About Kate
Established in 2016, Martha Rose flowers is based in South Newbury.
When Kate was planning her floristry studio, she took inspiration from her memories of Martha and Rose, two elderly aunts on her father's side of the family. So, Martha and Rose lent the names to the venture.
Raised in the Berkshire countryside, Kate grew up picking wildflowers and home-grown fruit and vegetables - on her visits to her aunts she would learn about the plants in their gardens and the ones found in the local hedgerows. Those early days and her Mother's love of flowers were the beginning of her love for gardening.
Given this background, it is no surprise that Martha Rose's style is relaxed and natural, bringing to life an abundant blend of cottage gardens and wild flower meadows, specialising in British grown flowers such as English roses, foliage, grasses and herbs.
Clients will be guaranteed a very particular and personalised service from Kate, now based in her charming studio in South Newbury, nestled on the Berkshire/Hampshire border.
Kate worked in the fashion industry for over 30 years, where her personal flair and eye for colour brought her much success and her creativity now continues in her flowers.
The Flowers
Martha Rose creates floral designs for weddings, events and the home across Berkshire, Hampshire and Wiltshire.
We are inspired by the changing seasons and dedicated to using only the finest British blooms, herbs and foliage where possible, from our wonderful flower farms here in Berkshire and Hampshire.
All the flowers are hand picked and each stem is carefully selected and considered for its shape, size and form, ensuring the perfect flowers for every event.
Our Style
Martha Rose is influenced by English cottage gardens, the vintage blooms and abundant hedgerows are at the heart of our style - informal, loose, wild and romantic.
We let the flowers tell a story, each equally important as the other - some take centre stage, like the roses and dahlias, others dance in the background subtly for example astrantia and scabious; all coming together in beautiful union.
Although this is our natural style, we can also create more formal arrangements.
Sustainability
We always consider our environment and footprint in whatever we do. We use British growers from Spring to Autumn who grow without pesticides and we will forage out of season and use seasonal and dried flowers during the winter months. If we have to source further afield we only use flowers from farms where they grow in the same way.
We do not use floral foam but arrange all our flowers in water, using chicken wire and moss where applicable. After each event we compost all the green waste.
The Flower Farms
One of the farms we use is The Real flower Company, based in Hinton Ampner in the South Downs National Park.
Here, hand tended garden roses, wild flowers, herbs and foliage are grown for their scent - responsibly grown with sustainable techniques and eco initiatives. Scent is most important to everything they grow. Bee hives are dotted around the paddocks as they in turn aid pollination and bantams and guinea fowl roam to keep the aphids and unwanted insects at bay.
When the British growing season is over the roses are sourced from Tambuzi Garden Roses who farm in the foothills of Mount Kenya. The Real Flower Company have a very close relationship with them which spans more than 20 years. Tambuzi have the same ethos and the emphasis is on growing scented garden roses.
Both farms are carbon neutral.
Send us a message and we will happily answer any questions
Please get in touch if you would like to chat flowers.
