Photography by India Hobson via The Garden Edit.
After a childhood living on her parents’ plant nursery in England’s West Midlands, florist India Hurst of Vervain Flowers says it’s probably inevitable that she grew up to become a florist.
“These tumbling old glasshouses and splitting poly tunnels have been home to my parent’s award winning plants for nearly 40 years,” says Hurst.
“I swore I would never follow my parents’ career after spending my childhood at plant fairs and flower shows moaning about long days surrounded by plants and compost,” says Hurst.
When Hurst launched Vervain, she began in 2014 to grow local British flowers.
Whimsical garden ornaments include a bird cage turned into a plant cage.
Hurst’s family business is Alton Greenhouses.
Some of the British flowers that Hurst grows include strawflower, larkspur, yarrow, scabious, nigella, phlox, and snapdragons.
Black growers’ cloth prevents weeds and absorbs sunlight to warm the soil.
Adjacent are the glasshouses are garden beds with seasonal flowers.
A low-tech irrigation system includes garden hoses.
A bouquet of blowsy white peonies.
Translucent poly tunnels protect delicate seedlings from wind, rain, and cold temperatures.
In the florist’s studio: stems and seeds.