Ep One - The Beginning

Well, this is it; no going back now. The first episode has gone live. I am not sure if it will be available on Apple or Spotify right now as they have some weird rules about shows having to be running before they share, but if not, you can find it by Clicking Here. 

Below is the script for this episode.
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Hello, I'm Sarah, florist, storyteller, small business owner, caffeine enthusiast, and a lifelong servant to a pineapple green cheek conure, who demands more attention than a toddler with a drum kit. I will be your host for today. Make yourself comfy. Grab a cup of something hot chocolate, tea, coffee, maybe even something stronger, possibly a cake or a biscuit too. And join me as I'll navigate my way through this podcasting lark and the wonderful world of floristry.

I'm not sure if you're aware, this podcasting malarkey, it doesn't come for free. It actually costs real money, and a lot more than I ever thought it would do. That's why I'm reaching out to you, dear listener. If you would like to support me along the way, you'd be very, very welcome to buy me a virtual coffee. This can be done by visiting www.buymeacoffee.com forward slash Fareham Florist Pod.. Every single penny will help to cover equipment and the hosting costs, which are extortionate. You'd be helping me keep this little dream afloat without actually bankrupting myself. Anyway, enough of all that. Let's get on with today's episode.

It took me ages to figure out how I was going to start this, what story I was going to tel you first. In fact, this is my third attempt, my third recording. I realised the other two stories weren't really that interesting. I mean, I'm not saying this story is going to be interesting. But I figured, why not just start with my day? People will often ask me, so what do you do all day?

It's a really good question. And every time without fail, I'll smile sweetly and reply, obviously, as little as possible. But today, today, my friends, I'm going to tell you my truth. Because whilst doing as little as possible would absolutely be my preferred daily strategy. The reality is a far cry from it. My days are filled, filled with flowers, with people, creativity, chaos, organisation, sometimes, crisis management, emotional support, there's the occasional detective work, and far more caffeine than any GP would approve of. So settle in. And let me take you through my day, from the bleary eyed early hours, to the last minute emergency bouquets, and all the magic, madness and mini dramas in between. 

 

My day begins with my alarm shaking me violently awake at 6am. Now I know that's normal for a lot of people. But I'm not a morning person. I'm a proper night owl. And to me, any alarm going off before 8am, wow, that's just insulting. I have to force myself to go to bed by 11 to make sure that obviously I'm awake-ish when I get up in the morning and get to the shop. It's really hard for me to go to bed that early. I like the quiet and the stillness of being outside after 10 o'clock, when everyone else has settled down for the night. So I have to drag myself indoors because I'll sit out there in the middle of winter and force myself to bed. Because otherwise, I'm super grumpy Sarah come the morning. The first thing I do when I open my eyes, before I've even acknowledged my own existence, is check how many orders have come in overnight for the shop. You'd be amazed how many people are ordering flowers at 2am. I guess they're my kind of people. 

But are they shift workers? Insomniacs? People in trouble trying to apologise before their partner wakes up? I'm never gonna know. I leave the WhatsApp and social media messages until later in the day, when the brain cell is functioning a little better. The online orders though, they're important to check, because some of them need to go out on Chris's first delivery run. In case you're wondering who Chris is, and you've not had the pleasure of meeting him, when he's been stood on your doorstep singing you happy birthday. He's our driver. And he's lovely. Sometimes. He likes to tell me he's flexible, but he's not psychic. And he'll plan his routes the evening before. So any late night surprises, I need to squeeze in with military precision. Hence why I check all the orders before I even start my day. 

