Clara Barthorp – Wilde Thyme
For over a decade, Wilde Thyme has been one of Jersey’s most evocative floral voices, blending wild beauty and intentional design into its own art form. Founder Clara Barthorp describes the start of her creative career as unconventional. “At the start, I did everything the wrong way round,” she reflected. “I created the business, then did a three-week 1-1 training course, and committed to doing floristry for events before I barely knew a stock from an astilbe.”
Nevertheless, Clara has always had a lifelong affinity for flowers and colour. She leveraged her background in interior design to embrace flowers with instinctive creativity, evolving the business from her kitchen table, to her shed, to town shops, and then finally back to her creative hub in her garden, where she could spend quality time with her four-legged companion, Fennel.
Wilde Thyme’s style is romantic and wildly lovely, using English garden-inspired blooms and reflecting Clara’s ethos. “The curated chaos feels very much like me, and suits my Type B personality,” she explained, emphasising that “although there are no rules when I work, everything is actually very intentional,” from design to ordering, to how and why each stem sits beside another.
Specialising in weddings and events, Wilde Thyme knows how to deliver when given a design challenge or large-scale installation. Sustainability is also a key factor for Clara, and she proudly noted that she has avoided the toxic green floral sponge OASIS since 2019, opting instead for chicken wire and composting green waste. Any unwanted leftover flowers from events find a new life in children’s craft projects at Les Petits Écoles.
Clara, finding joy in seasonal change, confesses that she never limits herself to one go-to flower, preferring to “keep it fresh and interesting.” She notes that whilst peonies are “the divas of the flower world”, their beauty still inspires her creative vision, in spite of being a tricky flower to work with.
On the island, peony season always sparks excitement, while early daffodils arrive to hint at warmer days on the horizon. Though Clara finds native wildflowers beautiful, she won’t pick them, but loves supporting locally grown flowers when possible. She believes that Jersey’s flower lovers are much like those anywhere else, drawn to blooms they connect with and to florists whose style resonates with theirs.
At the end of the day, Clara hopes that every arrangement brings as much joy to its recipient as she experienced creating it. “If my flowers can create happy memories that live on long after the day is over, I feel I have succeeded,” she asserted.
Flowers for Life’s Moments
Mother’s Day Flowers: Ranunculus.
Wedding Flowers: Sweetpeas, cosmos, ammi, garden roses and peonies.
Funerals: Personal ones, from a family garden.
Apologies: Our “Secret Garden” basket: replantable spring bulbs, moss, pussy willow and branches.
A flower you’d give yourself: David Austin Roses to grow.
wildethyme.com
Ffion Giulitti-Holley – Bella Fiori
Bella Fiori in St. Helier has become synonymous with joyous bouquets and bespoke designs. Owner and florist Ffion Giulitti-Holley comes from a lifetime’s love for the craft that she traces back to humble beginnings at a young age.
“I started early as a Saturday girl at 12 years old back in North Wales,” she recounts. “I had always liked flowers, but hadn’t thought about it as a job until my mum happened to be in the local florist where they needed a Saturday girl.” After taking her first shift, she stayed with the floristry for around six years before going to college to train, moving to a local floristry closer to her studies whilst completing her qualifications.
She found her way to Jersey in 2002 and has been here ever since, boasting 32 years in the industry — or “31 Valentines and Mother’s Days,” as she quantifies it. She described her style as “bold and a bit quirky,” but feels comfortable adapting to any style her clients request.
Her true speciality lies in personal curations, particularly bespoke funeral pieces. “I would say that’s my speciality,” she said. “These can be specific favoured items of the deceased, and I am always honoured to be asked to create these pieces for loved ones.” A Cornsnake she made recently is her current favourite project, and she delights in the creative freedom and significance that these commissions bring.
Her approach to flowers is rooted in understanding each client’s emotions. When asked what she hopes people feel when they receive one of her bouquets, Ffi simply said, “I hope that through the design they feel the love that went into making them and the love that came from the person that ordered them. If they enjoy them as intended, and the memory of those flowers stays with them, my job is done.”
She doesn’t have a single favourite flower, but rather prefers any that arrive in an “amazing colour,” or “unusual shape or scent.” However, she notes that foxglove holds a special place in her heart, as her own name translates to foxglove in Welsh. When building bouquets she most often reaches for wax flower, lisianthus or gerbera. She also loves quirky blooms that provide a talking point, such as Asclepias ‘Moby Dick’.
In Jersey, she finds her customers are drawn to local favourites like the Jersey lily or hare’s tails, echoing the island’s floral traditions, and she champions locally grown agapanthus and peonies when they are in season.
