What happened to the weather?

It’s the same every year, the minute schools break-up the Sun heads east, leaving behind strong winds and heavy rain driving in off the Atlantic. But life in The Flower Shop- Pulborough goes on, there are still celebrations, weddings and funerals to prepare for. The only issue is finding creative ways to pin floral displays down and to stop flowers and foliage being scattered on the wind.

I think I’ve spent most of this week chasing flower pots down Lower Street, like a scene from The Wizard of Oz

This week we’ve had three funerals and two weddings.

You might assume that wind and rain would make little difference to a funeral, after-all they tend to be indoor affairs, however most funeral directors have an outside space for awaiting flowers so dropping them off needs to be well timed. Drop them off too early and they could be ruined, while being late is a definite no-no! I’ve had previous experience of chasing a hearse down the road and believe me it’s something I would rather not repeat.

Weddings on the other-hand are a completely different kettle of fish, especially ones that require external flower arrangements.

Flower paddles are quite common. These are oasis paddles packed with flowers and loose hanging foliage, usually hung on outside walls and porches. They look wonderful especially, when placed either side of a church entrance where the happy couple first appear after their wedding ceremony.

They look less wonderful when they break tether and fly through the air causing bride and groom to duck to avoid being hit by one or both.

Attaching the paddles, and a twenty foot floral arch around the entrance of Bury church was like ‘Mission Impossible’ this week. Imagine… John up a step ladder holding one end of a delicate swag, in 25pmh winds gusting up to 40mph, with Becky hanging on to both the ladder and one of John’s legs, to stop him taking off, while passing along the necessary foliage and ties.

How we managed to get the flowers safely erected I don’t know, but the challenge didn’t end there! After the wedding ceremony, we had to de-construct them and whisk the undamaged flower off to the reception.

All in all, this week has been a whirlwind, in addition to the weddings and funerals, my son, grandson and daughter-in-law made a surprise appearance, it was John’s Birthday and we had a film crew in the shop. So, as always never a dull moment!