID I cut flowers from my garden and designed them into little jam jars, that is where my Jars of Kindness evolved. I regularly posted on the village Facebook page, to tell everyone that they were at the end of my driveway for people to take whilst out walking. All I asked of them was to remember my business. I just kept going with passion for my work and business and a little dash of stubbornness. I was not going to give in!
My branding is a dandelion which is not a weed but a flower traced back to Roman times. The meaning connected with me. If you cut a dandelion down it comes back shorter but stronger each time – this is me!
I focus on always being the true me and working with fabulous clients not only whom I want to work with but who want to work with me, when the connection is both ways for whatever occasion designing their flowers and giving clients their wow moment means the world to me.
How do you balance your business and personal life?
Balance- now that’s a tricky one because just when you think you have it there’s a wobble. It brings spinning plates to a whole new level and there’s always a learning curve. I always wrestle with mum, wife, daughter & friend guilt and what is me time? I have learned (and truly it’s a hard one to learn) that it’s okay to say no if I’m on holiday or fully booked, and having time for you and loved ones is part of the reason that we are our own boss. Don’t overload yourself with projects, but give time to them and book work and time off into your diary to cut out the overwhelm. I also have a work phone and a personal phone so when I’m not working and I want to switch off then work won’t interrupt it!
Can you name one business tool that has helped you in your business
A really good website. Working in my studio, there’s no shop front to my products or services, so my website is my shop front. Invest in a professional and it’s worth getting someone to do it that connects with you AND your business. Also, for me, a sign written van – flora the fiat pays her way fantastically!
Do you have a top tip for any woman starting on their business journey?
My top tip is to plan. I do love a notebook & pen to jot down ideas inspiration etc. Write down your business vision, brand, business name, and goals and it’s just as important to write down what you don’t want to do or be. In my diary I have weekly goals etc it’s so lovely to put a line through it when it’s done.
Can you name a woman in business who has inspired you?
I have three ladies that have inspired me; Anita Rodderick founder of the Body Shop who would drop splashes of dewberry oil from her car to her first shop to draw customers in.
Jane Packer of Jane Packer Flowers who designed for royalty. I wrote to her as a floristry student and she wrote back a beautiful letter on achieving your florist goals, I still have that letter to this day.
Rose is the most important lady who has inspired me throughout my career. Rose is my florist “mum” and all those years ago took on a YTS floristry student and gave me my apprenticeship. Her business was only six months old at the time. I can not thank her enough for her inspiration, support, motivation, experience, and guidance and all these years later we are still in touch. I wouldn’t have been a florist without her. Also, the incredible women in my family Mum and Nans who always hold a very proud & inspiring place in my heart x
Do you have a favourite business podcast/book?
I love to listen to Holly Tucker of Holly & Co & many different flowery podcasts and to read Anita Roddericks biography.
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