BEAUTY IN EVERY FORM

Words: Liam Stretch Photos: Supplied

Amongst the seasonal drying blooms and fresh-cut bouquets resides a team of truly wonderful women.

Making up a magical woodland at the far end of The Tannery, Mrs Bottomley’s Flowers is a place of whimsy and quirk – set to reflect the very nature of its namesake: matriarch of the business Liz’s maternal grandmother, Millie Eleanor Watkins – aka Millicent Bottomley.

Mrs Millicent Bottomley was an author’s dream, Liz says – she read, knitted and listened to The Archers or parliament simultaneously on the wireless each afternoon. Millicent always had at her disposal a 20-pound wooden box of Cox’s orange apples, stored under her bed – and would never turn her nose up at a drop of brandy.

This zest for life is transplanted into her granddaughter and great-granddaughter, Liz and Hannah who own the florist shop.

It’s all about local at Mrs Bottomley’s; the plants and flowers are being sourced from Canterbury and New Zealand producers, with attention paid to the carbon footprint that many florists and flower shops build up by purchasing imported flowers.

This love of local is supported by weekly foraging escapades.

“It’s an important element to Mrs Bottomley’s. We’ve been doing this since Hannah was a child... she was a little embarrassed at her mother’s foraging, with flax stems poking out windows.”

Leaving a Mrs Bottomley’s postcard in a letterbox requesting a few branches
in return for a seasonal bunch has also proved fruitful – these methods ring true of sustainability and also keep the team connected with the community.

It’s refreshing to find a group dedicated to nature and more importantly, people. Their philosophy is simple – to create breathtakingly beautiful, wild and whimsical bouquets, designed with love and care. Liz herself shares the perfect quote by Roald Dahl with those attending her floristry classes.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

mrsbottomleysflowers.nz