A career that’s in bloom

Roses are red, violets are blue... if you’ve always fancied working with flowers, then a career in floristry could be for you.

Florists typically design, construct and sell flower arrangements. These skills are needed for a variety of occasions – Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, bereavements and so on.

Florists also create flower displays for special functions and events.

If you want to be the pick of the bunch in what’s a very competitive industry, you’ll need a lot more than just flower arranging skills.

Floristry is a highly skilled profession for which you must undergo years of at a college – i.e. working towards either a City and Guilds or BTEC-recognised floristry qualifications.

“Intensive courses (workshops) may be suitable, but floristry has many areas of expertise,” continues Tracy.

“These area include retail, customer service, plant and flower recognition and knowledge, care and conditioning of the product, IT skills, contracting... and that’s before you start on the principles and elements of design techniques and interpretation of the customers’ requirements.

“Intensive short courses cannot give you the depth of experience you need to be a florist unless you have had experience within a floristry shop beforehand.”