Growing plants has always run in through the veins of India Hurst, founder and owner of Vervain Floral Design. Based in Worcestershire India specialises in growing abundant blooms and naturally untamed specialities for her own contemporary wild floral design practise.

With her unique skills of designing picturesque compositions based upon an excellence in plant selection her work has been featured at a Valentino Pop up in London, as well as Vogue Magazine as one of the best weddings in 2019. She has curated her signature wilderness and beguiled with her unique aesthetic and voice in the world of contemporary floral design.

India, going up as a fourth-generation horticulturist, was always surrounded and immersed in nature as well a a wealth of knowledge about plants: “I think one of the main values that has shaped the way I work is my appreciation and acceptance for the amount of time and work it takes to grow plants and flowers. I’ve watched and learnt so much from my parents on how they care for their plants, and that has absolutely rubbed off”, she continues: “Also spending so much time within the world of plants and flowers I feel that knowledge and exposure to plants has made me more aware of so many different flowers and plants that maybe I would not have been aware of if I wasn’t surrounded by them daily.”

This may be one part oft the recipe that sets Vervain apart from other independent farmer florists within the UK. Another might be the passion for flowers fuelled by her floristry course at Tallulah Rose Flower School: “I started working on building Vervain straightway after my Tallulah Rose course ended. I was very luck with my experience, Rachel gave me a lot time to work on my style, answer my questions and concerns and she really helped build my confidence that I could achieve what I wanted.” With flowers already growing under the creative direction of India it continued to be a natural progression into starting a thriving business dedicating her passion and time: “The first thing I did after the course was plan a photoshoot, I wanted to create all the content for my website before I launched it, I wanted to launch with a clear style and floral identity straightway, I believe this really did help me express my style from the beginning of Vervain.”

Describing this distinct floral identity that India has been able to create, her partner Christopher lovingly came up with the words “Orchestrated Chaos” and India agrees: “I truly believe that still applies. I never wanted to create anything that looked overly ‘arranged’, I want it to feel like it has come from the garden and my arranging has just captured that moment.”

Growing plants for the love of growing is at the very core of Vervain, so are eco-conscious processes and techniques that go hand-in-hand such as the use of peat free compost, cutting down waste as much as possible and reusing materials. In Indias floral-design practise foam has been banned from the studio and replaced with sustainable techniques that further enhance the distinct visual aesthetic.
India adds: “I think the industry overall still has a huge amount of work to do, the waste is phenomenal, from the actual flower waste to the packaging wholesale flowers are shipped in, there is a long way to go but the industry is very slowly changing.”

Whilst always evolving looking for new sustainable practises and plant specialities to bring to the business there is one thing India is never tired of growing: bearded Iris:
“Piled into a vase with more bearded irises. I think each season, maybe even each month (or week) there are combination that I try and love, like right now I love bronze fennel with everything, but bearded irises will always be my number one.” She continues: “Grow what you want to grow, grow what excites you and what you love. Don’t grow what you think you should, or what is ‘trendy’ if you grow what you love you with enjoy that hard exhausting rewarding process so much more.”

Currently Covid-19 is affecting the industry in every sector and with being a small independent business there is an uncertainty looming, that on the bright side dares to embrace change and reimagine the business:
“The current situation is so difficult for everyone, but I think the wedding industry is really suffering. Our whole year is centered around celebrations that bring large groups of people together so to lose that overnight was hard. The loss of income is incredible stressful, as is having to manage all the postponements in way that works for both you as a business but also your clients, who are going through so many emotions too. I think the worst part for me personally was dealing with the reality of not creating all of that floral work I had spent months and months planning for. The reality that I may not make flowers in that way for most of the year is a hard to get my head around. I am still not sure I have dealt with that feeling. I love my job and I love working, I thrive off being busy and I love nothing more than to createbeautiful work for my clients, so the prospect of not working has been tough. We have tried local delivery and nationwide shipping, with some success but it isn’t the same.”

As a result India is currently working on creating online-content to keep working with her beautiful blooms she continues to grow:

“This has been in the planning for a while, and lockdown has spurred it on a little more. I am to offering bespoke 1:1 online classes, these are 2.5hrs classes which will include demos, advice and encouragement with the option for the attendee to create while I offer guidance and help. I am offering shorter group class every week, covering topics ranging from table centers to arches. I hope to continue to offer these throughout the year.”

With the final question of “Whats next for Vervain?” India charmingly answers: “I’ll get back to you… maybe ask me again in 2021!” And we sure will.

In the meantime if you want to take part in her classes be sure to visit:
https://www.vervainfloraldesign.com/vervain-onetoone-classes

And if you can’t get enough of the floral abundance be sure to follow her on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/vervainflowers