How to become a florist in the UK: A realistic guide
One of the most common questions I got asked (or DMed) is how did I become a florist? For context, I’m based in Glasgow in the UK. It can feel dauting when you’re just starting out as a florist, especially if you’re starting from scratch. I’ve put this realistic guide to becoming a florist together for you.
From the outside being a florist looks wonderful. You’re surrounded by beautiful blooms and get the spend your day being creative, what’s not to love? That is only a part of it though. This guide will help you decide whether a career in floristry is right for you.
What does a florist actually do?
It’s not just ‘playing with flowers’. Sorry to shatter the illusion! Running Rook Botanics looks like a lot of time spent at my desk answering emails, doing my marketing, ordering flowers. There’s also the upkeep of the studio, buckets, vessels and glassware need to be cleaned regularly, lots of garden waste needs to be disposed of and tools need to be kept oiled and sharp. The rest of the time is spent working with flowers. This includes conditioning them when they arrive, arranging them for a wedding, event or funeral, transporting them to the venue and then often collecting them and disposing of them. The main income streams for Rook Botanics are weddings, workshops, elopements and career change courses.
Every florist career looks different.
My week usually begins on a Tuesday. My Monday is typically my weekend as floristry often requires you to work the weekend. Tuesday will often be answering emails, online consultations with potential wedding and elopement customers, as well as ordering flowers in for the week’s jobs.
Wednesday will be prepping the studio. This looks like thoroughly cleaning all my buckets, sharpening and oiling all my tools, like floral knife and secateurs, filling buckets with clean water, tidying the studio and prepping any vessels, vases or boxes that will be used over the next couple of days. Thursday will often be the day flowers are delivered. This day can be an early start, my wholesaler delivers to my studio, but if you need to visit the wholesaler it may be a very early start for you. My flower order usually arrives around 8am. All the flowers need to conditioned, quality checked and then put into buckets. Depending on how big your order is this may take a good couple of hours. I find conditioning really enjoyable, I put on a queue of podcasts or an audiobook. It can be quite repetitive and physically demanding, but I’ll treat myself to a nice coffee halfway through or if it’s a really big order I’ll hire a freelancer. After conditioning I will begin creating the bouquets, arrangements or designs. If the wedding or event I’m working on is particularly big I may have the flowers delivered on Wednesday and have two full days of prep.
Friday will be doing the bulk amount of prep for the wedding or event. This may include personal wedding flowers like wedding bouquets, corsages, buttonholes, floral headdresses. It can also include lots of bud vases or table centres. There’s usually larger scale arrangements like urns and meadows. I’ll organise everything to be easily packed up the following morning.
Saturday is usually the day of the wedding or event. It’s often a very early start, particularly if the venue is further afield. The day begins with loading the car or van. I started weightlifting when I began Rook Botanics, it’s been really helpful to build up my strength as floristry requires a lot of carrying heavy things around. Once on site everything will need to be unloaded. At a wedding the personal flowers, like bouquets, need to be delivered. The ceremony will be set up first and then the reception. This may include large scale designs like archways, working at heights can be quite common so it’s useful to be confident on ladders. Sometimes you’ll need to stay on site to move around the ceremony flowers to another location.
Sunday may be a day off, or it may be a tear down day. This means going back to the venue, taking apart all of the designs you created the previous day and then disposing of them. I like to collate all the usable flowers and give them to the couple and their friends and family. Some flowers won’t be usable and will just need to be composted. Sometimes tear down has to be done at 1am! In all honesty I prefer this because then I can have a lie in on Sunday.
Even though the event is done there’s still stuff to be done. Any items that were hired will probably need to be cleaned. Getting wax off my candlestick holders is my least favourite job. The water from the buckets need to be poured away too. You’ll quickly learn that mouldy flower water is one of the worst smells ever.
Do you need qualifications to become a florist in the UK?