 

A few months ago, I got an order come in at 5.07am. The message said, please deliver first thing. I'm proposing today and need the flowers before she wakes up. Sweet, right? Except they live 20 minutes away. And before she wakes up is one of the vaguest timeframes ever written. Is she like me a 6am riser? Or is she an 11am snoozer? A nocturnal bat? Somehow, thank goodness it worked. We got there before she woke. She said yes. The flowers survived. And Chris got a pasty from the newly engaged man as a thank you. All was well. Just for future reference though, please don't do that to us. Wherever possible order the day before. It makes life a lot easier and a lot less stressful. I arrive in the shop at 7am. And usually my fresh flower delivery for that day is already here waiting for me, which i great. I move them to one side, put the kettle on, most important part of the day. Then I get to work on that day's orders. I can be doing anything from a large coffin spray to a small, simple tiws posy. I have to ensure that every single one is ready for when Chris arrives at nine o'clock. Once the orders are done, I'll sit down and I'll reply to any customers who have sent me an email. Again, social media waits till a bit later on in the day. And then I'll set to conditioning the flowers so that when I open the shop, it all looks nice in here. 

 

In order to do that, I have to take every single vase, put a drop of bleach in, give it a clean, give it a scrub, fresh water. That then goes back into the shop. And then each individual flower has to be conditioned itself. This means taking off all the leaves, thorns. My goodness, some roses are covered in thorns. Before they can go in the shop for sale. Once this is done, I then reboil the kettle and make myself that cup of tea that I'm absolutely gasping for. At this point, it's time to open the shop and welcome my customers. By 10am, most of the morning rush is done. And so I can sit down and do what most small business owners do. I can do the banking. I can check payments, pay bills, check that my spreadsheet ties up with the banks, because obviously that's quite important if I want more bills to pay. Then comes one of my favourite rituals. I attach a photo of every single finished order to that day's diary. So I take the photos as I'm going. As soon as I've made an order, I will take a photo of it. This serves two really important purposes. One, I never repeat a bouquet exactly, if it's for a customer I've dealt with before. And two, I can look back later and think, oh yeah, that was the day I accidentally glued ribbon to my jumper. Logging photos has also proved valuable. When I've been accused of not making something as I should have done or in the right colours or including the right flowers, I'm able to prove that I have. And this is something I will discuss in a later episode, because those photographs have proved invaluable at times. Anyway, then it's back to my workbench for the lunchtime orders. Hand tied bouquets, arrangements, sprays. Luckily, each one normally unique. But this is where the real juggling act begins as well. 

 

Because whilst I'm in creative flow, the universe likes to spice things up. The phone will ring, another email will arrive, a customer will wander in needing advice on anything. And occasionally someone comes in because they need a little bit of therapy. I have a lot of customers who like to come in and just chat. And I find that wonderful that they're trusting me and feel they can talk to me. But some days when I've got 15 orders waiting for me to be done, and someone who just needs to chat, it can cause a little bit of stress for me. It all works out in the end though. And by the end of the day, everything that needs to be done is done. I do love it though when some customers come in and they're not sure. I had a lady stood in the shop one day and she just said, I want something nice. That was it. That was the brief. No colour preference, no size preference no occasion. So I asked her, is it for a birthday? No. For a thank you? No. Are they for a funeral? No. Oh, are they for a new baby? No. Finally, I said, may I ask what the flowers are for? She replied, well, they're for my hallway. My soul left my body a little bit. Why could she not have just told me that in the first place? But we got there in the end, and I created something nice for her. By lunchtime, I'm ready to begin prep for the next day. This can involve ribboning up floral tributes, soaking oasis for baskets, placing orders for flowers that I need for the next day, organising blooms, dodging the occasional customers that I don't really have time for. There are moments when I think, goodness, why didn't I just become a librarian instead? Although I've also learned and appreciate that that's not quite such an easy job as people think it is. Then I have to deal with obviously demanding customers as well, like the lady who just wanted something nice. I had a customer come in once who was demanding tulips. It was the middle of July. Tulips are no a July flower. When I explained this to her, she just folded her arms, stared at me and said, but I want tulips, as if saying it again, would magically make the fairy tulip appear. In the end, she chose some roses, but not before sighing really loudly. In fact, loud enough to strip the paint off the walls. 

