“Buying British” — A Cotswolds Wedding Florist’s Perspective on Sustainability and the Global Flower Trade

Last week, I had the opportunity to take a tour at Royal FloraHolland in Holland; the largest flower distribution hub in the world, handling between 22–40 million stems a day.

It’s the kind of place that’s difficult to fully comprehend until you’re standing inside it, and almost impossible to adequately describe. I was fully in flower-nerd mode — standing in awe as workers whizzed past on mini trucks, like a perfectly choreographed scene in constant motion. Flowers arrive here from growers across the globe, move through vast warehouses, are auctioned off digitally, and then redistributed out again to wholesalers and florists worldwide.

A Moment of Perspective

While we chatted to our guide about the warehouses and how the auction process works, it really got me thinking about the bigger picture when it comes to wholesale flowers and my own role as a business owner within it. In recent years, “buying British” has quite rightly become a more prominent conversation — particularly within the floral industry. Supporting local growers, reducing mileage, and working more seasonally are all incredibly important, and values I deeply align with in my work as a sustainable, design-led wedding florist.

But standing in Holland, witnessing the sheer scale of the international flower trade, shifted my perspective in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

Floristry doesn’t exist in a vacuum — it’s part of a global ecosystem. For many people, working in the commercial flower trade is one of the most accessible and stable ways to provide for their families. The Dutch flower market alone supports thousands of livelihoods — from growers and distributors to logistics teams and auction staff. As well as workers in the UK within the wholesalers supplying via the Dutch markets. It’s an industry built on connection, movement, and interdependence.

And while it’s easy to talk about shifting entirely to local sourcing, the reality is far more complex than that.

Sustainable Floristry at MUCK: A More Considered Approach

I’ve always been drawn to flowers with character and individuality — stems with movement, shapes that aren’t identical, ingredients that bring life into a space. Working with British florals aligns naturally with this and something I will always prioritise where possible. But they are also inherently seasonal. There are times of year — particularly outside of peak growing months — where relying solely on British-grown flowers simply isn’t feasible, not without significantly limiting choice, scale, or consistency.

So the question for me becomes less about choosing one over the other, and more about how we navigate both responsibly.

For me, sustainability at MUCK Floral isn’t about rigid rules or performative decisions. It’s about thoughtful sourcing — understanding the impact of our choices, both locally and globally, and making decisions that align with the kind of business I want to run.

It’s also about how those choices translate into the work itself.

That might look like prioritising British flowers during the summer months, working with local growers, and designing in a more seasonal way.

But it also means recognising the value of the wider global market and ensuring I’m sourcing from certified growers who are working to higher environmental and ethical standards.

Because flowers don’t just tell a visual story — they carry a footprint, a supply chain, and thousands of livelihoods with them too. If you’re looking for florals that feel intentional — in both how they look and how they’re sourced — I’d love to be part of your day.

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