No, you don’t need a qualification to become a florist in the UK. However they can be a very good starting point if you want to become a competent and confident florist. If you’re looking to work in retail floristry then certain flower shops make require a qualification.
I gained my floristry qualification in Derbyshire, where I grew up. I hold a Level 3 BTEC National Award in Floristry. I had worked at a Saturday girl for about four years before attending college to get my floristry BTEC. Colleges also offer Level 2 BTEC in floristry. They seem particularly common in England, but are also available in Wales and Northern Ireland.
You can also get a City & Guilds qualification. These can be accessed in Scotland, where I’m based now, as well as other parts of the UK. As far as I’m aware there’s a Level 1 and Level 2 certificate. I completed my floristry qualification in 2010 so if you’re looking to pursue a BTEC or City & Guilds I’d recommend looking at what your local college offers.
The college course I did was comprehensive, but I did learn a lot of old school techniques. I personally believe nothing is wasted and I often adapt these techniques to suit my floristry style. But if you’re raring to go, it may feel like you’re learning at a slow pace. You also learn things the ‘proper’ way. By the time I started college at age 18 or 19 I had already done several weddings, I’d been doing funeral work since about the age of 15 and I was a whizz at retail floristry like hand tied bouquets. So a lot of the things I learnt I already knew, but had been taught to do it in a retail setting … i.e. a lot, lot quicker than the way they teach you at college.
I am really grateful for the time I spent at college. It made me an incredibly competent and thorough florist and I think learning proper techniques can help elevate your work.
Another route into floristry is to take floristry courses with independent florists, such as the intensive days that I offer. These can be a great way to get a taste without committing to a whole year long course. These types of courses are also good for florists who are looking to broaden their skillset. Since starting Rook Botanics I’ve attended two jam-packed days specialising in urns and table styling at Leafy Couture. In early 2023 I attended a week long course at the world renowned McQueens Flower School. This course specialised in large scale installations, like flower walls, set design and free-standing floral structures.
Working one to one with your favourite florist can be a great way to have a course tailor made to you. Before the one to one sessions I offer I like to have an online consultation to get to know the person, their style, their skill level and really understand what parts of floristry they want to learn. Not all floristry courses are created equal and they will all teach in different ways.
College courses
Pros: it’s very comprehensive and will give you a solid ground to build on.
Cons: can be expensive, takes a long time to complete, may not be flexible to your lifestyle, often make you order your own flowers which can be overwhelming, isn’t tailored to your floristry goals.
Group workshops
Pros: great way to dip your toe and try out floristry, they’re often really fun, great for networking and building your contacts, can be cheaper than one to one courses, you won’t be required to provide your own flowers and materials.
Cons: can be overwhelming if you’re not confident, if there’s a dominant voice in the group they may take charge, doesn’t provide you with a qualification (I personally don’t think this is important).
One to one training
Pros: great way to dip your toe and try out floristry, great for building a relationship with your teacher, the training will be bespoke to your floristry goals, skill level and style, can often be flexible around your schedule and lifestyle, you won’t be required to provide your own flowers and materials.
Cons: usually more expensive than a group workshop, doesn’t provide you with a qualification (I personally don’t think this is important).
If you prefer personalised training where the day is tailored to you, I offer one to one and two to one floristry intensive days at my studio in Glasgow. We work side by side exploring techniques, flowers and creative direction, with plenty of content opportunities to boost your portfolio.
Self taught
Pros: the cheapest way.
Cons: you may end up making expensive mistakes, can feel like an uphill battle, harder to start building a network of contacts.
Skills every beginner florist should learn
If I were to start my floristry career from the very beginning these are the beginner floristry skills I would prioritise:
Your flower and foliage knowledge. It’s impossible to know all the flowers, types and varieties. But getting a book like Flower Colour Guide by Darroch and Michael Putnam (affiliate link) can be incredibly helpful for expanding your flower knowledge. This will grow with time, but if you spend time looking through books and wholesalers websites, such as www.trianglenursery.co.uk, it will really open your horizons.
