PULSE Newsletter Issue 20

Posted by I.S. Sundries on 10th Nov 2026

PULSE Newsletter Issue 20

This week, we look ahead to Christmas with advice on sourcing British winter flowers, festive foliage and seasonal design trends, alongside practical tips for pricing 2027 weddings profitably. We celebrate Winter Flowers Week at London's Garden Museum and mark Armistice Day with a look at remembrance flowers. Plus, discover how houseplants are helping to tackle stress, with a surprising makeover at Forest Green Rovers Football Club.

Flora Magazine's new guide to British Winter flowers (read it here) makes one timing point that matters this week: share your Christmas-week volumes with suppliers by mid-November where possible, order in writing, and ask which lines are "certain, likely, or frost-dependent". Its advice is to order foliage and berries first, as they're the least weather-sensitive, and to plan an imported fallback for any design that relies on a single British crop.

For December, the guide lists scented Narcissus (mainly from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly), Hellebores, and a strong foliage and berry list: Holly, Ivy (including berried Ivy), Viburnum Tinus, Skimmia, Pittosporum, Mahonia and Snowberry, plus Spruce, Pine, Fir and Mistletoe. Dried and preserved seed heads, grasses, Hydrangea and Statice fill the gaps. On selling, it suggests labelling the grower or county, not discounting British stems (they often cost more per stem and come in smaller lots), and using the honest phrase "British where possible" rather than promising a fully British bouquet.

On the foliage side, the Floristry Trade Club has started a Christmas Foliage A–Z by Su Whale (members can read it here). Its first entry is a useful counter-side fact: Noble Fir (Abies Procera) is "often incorrectly referred to as Blue Spruce", is sold in weighted bunches, and is a staple for door wreaths, swags and garlands.

For a trend steer, Karen Barnes has published a video demonstrating a Christmas hand-tied "reflecting the major trends for the season", built from Magnolia, Hydrangea, Ivy, Carnations and Cotton (watch it here). It's a soft, textural look that leans on foliage and dried elements, so it travels well through a busy December.

As florists start quoting for 2027 weddings, Flora Magazine has published a step-by-step guide to building a wedding quote that protects profit (read it here). It breaks each item into five costs: flowers and foliage (at the price you actually pay, including waste); sundries such as wire, tape, water tubes, mechanics and packaging; labour at an hourly rate that includes employer costs; delivery, setup and collection; and overheads plus a margin you choose deliberately.

Its illustrative example (the article stresses these are round numbers, not benchmarks) adds £30 of flowers, £4 of sundries and 90 minutes' labour at £16/hour to reach £58 before overheads, delivery or profit. As the guide puts it: "A quote of £58 would leave nothing for the business." It also warns that a simple multiplier on flower cost tends to underprice labour-heavy pieces such as arches, and recommends a minimum order value, a non-refundable deposit to secure the date, a stated quote validity period and a proper deposit-and-return process for hire items.

With the National Living Wage due to rise to £13.21 from April 2027 (covered in our 2 November edition), it's a timely moment to check that labour is properly costed into next year's wedding menus.

The Garden Museum in London is running Winter Flowers Week from the 10th to the 15th November, its Winter follow-up to the Summer British Flowers Week exhibition (read it here at The Florist). Five florists are creating large installations in the museum's Grade II listed building using seasonal British-grown flowers and foliage and environmentally friendly methods:

- Billy Loves Flowers (Billy Hillhouse), whose clients include Sotheby's and Netflix

- Botanical Tales (Bex Partridge), known for grasses, seed heads and weeds

- Flùr (Holly Hmiddouche), whose clients include Hermès and Dior

- Joanne Truby, with 15 years in flowers and a focus on sustainability and wellbeing

- Yinari (Nari Yi), who works with foraged materials for sculptural design

There's a late opening on Thursday 12th November with live music, drinks, floral activities and a panel talk with the exhibiting florists. Tickets are via the Garden Museum website.

Remembrance Sunday was 8th November and Armistice Day falls this Wednesday, 11th November. The Floristry Trade Club's Poppies for Remembrance by Su Whale  is a handy refresher (read it here). The red poppy became the Royal British Legion's symbol of remembrance in November 1921, inspired by the poppies on First World War battlefields and John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields.

For florists making tributes this week, the practical points are useful: fresh poppies keep best at 2–5°C away from draughts and heat; their milky sap can irritate, so stand stems in water for 24 hours or sear the ends; and, "like all hairy stemmed flowers, display in shallow water to prevent stem rot."

If red poppies aren't available, the article suggests red Anemones, Carnations, Roses or red mini Gerberas with black centres (such as 'Piccolini', 'Nirvana' or 'Suri').

For International Stress Awareness Week (2nd – 6th November), the Plants & Flowers Foundation Holland's "Feel the Plant Effect" campaign put more than sixty houseplants into the home changing room at Forest Green Rovers in Gloucestershire, unveiled before their National League match against Harrogate Town (read it here).

The campaign's survey of 2,008 UK adults (conducted by Research Without Barriers, 20th – 23rd October) found that 30% say living houseplants noticeably lower their stress, 39% want to make a high-stress room at home greener this Winter, and 27% avoid buying plants because they fear they'll die. Healthcare waiting rooms topped the list of spaces people want greener (48%). Sports psychologist Dr Josephine Perry said: "Living greenery acts as a natural buffer, actively reducing nervous system arousal."

10th –15th Nov 2026 - Winter Flowers Week, Garden Museum, London. Late opening Thu 12th Nov with panel talk

11th Nov 2026 - Armistice Day

5 Dec 2026 - Small Business Saturday

Nov 2026 – Jan 2027 - RHS Glow illuminations (https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/articles/glow-illuminations) exact venues/dates not verified

14 Feb 2027 - Valentine's Day (Sunday)

7 Mar 2027 - Mothering Sunday (UK)

April 2027 - National Living Wage rises to £13.21, Floristry Trade Club (https://www.floristrytradeclub.co.uk/post/autumn-budget-2026-impact-on-small-businesses)

6–9 May 2027 - RHS Malvern Spring Festival, RHS (https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/malvern-spring-festival)

18–22 May 2027 - RHS Chelsea Flower Show, RHS (https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show)

21–25 Jul 2027 - RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, RHS (https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-flower-show-tatton-park)

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