India Hurst and Christopher Fletcher, founders of Vervain Flower Studio, have identified a significant gap in the UK market and are working to develop new varieties suited specifically to floral design use.
Founded in 2014, Vervain Flower Studio specialises in wedding and event floristry. Hurst and Fletcher grow approximately 40% of their own flowers and are known for their refined aesthetic, particularly their precise use of colour and form. Their work has been featured in Vogue, and they have participated in Chelsea in Bloom for the past three consecutive years. In 2025, they were commissioned to create floral installations for ME + EM on King's Road.
Their arrangements are widely noted for their compositional restraint, with each stem carefully selected and placed. This design-led approach, combined with an understanding of how flowers behave in natural environments, has driven their interest in expanding the range of flowers they work with.
After more than a decade of growing flowers at their Worcestershire site, the pair identified a particular lack of British-grown bearded iris suitable for the florist market. In 2017, they travelled to Oregon specifically to study iris cultivation. At the time, their intention was not to hybridise, but the trip proved pivotal; they returned with a decision to import and grow iris for use in their studio, eventually supplying cut stems to other florists. Over time, this developed into a focused breeding programme, which they have now been pursuing for the past five years.
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