Did you know that the 16th to the 22nd June 2025 is British Flowers Week?

Championing the growers, wholesalers and florists who produce and use British-grown flowers, it’s an annual celebration of the UK’s floral industry.

“Newly led by the trade association Flowers from the Farm since 2024, British Flowers Week aims to champion the sustainability of seasonal flowers and the vital economic contribution of this industry with a fresh vision and renewed energy.”

At Câr-y-Môr we share this passion for sustainability, whilst also supporting an industry which makes a valued economic contribution. Our Câr-y-Môr vision is:

Coastal and rural communities working side-by-side to restore our seas, revitalise our soil, and put locally sourced food on our tables—for the love of generations to come.

We’ve been working with agricultural farmers for some time now, with fantastic early results when trialing our seaweed biostimulant on their land.

Gardeners and allotment owners use Câr-y-Môr seaweed biostimulant too, to grow healthier, stronger gardens, and as a greener alternative to chemical fertilisers and peat.

And it’s against this backdrop of championing nature-friendly gardening that we’d love to grow our community of flower farmers too; reaching more British flower growers wanting to try our natural, seaweed-based products on their plants.

People like those working in the UK’s cut flower industry. People like Gill Timms at Pembs Petals.

Gill is a qualified horticulturalist who grows local, seasonal, sustainable cut flowers just a few miles away from Câr-y-Môr on the Pembrokeshire Peninsular.

When she’s not creating beautiful blooms for her customers, you’ll find her inspiring the next generation at Farms for City Children.

We recently reached out to Gill, and were delighted when she agreed to trial our seaweed biostimulant on her cut flower farm.

So to mark British Flowers Week, we thought we’d share this interview between Gill, and our own expert grower at Câr-y-Môr, Alma…

Alma: What principles and values do you follow as a grower?

Gill: My principles are “seasonal, sustainable, local and no air miles”.

Alma: What do flowers need in terms of fertility, and how do you generally fertilise them?

Gill: Flowers, like any other plant, like varying conditions depending on the specific plant. I make sure that when I plant, I do so into a bed of organic matter that helps the roots to get a good grip on the growing. I also feed in the flowering season with systemic seaweed, which means that I spray it onto the actual plant.

Alma: How do you make sure your plants are healthy and resilient through the season?

Gill: It’s very challenging growing where we are in West Wales. It’s very windy, and coastal here, so I make sure I stake well when I’m planting. Often when you see a plant wobbling around in the wind, it’s too late to put in a stake! So I try to make a stake, or growing support, when I’m first planting. I deadhead regularly, and pick regularly, to encourage new growth. Pruning at the right time is essential. And a decent mulch in spring or autumn is good too.

Alma: What are your customers looking for when they buy flowers from you?

Gill: Generally they’re looking for something that looks a bit more natural. So something that reminds them of their own garden, and is British/Welsh. Flowers that have been grown locally and they know the provenance; that they haven’t travelled far.

Alma: What is your favorite thing(s) about growing flowers?

Gill: Meeting all the lovely people. I’ve just got back from deconstructing a wedding and you get to know people so well. It’s just lovely to provide a service that brings so much joy – especially on a big occasion like a wedding. But I also feel very honoured and humble when someone asks me to do their farewell flowers. That’s really special.

Alma: Why use seaweed on your flowers - and more specifically from Câr-y-Môr?

Gill: Seaweed is a natural fertiliser; it’s effective; it’s sustainable; it improves plant health. And the yields are definitely up from when I sprayed mine with seaweed – it makes such a difference. I really like buying from Câr-y-Môr – I love their principles, I love that they’re local to me. And it’s just nice to collaborate with another local business.

Take a look at Gill’s Facebook page here. And if you know a flower grower who would be keen to try our seaweed biostimulant on their land, they can contact our team through the form here.

Seaweed, sustainability and British Flowers Week

Prof Michael Crawford: “The next opportunity is farming the sea”