Sasha hopes flower project will blossom in Fort William
A Fort William entrepreneur is hoping to encourage more of Lochaber’s residents to buy cut flowers grown in Scotland to help tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.
Sasha McKinley, who runs the Emporium of Worldly Goods in the town’s Monzie Square, even hopes to get people to have a go at growing their own blooms for the home.
Her shop, which sells ethically-source goods from around the world, won a Fair Trade and Sustainability Award in 2020.
Sasha also now supplies seasonal, sustainably-grown cut flowers and plants and is a member of the Flowers from the Farm initiative as well as a new group Flowers Grown in Scotland. An estimated 86 per cent of flowers in the UK sold through florists, supermarkets and wholesalers are imported from Holland, Ecuador, Colombia, Kenya and even Ethiopia.
Flowers from Scottish growers will be freshly picked and will save thousands of travel miles.
Grown seasonally on a small scale, they are mainly grown outdoors without artificial light, heat or chemicals.
Sasha told the Lochaber Times: ‘This is my third year growing seasonal plants and flowers for the shop at our home in Fort William.
‘We grow outside and in tunnels, as well as in raised beds, and we have recently begun keeping bees, which are loving the garden.
‘Our compost is a mix of peat free, garden/home/ chicken compost, and enriched garden soil. We don’t use any pesticides or treat our plants with chemicals other than fertiliser and don’t use artificial preservatives.
‘We repurpose as much waste from the shop as possible in the garden – cardboard and paper is used for compost and no-dig beds, bubble wrap is used to insulate and protect the plants during cold spells, and all of our tubs are turned into planters.
‘I am also now running learning tours/workshops of the garden to encourage everyone to have a shot, no matter how much space you have, and am available to work with you directly in your garden to plan your garden.’