Flower Blog

Friday 17th May 2024

Welcome to my flower blog which seems to grow further and further apart! I suppose that's not a bad thing with all the things that are going on, I am finding it hard to sit down and put fingers on the keyboard.

It's amazing to see the sunshine appear, after what felt like the longest of Winter months ever! I soaking up every bit of it in the garden when I can, choosing to create outdoors rather than at my dining room table.

I have been lucky enough to be creating arrangements for many weddings this year and this has kept me well out of trouble and fully in the creation zone. What never fails to surprise me is the variety of colours and styles that brides can go for these days. I absolutely love listening to ideas and helping to put them together to get a clear idea of vision and style. After giving up work last year, I am starting to get recognised as a go-to dried and silk florist which makes me incredibly proud and happy.

So whats new for 2024? Loads! I have been busy renovating a flower bike to take to markets and hire out for events and weddings. Aptly named Betsy, she is an absolute dream and now holds her own page on this site. This was a family build, with my Dad being an amazing joiner, created a florist on wheels out of an old crepe bike. I did all the design and paintwork, sourcing the products and putting together all the finishing touches. The wheels thought?! Dont even talk about them. My goodness they had me around the bend and I had been to and spoke to every bike shop going with no luck. Until a turn of events happened and my nextdoor neighbours son got a wheelchair out of the car, and bam! Thats what the wheels were. So that solved that huge problem, I mean you can’t have a bike without wheels can you?! So what's next for Betsy? She will be pedaling her way to Dalton Parks Spring Artisan Market on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th May, where she will be used as a flower bar to create your own bouquet. What could be a nicer activity for Spring, and you get to take it home with you. Let's hope the sun has its hat on!

In other news its been a bit of a strange year for us health wise. I started the year off with a bout of pneumonia which really set me back work wise, thankfully I recovered fairly quickly. The same week, our son Oliver was diagnosed with type one diabetes which shocked us all as he is twenty-one and never had any symptoms up to then. Then to top it off my husband Michael has been having investigations with his heart (which are still ongoing) and has been trying to take things as easy as possible. It’s so strange what life throws at you but we are really trying hard to work through it all and hopefully will come out stronger for it. In better news, we got a little puppy to put the biggest of smiles on our faces. Cooper the Cockapoo jumped right into our lives at the beginning of April and its like he was always here. Our late Spencie Doodle would have been the best big brother.

I was interviewed for my first podcast by Kylie Dixon of the Northern Lass Lounge in March this year. It was a nerve-wracking experience leading up to it but during, I realised I shouldnt have been as it was just like talking to a mate. Kylie has been a strong part of my business since the beginning and I have been part of hers, with the NLL helping to strenthen my business in many ways, too many to mention! So tick. Done that one now and I really enjoyed it. My next bit of media was featuring in the Sunderland Echo as a being one of the businesses joining others at Dalton Park this month. I was super proud as the only business to be asked to write a quote and there it was in print. Fabulous!! So this is where I leave you. I have holidays pending which after all of these weddings I know I will need! I hope you all have the most loveliest of Spring and Summer and thank you for reading my blog and keeping up to date with Pretty Busy Blooms and the life and times of the Barrons.

Love

Nicki x