Flowers for Life’s Moments:
Birthdays: Sunflowers
Apologising: White Roses
New Beginnings: Cherry Blossom
“Thinking of You”: Mixed Tulips
A flower you’d give yourself: Genista
bellafiori.je
Liz Bellee & Sarah Greenwood – Woodside Flowers
Woodside Flowers boast an entire team in Trinity, and their floral artistry is a collective craft combining decades of experience. It is little wonder how their bouquets and arrangements emulate such skill and creativity. Liz Bellee, one of their seasoned florists, has 39 years of experience in the field, having started straight out of college to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Luisa Robalo has lent her natural creative talent and design flair to Woodside for over 20 years, while Sarah Greenwood transitioned from a 20-year nursing career to take over the family floristry and farm shop for what is now over a decade.
Woodside’s style is versatile, tailored “to meet the preference of our customers from classic, vintage, modern, bright, hand-tied bouquets, arrangements and many others.” They truly offer something for everyone, with their approach ensuring customers find the perfect floral expression for any occasion.
Their favourite flowers are varied. Whilst Liz’s favourite is the peony for its outstanding beauty and scent, Sarah leans towards daffodils for the joy and hope they bring with spring. Luisa, on the other hand, cherishes all flowers.
When creating bouquets, the team at Woodside typically reach for roses, as admirers of their versatility. “They can be formal, or casually chic,” Sarah commented, noting that she also champions underrated blooms like ranunculus, lauded for their pastel beauty but acknowledged as tricky due to their delicate nature.
Locally, their customers show a fondness for Jersey’s seasonal classics, such as iris, anemones and daffodils, though many also favour more elegant, vintage-chic bouquets in pastel or white-and-green palettes. While native meadow flowers are treasured for simple vase arrangements, certain natives are less suited for larger bouquets, and the team at Woodside recognise that each flower has its perfect moment and purpose.
Ultimately, Woodside hopes their flowers make people feel “joy, uplifted, loved, thought of and comforted,” a sentiment they aim to echo in every arrangement.
Flowers for Life’s Moments
Valentine’s Day: Roses
Birthday: Delphiniums
Wedding: Peonies
Funeral: Lilies
“Thinking of you”: Lissianthus
woodsideflowers.je
Claire Evans – Eden by Claire
Claire Evans, of Eden by Claire, has over thirty years of experience in floristry and traces her love of flowers back to childhood visits to her local flower shop. “The lady who owned the shop, who I later worked for when I was 15, used to give me some of the snapped flower heads off the floor for my bedroom,” she recalled. That early fascination became a commitment when she was 12, going to night school to do flower arranging classes before getting her first Saturday job at 13. “I worked for six months without pay to gain experience,” she said. “I was paid in flowers so that I could practice arrangements, before securing a top wage of £1.50 per hour!”
Claire’s formal training took her to Northop College in Wales. Whilst studying there, part of her work experience was to work for a florist for six months. “I was lucky to work for the best in Jersey… even though I did nearly poison him once while making coffee!” she said. “He definitely shaped the way I work.”
Her favourite bouquets are relaxed and organic blooms that resemble the style of an English garden, with lots of mixed foliages. Her personal favourite bloom, however, is a ‘Westminster Abbey’ Rose. “They have the most perfect petal formation in a gorgeous latte tone. It’s not your average rose, and not always available, but when it is I will always add some to my order.” When it comes to foliage and greenery, she loves incorporating all varieties of eucalyptus and is firm on avoiding anything unnatural, such as dyed or rainbow roses.
In Jersey, Claire finds customers gravitate towards a certain aesthetic rather than a particular flower. “We sell a lot of neutral tones with lots of select foliages,” she said. These flowers are sourced from Holland to ensure quality and freshness, with suppliers who can always meet the demands and quantities she needs. “I have three amazing Dutch suppliers that look after me,” she explained. “I can secure the best prices from the Dutch auction to pass onto my customers.” She usually receives around three to four fresh deliveries per week.
Her clientele is broad, ranging from those wanting a simple grab-and-go bouquet or bunch of eucalyptus each week to clients wanting multiple vases of flowers throughout the home. Throughout her years of experience, she notes that seasonal freshness has been the most important factor overall for her customers.
Like many florists, she hopes the flowers are about the experience as much as the arrangement itself. “Hopefully it’s not just about putting the flowers in a vase,” she said, “it’s about the surprise of receiving them, taking them home, then watching them open, bloom and change each day and enjoying that process, maybe even saving a few stems and preserving them after as a memory. Sending flowers can mean and say so much to someone.”
Flowers for Life’s Moments
Valentine’s Day: Their favourite flowers/roses.
Birthday: Seasonal.
Funeral: Anything white or pastel, tending to avoid lilies.
New beginnings/spring cleaning: White or lemon tulips.
“Thinking of you”: Spring-style relaxed flowers.
edenbyclaire.com
