Carol, Carol's Garden
How trends happen on Social media
I have to admit I was slightly scratching my head when I started to write this section. Its such a difficult subject to pin down. I’ve had no formal schooling on this, and whatever I have learned is from other people who do it better than me. I’m lucky to work with some very influential floral designers, and to have met some people who work in trends and with colour. But, I still didn't know where to start.
So I asked Sarah Statham, of Simply By Arrangement, who has become a friend through being a customer. She does the most exquisite flowers and has an incredible eye for colour, texture, space and light. This isn't flattery - I’m saying this because I know she is looking for all these things in the flowers I supply her. When I’m choosing seeds to sow, I often have her in my mind - would Sarah like this? I know she won’t like everything I grow, but I’ll sometimes include new things in her order to see what her reaction is, whether she uses it, how she photographs it. She is in the Styling/photoshoot/ workshop category of customer for me. Even when the order is for a wedding! Anyhow, this is, word for word, what she sent me:
Here’s a little story for you Carol:
A couple of years ago one of the world’s top florists was coming to see me. Things had to be right. My own small garden, despite being full of dahlias and roses, just wouldn’t cut the mustard. This needed the best flowers and the best colours.
Off I went to see Carol Siddorn. She knew how important this class was to me. The order itself wasn’t a huge one, I needed flowers just for two bowls and two bouquets and, even though I wasn’t spending several hundred pounds, Carol pulled out all the stops to make sure I took away the very best buckets of flowers.
I know how busy growers are and only rarely do I take up valuable growing time by wandering around the plot. But, this day was special, and I’ll never forget the time and care taken by Carol to show me absolutely everything there was.
‘I bet you’ll like these’ she said casually as we passed the Rudbeckia aisle. I grew them myself but had never seen colours like these- I’d never come across this variety. ‘Ah, it’s my first year trying them, they’re called Sahara’s’. She left me there, drooling for a few minutes and then she let me pick lots of them- I didn’t care that I only needed a few, I wanted lots, to experiment with all week.
And so La Musa de Las Flores came, and we used them and photographed them and she loved them- maybe not quite as much as I did because she was too busy stroking the Phlox Creme Brûlée that she had never seen before. We took photos of what we made. I took more photos all week.Gabriela took back some Phlox Creme Brûlée seeds to Mexico like a modern day plant hunter- they thrive there and she uses them in everything.
A year later I’d grown a few of my own Saharas but not enough and I bought them every week, for every wedding I did. We did a class up at a famous garden in Scotland and Rachael Scott from Hedgerow brought a few she had grown. The head gardener there had never seen them before. This year, because of us, and, more importantly because of Carol, and that magical day, The Rudbeckia Sahara is now being grown at Cambo garden where it lives quite happily even into November.
La Musa de Las Flores- so taken by the flowers she’d seen- came back a year later and met Carol, and took away more seeds. She came back again this year to teach a large class at which the majority of the flowers used were grown and supplied by Carol.Trend/ influence, call it what you like, if you’re a grower of beautiful flowers and you let others see them you never know where it might lead.
I was in two minds whether to put this up as it is, but you get the gist. Here is my take on the Sahara story
In 2015 I had seen social media posts from America showing these beautiful Rudbeckia Saharas, I can’t remember who posted them now, but probably Saipua, Soil and Stem, Floret (in the days when she was still growing and posting lots about varieties). I googled and eventually found a UK supplier with seed. I grew them in 2016, but I didn't really use them to begin with. The colours didn't fit many of my pastel coloured weddings. If I listed them on my wholesale list, no-one asked for them (brown flowers?!). But I knew Sarah would be worth a try. After she used them and posted on social media, the rest sold out immediately (though I had to keep a few for her so she didn't get cross with me for selling them all!). That autumn, I couldn't get seed in the UK for love nor money. The demand in America was huge (prompted by the same people I had followed) and so the UK seed suppliers couldn't get hold of it. I did get some from an American seed supplier, but cost me a small fortune. The following year, I grew lots and they sold really well, one of my most profitable crops. The following year, seed was freely available, lots of people grew them, and I did not sell anywhere near as many! This year, I have still grown them, but just enough for autumn weddings and orders - they are a steady seller now, and just a part of my mix.
Can you create your own trend?
We've talked about how trends develop. So, can you create your own trend? I think this depends how ambitious you are. You can create your own market (see the next section) but can you influence other growers and florists who aren't your customers?
The wonders of social media means that you might be able to, if you have a big following, or are able to influence other people who have a big following. The huge demand for dried honesty recently can probably be traced back to a free installation video produced by Sarah Winwood, a very influential floral designer in the States. Other people have been making cloud type installations, but this had mass access and and a huge audience all over the world, but especially in the US and UK.
