Pick of the BUNCH

‘My ethos is about a local, seasonal supply’

In 2013, former garden designer Cel Robertson, 45, launched the Forever Green Flower Company, an artisan flower farm in north Norfolk that produces seasonal, sustainably grown blooms. She lives with her husband and they have two grown-up children.

THE IDEA

A move from London to Norfolk in 2007 prompted a career rethink. I considered becoming a florist, but the global cut-flower industry is not particularly environmentally friendly and I didn’t want to be part of an industry that, overall, has a negative impact on the planet. I discovered there was a growing ‘slow flower’ movement across the world, with smaller growers producing a variety of seasonal flowers using regenerative methods of cultivation. Flowers grown in this way have a much lower carbon footprint and bring many benefits to local communities and biodiversity. Early in my career, I’d worked on small-scale farms producing organic vegetables for local