‘Give two florists the same flowers and they’ll create something completely different’

“It’s not a bad commute to work!” jokes Megan Troughton,  making the dozen or so steps from the kitchen door to the shed she runs her floristry business from, painted a fetching shade of turquoise in the garden of her home in Southville. It’s pouring with rain but she’s soon through it’s double doors, guarded by a gargoyle, and dry beneath the floral wallpaper that covers the ceiling. Fresh cut flowers sit in buckets on the floor, while glass vases are stacked on shelves around the window.

“My shed is small, but it’s amazing how much comes out of it,” laughs Megan, who works under the moniker Megan Lily Floral Design. “If I’m doing a pedestal for a wedding, I have to assemble it at the venue because the shed isn’t tall enough. It’s just the right temperature in the summer as it keeps the flowers nice and cool, but it’s cold working out here in the winter.”

Megan works from her shed in the garden of her Southville home

Megan trained in floristry in 2012 after realising she needed to leave her office job and do something more creative. “I’ve always been a make-do, practical, hands-on person,” she says. “Floristry was sort of in the background: I loved flowers and had an outdoorsy childhood full of wildlife. I’ve always made things with my hands and done things that were skilled and intricate.

“I was nearly the oldest person on the floristry course – it was mainly 16- and 17-year-olds. We all entered the RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year and I got into the final when I was just a student. I’d only been training for 18 months but I was well over 30 so I couldn’t enter Young Florist of the Year with the rest of my classmates. I had to go in with the big boys – famous florists that I’d seen in magazines. I was a bit embarrassed, entering because my tutor told me to, and I didn’t win a medal but it was amazing to display a piece at Chelsea Flower Show.”

Megan in her shed, the ceiling of which is wallpapered with a floral design

Megan always knew that she wanted to have her own floristry business, rather than working in someone else’s shop. “Being self-employed and not having to sit in an office has always suited me. I’m in control of my own lifestyle and have a more flexible life,” she says.

“Once I finished my course, I started small with friends’ weddings, and I had a flower stall at a market that used to run at Ashton Court. I didn’t sell that many flowers but it was good for booking weddings in. I decided I didn’t want a shop or a market stall but that I could work from home doing weddings.”

Megan’s workspace in her shed

It’s at the work surface in the shed, this morning occupied by a half-used bale of twine and several pair of lovingly-worn secateurs, that Megan creates wedding flowers, flower crowns, event bouquets and special orders in her signature style. “I had quite traditional training, but I’ve translated it into my own style, which is quite wild and wonderful,” she says. “That’s what I love about floristry: you could give two florists the same flowers and design and they would both create something completely different.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiHBnH0BM5T/?taken-by=meganlilyfloraldesign

Alongside running her wedding business, Megan has also been using her design skills to create seasonal bouquets using British flowers for online floristry company 89 Petals since the end of 2017. “I get paid to dream up amazing bouquets and then other people make them,” Megan says. “It’s a dream. I don’t know any other florists with a job like this!” The designs are sent to a team, who make the orders as they come in – either one-off bouquets or as part of a subscription service.

As the rain continues to pelt down, she returns to the kitchen to check the latest 89 Petals bouquet that has arrived in the post for her to check. “These bouquets have been designed to be a treat,” Megan says, admiring the perfect coral-coloured roses that add bright pops of colour to the loose bunch. “Of course flowers aren’t in any way a necessity, but they are wonderful. In many ways, I think they are the ultimate luxury.”

See more of Megan’s designs by visiting www.meganlilyfloraldesign.co.uk or www.89petals.co.uk