 

When I check the social media messages, some of those can be quite entertaining. I once had a customer  message me at two o'clock in the morning. And by 4am, there was this whole ranting message about me not responding. Now I'm sorry. I know we do live in a world where peopl can be awake at those times. And some businesses do have people on call 24 hours. But I'm one woman. I work alone. And expecting me and getting angry with me because I've not replied to you at 4am. Come on, let's be real. Anyway, I managed to placate her and sort her out. Occasionally in amongst all the madness and mayhem. I will sweep and hoover the floor, although not often enough. And one of my neighbours who lives behind the shop will often come in and have a moan at me for not having swept the floor. I've handed him the broom a few times and told him to do it for me.

 

Later in the day, I'll sort through all the rubbish, we recycle and re compost everything. So I can spend a good 10 minutes picking odd bits of ribbon, tiny little pieces as well out from all the leaves so they go in their different bags. Oddly enough, I quite enjoy that I find it quite calming. I think running around and flapping about and doing so much in such a short space of time. That gives me 10 minutes just for me. I'll then sit down and make sure the cards are written for the next day's orders. Recheck if we've had any more orders come in online. Make sure I've replied to every single email and every social media message. I try to upload a post to social media. My goodness, there are so many different ones that you need to have. There's your Facebook and your Twitter and your Tumblr and your Instagram and your threads and your Google. The list is endless. And I refuse to pay one of these companies to do it all for you in one go. So I have to do a lot of copy and pasting. Occasionally I'll sit down and try and write a blog entry. Although I'm not very good at that. Once that's done, I'll get the bows ready and the boxes that need to be done for the following morning. An preparation I can do to make life a little bit easier first thing. It's always a good thing. An then I think about going home. I've been in the shop for 10 hours usually by this point. I'm read for it. So I bring all the planters in from the front, lock the door and that's it done. But it' not. Because occasionally at home, people will phone me, people will email me, people will knoc on my door. I've actually had customers come round my house and knock on my door at 8pm to give m money to place an order. It's crazy. It's like it never ends some days. But I love it. 

 

Saturdays are one of my favourite days. Not just because we close at one o'clock. That doesn't mean I'm going home at one o'clock. That just means I don't let any more customers in at one. It gives me a chance to have a catch up and get bits sorted that I've not been able to get done in the week. And I go ou and I scrub all the other vases again ready for Monday. There's nothing like ending the week with your head in your hands halfway inside a giant vase, wondering how my life choices led me here. Sundays are calmer. There's a gentle hum. The door's locked. It's just me. And that's the time I prep for Monday's funerals, tidy the shop properly, do a stock check and breathe. It's the closest thing I get to a day off. But still, flowers and customers wait for no one. Of course, these are the general days I've been talking about. Then there are the days that abandon all logic.
 

Valentine's Day. Oh my god, I hate it. Mother's Day. And those cursed Monday morning weddings. Oh yeah, I've had a wedding at 10 o'clock on a Monday morning. Valentine's Day alone can bring in three four hundred orders. It's not just a day, it's a floral apocalypse. That's a lot of roses that need to be de-thorned. The shop looks like a bomb's exploded. I look like I've been dragged through a hedge, more than usual. Customers are queuing outside the door. And Chris, bless him, he becomes a delivery ninja. These are the days when I survive purely on caffeine and stubbornness. The days when I don't get to sit down at all. I arrive in the shop, usually on a busy period, around 4 or 5 a.m. And I can still be here at 10, 11 p.m. that evening. And I'm on my feet all day. My legs ache, my knees ache, especially as I'm getting older. In fact, when I get up the following morning, I don't think there's parts of me which aren't aching. But I love it. I honestly love what I do. I love the chaos. I love the mess. I love the smell of rotting leaves. I love my body screaming at me at the end of the day, saying, why are you still doing thi to us? You should be easing off at your age. Never, never I will be here doing this job. Probably until the day I die. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. This isn't just a job, it's a life.
 

