Jonathan Moseley is one of the leading florists in England known for his classic elegance yet exuberant way of arranging flowers, celebrating British seasonality with style and ease. Furthermore he is founder and influencer of the globally used hashtag #flowertalk where like-minded and passionate people can tune in regularly on Twitter. Being part of the TV Show “The Great Big Allotment Challenge” broadcasted by the BBC as well as doing floral demonstrations at shows hosted by the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies, various RHS Flower Shows and the renowned Chatsworth House enabled Jonathan to share his inspiring vision and excitement of using seasonal produce in his craft that is floristry.

It all started with a content childhood being spent immersed in the British countryside with all its wilderness and abundance, picking wild flowers and learning about them eventually led him to where he is today:
“From the very early stages of my life I saw the potential of creativity intrinsically linked with plant materials.” However it wasn't until later that he discovered that floristry would be his calling.

Being gifted a collection of flower arranging paraphernalia by an old lady at age nine lured Jonathan deeper into the fascinating world of floristry: Floral pins, wires, pottery dishes and a hand full of books on flower arranging changed his world: “My poor Mothers garden was raided each afternoon after school as I experimented with making a new style of flower arrangement each time.”

Jumping ahead a few years Jonathan started to work on weekends in a local flower shop keeping it a well hidden secret: “These times were very different to now. In a small South Yorkshire community boy’s definitely did not arrange flowers. I remember distinctly disappearing into the back room of the shop if I spotted any children who I knew and used to hide, pathetically fearful, that I would be ridiculed for what was then classed as a feminine pursuit.” He further says: “I have championed the fact that arranging flowers is for anyone and everyone and the feel-good factor that it generates is immense” which is what helped Jonathan to stay on track with his true passion and motivating him to pursue floristry even further.

The deep desire to experiment stayed with him throughout his career enabling him to arrange in a wide array of styles: whether it is controlled and classic or form free and wild, Jonathan manages to infuse his vibrant vision into all of them: “My intrinsic way of working is to emulate nature at all times, to allow each flower and stem of foliage to own its right to have a voice and to create in a systematic way that is embryonic and allowed to change at any stage. “ Flexibility and willingness to change whilst staying true to his core values is what led him to his successful career of 27 years in the commercial world of floristry.

A lot has changed since Jonathan has first started working professionally. Flower trends have come and gone like fashion enabling him to draw from a large pool of history and be fuelled to reinvent, interpret and curate exciting work. “Like many creative people I find the need to “top-up” my creativity bank account regularly by visiting galleries, museums, exhibitions and shows Jonathan says when talking about his inspirations: “I also find buying new products, investing in new containers and working with many wholesalers and suppliers helpful to feed my creativity by having new materials and mediums to work with. However the biggest source of inspiration for me remains consistent – nature and the countryside”.

These inspirations are also reflected in his own garden where he grows his own cut flowers to stay true tone of his core values: seasonality. Jonathan often shares his abundant knowledge of the best plants for growing cut flowers during his talks to help spread the love and passion for regional produce that he has: “My top favourite flowers for cutting ( the ones I can never live without ) have to be Sweet Peas, Cosmos, Nigella, Cornflowers, Astrantia, Dahlia, Lupins, Hellebores, Delphiniums and Tulips”.

Through the global recognition of his work and his passion for nature Jonathan is using his platform to advocate for more seasonality and sustainability within the industry and beyond. His ability to promote British grown flowers through working with regional suppliers and networks like “Flowers from the Farm” as well as his widely attended floral demonstrations and talks have led to more public education and recognition of the topics he is passionate about.

With contemporary issues like sustainability already being present there are still issue that need more attention Jonathan thinks: “I feel that all sectors of society still feel that floristry can be done inexpensively and the prevailing attitude that flowers can be produced inexpensively needs to change. Florists need to continue to work commercially and not allow their skill to be devalued or cheapened by people who are able or willing to work for nothing. Collectively we should unite to ensure that our professionalism, skill level and creativity are correctly priced and valued.”

It is after all the value of allowing beauty and abundance into the homes and spaces that we are frequenting. It is the inspiration we get and the “feel-good” factor that lifts our spirits. And Jonathan is able to stay true to exactly that even during the current times.

As the flower industry, like many other sectors, have been impacted greatly by the current global pandemic that is caused by Covid-19 Jonathan says: “Within a week I received cancellations for over 45 events which included major Flower like RHS Shows, The Harrogate Flower Show, The Great Yorkshire show and Woburn Abbey flower show to name but a few. Like many people in this challenging industry I am self employed and rely heavily on the key season of Spring for my income stream to commence after the bleak months of January & February. My main concern is for our wonderful British Flowers growers who have been effected enormously during this key season. They produce and grow flowers to meet projected sales from large retailers hitting the peak periods of Mothers day & Easter, naturally these are hugely affected by the current situation.”

Creative flexibility and the spirit to pivot in an affected industry is what is needed during the next couple of months as well as a positive mindset to be able to take on the challenges ahead and to turn towards digital content more than ever:

“Personally I am lucky to have my garden to absorb my time where I can continue to cultivate and harvest an array of seasonal flowers and foliage's to satisfy my own creativity and use the mediums of social media to still engage with my flower fans and hopefully put a smile on their faces each day” says Jonathan pausing before continuing : “My regular flower course has gone online, where designs are shared through video links. These are tough times for all of us but as an industry we need to stay strong, united and positive remembering that there will always be a need and a desire for people to have beautiful flowers within their lives. “

If you want to know more about Jonathan and the flowers he continues to create, then stay in touch via:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanmoseley/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.moseley2
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpmoseley

or his own Homepage: https://www.jonathan-moseley.com