LOCAL women Kirsty Johnson and Katy Hudson share a career and a love of natural flowers, which brought them together one Mothers’ Day to create Darling and Green, a florist with a difference. Their unique style is inspired by their beautiful surroundings in North Yorkshire, combining the lushness of the English cottage garden and the wildness of the moors.

“We love natural and scented flowers,” said Katy, “not ones where the stems have been grown straight and the flowers are perfect. Katy’s garden in Castleton is where we grow most of our flowers such as sweet peas, scented roses, wild flowers and herbs.”

They often forage for wild grasses and one of their sources is from the garden of Kirsty’s great aunt, who is 102 and has a hydrangea bush which was planted in 1940.

Vases are anything from soup tureens and jam jars to wheelbarrows, decorated with their unique touch of lace. The shabby-chic vintage look is popular with brides and the business is doing well.

However, organising flowers for weddings has not been without its moments. After seeing that one of their venues had a palatial entrance hall, which had a huge hook in the ceiling, they decided to create a massive cage of flowers which could be suspended from the hook.

“We had to build the cage in the car boot,” said Katy.

“However, the boot wouldn’t close, so we had to drive to the entrance really slowly, with one of us hanging on and running alongside. We were suspending the cage by a long chain, and the guests arrived much earlier than anticipated, and there we were hanging from the ceiling. However, it did look lovely in the end.”

Flowers from Darling and Green are regularly displayed in Lotti’s cafe. Visit darlingandgreen.co.uk.