Flowers have become my life. And I never thought I would hear myself saying that. And my shop, it's like my little sanctuary. And my customers, they are amazing, for the most part. Obviously, there's the odd one or two. But generally, I am so blessed to be able to do this. And I remind myself that at 6 o'clock in the morning when that alarm's going off. I'm like, yeah, but Sarah, you're going to do a job you enjoy. And I'll get in the shop. And I see the colours and I smell the flowers. And I think, yeah, this is it. This is great. So there you have it. That's my day. My job can be mentally and physically exhausting. At times it can be completely demanding. It's messy. It's chaotic. It's extremely emotional at times. I wouldn't swap it for anything. Not even for my fantasy job of being a tour guide in a historic house or in a cave somewhere, telling visitors, don't touch. Floristry is beauty. It's creativity. It's logistics. It's intuition. There's a lot of emotion. Funerals, birthdays, apologies, celebrations, new babies, new beginnings. It's not just flowers. It's moments. It's memories. It's people. And every day, no matter how tired I am, I am grateful that my customers have allowed me to be a part of their moments. That's special. So before I sign off this episode, this first episode, please be gentle if you're going to leave some negative feedback. 

 

Let me tell you that since you're still listening, here are some tips to help your flowers live longer. First one, you do not need flower food. That's an absolute gimmick. As long as your vase is clean and your water is fresh, you're sorted. Change the water every couple of days. That's a really big one. Empty out what's in there. Give it a wipe round. Pop some fresh water back in. Every time you do this, take a small slither from the bottom of the stem. Because what can happen is flower stems will seal over. And when they do, they're not going to take any more water. You don't have to cut a slant. You don't have to cut a big chunk off. Literally the tiniest sliver. Keep them away from heat and direct sunlight. If you get sun through your windows, do not put your flowers in that window. It's the worst thing you can do to them. Also putting them next to a TV or a computer. It's not a good idea because obviously they can chuck out quite a lot of heat. Where possible, avoid draughts as well. Oh my goodness, flowers are temperamental aren't they? Any blooms that begin to wilt, move them or any ones that have died off. If you have lilies, as soon as you see the dark brown of that pollen come through, whip it off. Don't let it go dusty. Once it's gone dusty, you're doomed. If you do happen to get it on you though, whatever you do, don't rub at it. Don't scrub at it. Get a piece of sellotape or tape. Literally dab that onto the pollen dust that's on you and then pull it off and keep doing that until you've got rid of it all. It will save you a lot of hassle and a big cleaning bill. But the most thing you can really do and the best thing you can do for them, is treat your flowers like a favourite house guest. Give them a little attention, not too much and they'll stay a lot longer than you've expected. 

 

Thank you so much for joining me as I've navigated my way through this very first podcast. I really hope you'll stick around and join me for the rest of the journey. If you have enjoyed this episode and I really hope that you have, please feel free to share, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcast. This can make a really huge difference and helps others to find us. I appreciate all feedback, good and bad, but if leave in negative feedback, please keep it constructive and be kind. I'm a florist after all. 

 

You can also find us and share with everyone on the usual social media sites. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blue Sky and any others which may pop up in between. Just look for Fareham Florist Pod.. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have regarding any of the tales and or experiences that I've shared, or to do with just being a general working florist. You can reach me via email. The address is farehamfloristpod@duck.com 

 

Are you a florist with your own stories, your own experiences that you would like me to share for you? If you are, I would love to hear from you. You can reach me via email. The address is farehamfloristpod@duck.com or drop me a WhatsApp on 073 671 87685. Let me know if you would like me to keep you anonymous. If you would like me to give your business a mention, whether you run a florist, butcher, baker, or even a candlestick maker, I'm more than happy to do so providing your business is registered and trading legally. As a thank you for putting your details out there and hopefully generating some new business for you, it would be appreciated if you would be kind enough to make a donation to one of our nominated charities. These can be found on the webpage www.Fareham Florist Pod.co.uk.