FLOWERS BY POST
Zoe Julian talks about what it’s like to be part of a flourishing family business on Scilly, sending out more than three million blooms a year
Don’t be afraid to get started. Flower farming has a long history on the islands and my parents-in-law Andrew and Hilary Julian originally sold their crops through the traditional wholesale route, while also letting their cottages to guests to earn extra income. They began Scilly Flowers after a holidaymaker asked if he could send a friend some of the pinks they grew. Instead of dismissing the idea, Andrew said, “Get the man a box,” and, on the news of a successful delivery, launched the mail-order company from a glasshouse and garden shed. It’s very inspiring. Before they moved to Churchtown Farm, where we’re based, they hadn’t run a business or cultivated flowers, but settled on St Martin’s simply because they loved the island. The subtropical climate here on the Isles of Scilly means we rarely have a frost, and grow our narcissi (which flower from October to Easter), a staple crop of the archipelago, and pinks ( harvested from May to October) in small fields, protected from Atlantic gales by tall hedges, packing them and sending them directly to customers by post.
Go with what interests you. I love the aesthetics side of Scilly Flowers – arranging bouquets, taking photographs and developing branding. I used to teach environmental education, so I don’t have a marketing background, it just interested me and I’ve learned along the way. My husband Ben always dreamed of returning to St Martin’s, as he had lived here from the age of 16 but left to go to agricultural college and work. When we arrived on the island in 2002 to join the team, I was the best person to do that job, while he was very good with computers and could see ways to build on the website his mother had set up.
Be prepared to turn your hand to
anything. Being a partner in a business with 16 employees should mean that I can step back and look at the bigger picture. But this doesn’t happen as much as I’d like it to – when we’re busy, I often end up answering the phones or packing orders. I have to remind myself that I can only expect so much from my working day. Not all relationships survive running a business together. It’s not so much about how strong it is, but about how your relationship works. Will it stand that kind of pressure or not? The key for Ben and me is that we don’t hide what we’re thinking from each other.
Keep things simple. Ours is a traditional industry selling a product in a modern way, but it’s also very straightforward – we send scented flowers by post. When you’re starting out, it’s easy to get caught up with grand ambitions, but it doesn’t have to be all Dragons’ Den. Don’t lose sight of the reason you wanted to do it in the first place. It’s more “Phew, we’ve got through it” than “Wow, we’ve made it”. We tend to be so exhausted after big events that we don’t take time to celebrate. It’s often straight into the next challenge. Our two busiest times are Christmas and Mother’s Day, when we dispatch 27,000 boxes of narcissi. Change brings a chance to improve. We’re working on how we can wrap our flowers differently and, ideally, massively reduce the plastic we use. We’ve already gone from cultivating our pinks in peat growbags to pots of coir. We hope to be involved with a solar project across Scilly and, eventually, use electric vehicles, too. Living and working on an island teaches you all sorts. You have to just give things a go, as it’s not possible to get hold of a plumber or builder at short notice. Luckily, Ben is very resourceful. Summer is beach-based and outdoorsy; in winter, my friends who work in tourism are free to organise lots of social events. Plus, you can’t get distracted by commuting (I live 90 seconds from the office) or doing a supermarket shop (there aren’t any here), so there’s extra time for social things. The view from my desk is hard to beat – from here, I can see a lighthouse, the island of Samson and the far end of Tresco. scillyflowers.co.uk