Repetition is so important. If lots of influential people start to show similar images, then the message will seep through to the mass market. Paula has been steadily promoting yellow flowers on her own social media accounts for some time. So have a few other UK designers. This helps to reinforce a message which might already be out there, and will make you into a part of the growing trend. If I have grown a new variety and I want people to see and to buy it, I will put some into Sarah’s buckets to see if she will photograph it. But maybe only after I know I’ve got enough seed!!
Another small example: Having seen them on Floret and other US growers sites, I had tried unsuccessfully to get Colibri poppy seeds in UK. I had asked Claire about them because I knew the Italian Ranunculus people also distributed them. She was able to source them with the Flowers From the Farm Ranunculus order. So now Flowers from the Farm members are all able to grow Colibri poppies. And although many of us grow other varieties too, poppies have become a big part of what local growers can offer, especially for weddings & events.
Top tips for flower growing trends:
Carol: Yellow & mustard, Mid/bright pastel shades inc pink, lilac, lemon, Grasses especially fluffy ones
Claire: Dried flowers and grasses for installations, Dark coloured flowers, Caramel colours
Paula: Yellow and gold, Pastels/ sorbet colours, Blush and Burgundy, Ikebana style arrangements.
The self-fulfilling prophesy,
What I mean by this is influencing your own market. Simply put: promote the type of work you want to be getting.
For example: I really love colour. Not necessarily bright colours. but subtle tones, mixing colours, unusual or surprising combinations. I love working with colour and maybe adding elements of surprise. It makes my life more interesting, and I am constantly learning about colour. I don't dislike white wedding flowers, but I enjoy them less. And I grow lots of colour, so an all-white wedding means I can only consider a small section of the flowers I have available at any one time. So I hardly ever show photos of white wedding flowers on any of my social media. I do show pictures of all sorts of colours, from bright to pale and subtle, but never really pure white now. And I show lots of pictures about the growing of the flowers, the site etc. Not many staged arty or studio photos. This means I really only attract people who buy into the whole ethos of what we do, like the way we work, like colour and aren't too concerned about booking a high status floral designer. This is what I mean by a self fulfilling prophesy. Show what you want to be, and that is what your customers will think you are. That’s all they can go on. If you want weddings, show wedding photos. If you want to sell yellow flowers, show pictures of yellow flowers looking fabulous.
This isn't really setting a trend. I won't be convincing the world to give up on white wedding flowers, but I am shaping my own market to what I would most like it to be.
“TASK:
Go through your social media feeds. Are they promoting the work or story you want to tell?
Write a brief plan of how to improve, and the photos you need to get next season.”
Manipulating the algorithm
All forms of social media have different means of controlling who sees what and how images and messages are promoted. These are called algorithms. They are standardised programmes, created by people, that dictate what you see on your social media feed. The algorithms are changed from time to time, and keeping up to date with the ‘triggers’ or criteria that the algorithms work will help to keep your profile high and help you to build followers. Having more followers will increase your exposure on social media - especially Instagram. It doesn't necessarily translate into more business, but it does mean you can reach more people.
I’m not a specialist in this and there are lots of workshops you can go on to tell you in much more detail how to manipulate or manage the social media of your choice. I personally don't really aim to do this, because my customer base is fairly limited to other growers and to local florists and brides.
I asked another flower friend who has consciously built a large Instagram following in a very short period of time, for her tips:
Lucy Hunter - The Flower Hunter says:
Post consistently
Use good photos - and if they include flowers, they must be pin sharp focus
Tell a good story - in words or photos
Be interesting - photos do a lot, but there are a lot of great photos out there
Give your followers a reason to keep coming back for more - the next instalment
Be aspirational - ie post what you want to be seen to be doing
Be responsive and interact naturally with people
So what can you realistically do?
All of this discussion about trends and social media comes back to one simple point: know your ideal customer, what they want from you, and how you can best reach them.
If your ideal customer is local, wanting flowers for the kitchen table every week, then they may be keen to hear the ‘story’ of your plot, what you’re doing and what flowers you have available and how to get hold of them. They may be affected by trends, but probably only as they become mainstream.
If your ideal customer customer is an influential designer wanting something exciting and aspirational for styling or photoshoots or high end events, then you will need to keep more up to date with trends.
If you want to create your own market and to build your own distinctive brand identity, and to reach your customers directly through social media, then you will need to build your own following in the way Lucy has described above.
So, there are no ‘correct’ trends or approach to social media. Be clear about your market and deliberate in your use of social media. Choose the format and content that suits you, your ‘brand’ and your customer.