Conditioning flowers properly. This was the very first skill I learnt as a Saturday girl and it’s invaluable. This is a skill where speed can make a big difference too. Each flower has slightly different conditioning needs that will eventually become second nature. Flowers like hellebores, hydrangeas and lilac can be temperamental.
Bouquet spiralling technique. This is the method I learnt with and I stand by it. I tend to blur the lines a bit now and my stems aren’t always perfectly spiralled, but the majority of my stems are and this creates a really nice finish to your bouquets.
Working with colour. At floristry college I had the colour wheel and colour theory drilled into me so it feels like second nature now. Taking a painting class may be beneficial to get to understand colour.
Learning solid mechanics. This is particularly key if you’re focusing on event and wedding floristry. Safety is vital. Having bad mechanics not only sets you up for having a bad design but your design may fall apart or even fall on someone.
How long does it take to become a florist?
Honestly, this is a really difficult question to answer!
Basic floristry skills can develop quickly if you put your mind to it. If you’re able to dedicate regular time and practice you may feel confident within a year to start calling yourself a florist. When you’re a beginner I would recommend volunteering to help with florists or trying to find work in a flower shop. Anything you can do to help build up knowledge and experience.
To really master floristry can take years, so don’t be disheartened. Just keep practicing and learning. I have a list of recommended books that can help with your floristry education. These are my floristry essentials books. (Affiliate link.)
You never stop learning. Most florists keep learning throughout the careers. I attend at least one floristry course per year, to ensure my skills are always the best they can be. I also freelance with other florists throughout the year as I find this incredibly beneficial to learn from your peers.
Building your floristry portfolio
Creating a solid floristry portfolio is an essential building block in your floristry career. It will take time and it’s important to only add examples of work you want to become known for. Your portfolio should honestly reflect your abilities and floristry style. It will help customers decide whether you are the right florist for them.
Tips for building your portfolio:
Photograph any work that you create so you can practice photographing your work. Strengthening your photography skills will benefit you.
Experiment with colour palettes and mock ups. Your portfolio doesn’t need to be just photographs of your work. Sketches can be a great demonstration of your composition skills.
Collaborate with photographers. This is a good way to network as well as getting professional photographs.
Build a website or Instagram to give a digital home to your portfolio.
This is my floristry portfolio.
Is floristry the right career for you?
I was born to be a florist. I know that floristry is a good career for me. But the first few years of building my business, Rook Botanics, was incredibly hard. I worked a part time job for the first two years, as I wasn’t bringing in enough money. I find being a florist and running my own business incredibly satisfying. I love the creativity and problem solving that floristry needs. I love how physical the job is. You also spend a lot of your time cold and wet, which doesn’t bother me. If you feel the cold easily you may struggle.
There is definitely a seasonal aspect to the job. Most UK weddings happen between May and September, so you can expect to get very busy during this period. January can be very quiet. I use this time to rest and recover from the wreath season, which is a very busy time for Rook Botanics.
There’s a lot of weekend work if you choose to be a wedding florist. From the beginnings of Rook Botanics I may the decision to say no to work that doesn’t excite me. So I don’t do Valentine’s Day, I don’t do retail bouquets, I don’t do all white weddings, I also block out time in my calendars for time off and really stick to it. Before you begin your floristry career you should decide what are you non-negotiables and be very clear with your boundaries.
Learn Floristry at The Rookery
My studio is a welcoming space for anyone with a interest in floristry. I offer one to one and two to one sessions at The Rookery, which is the nickname for my studio, based in Glasgow Southside.
I create a bespoke programme for you, following a consultation call. Throughout the session I will answer any and all questions you may have! All flowers and materials are included, so you don’t need to worry about getting to the wholesalers and figuring out how to use their often archaic websites! I can show you how to navigate flower wholesalers, as part of your training if you wish.
