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Eibhlín Walsh-Boland of Wild Heather Freelance Florist getting beautiful bridal artificial flower arrangements together from her home. Photo: Sandra Quinn

Just over two years ago, Eibhlín Walsh-Boland set herself up as a freelance florist as a way to keep her passion for floristry alive and also as a way of working from home with her young daughter.

Eibhlín worked in Yvonne's Flowers in Mitchelstown for more than eight years, but when Yvonne made the move to Midleton, the commute proved to be too much and after she had her little girl Heather, she decided to reassess her options and setting up her own business from the comfort of her own home seemed to come up trumps.

The business name, Wild Heather Freelance Florist, was inspired by Heather who is now four years old and Eibhlín works from her home, located between Mitchelstown and Ballylanders.

"I wouldn't be able to do any of this without the support from my husband and family," she said.

When you are in a shop, you have to stock fresh flowers all the time, whether you sell them or not, whereas working from home gave her the freedom to just order stock, as and when she needed it.

While she mainly caters for weddings, Eibhlín also does funeral wreaths, birthday bouquets and other arrangements for special occasions, as well as a full delivery service within a certain distance.

Weddings are often booked months in advance and with some people opting for more economical options with artificial flowers, they can be done well in advance.

"Once I know exactly what the bride wants, I order the flowers and there's no waste at all. You hear some lovely stories though and you would sometimes be asked to include a sentimental token, such as a brooch or pendant from a grandmother or a piece of lace from her mother's dress," Eibhlín said.

Eibhlín said that she always tries to give people a fair price, because if they are happy with the price and service, they will want to come back or tell other people about what she does.

It is also very rewarding work, as she gets to enjoy the bride's happy reaction on the morning of the wedding, when the flowers are delivered.

A lot of brides are also opting for brooch bouquets, which will last forever.

"I love working on a brooch bouquet where each brooch tells its own story and the whole bouquet means a great deal to the bride," she said.

To get brides involved in their big day, Eibhlín also runs DIY wedding workshops and this would be a great idea for hen parties, as it gives everyone a fun hands on role with the big day and each workshop can be tailored to suit the needs and budget of each bride.

At the moment, Eibhlín is busy working on Christmas wreaths for graves and doors, arrangements and logs, which her mother Mary, who is herself a talented flower arranger, helps her out with every year.

INSPIRATION

Watching how Heather loves to 'help' while she's working also inspired Eibhlín and earlier this summer, she started doing art, craft and gardening parties for children in their home or chosen venue.

"I did a horticulture course in Kilmallock a few years ago and I had always been interested in gardening, so when Heather started doing little jobs with me and I saw how much fun she had, I thought it would be a lovely thing to do with children.

"So far, I'm mostly doing birthday parties, but I have been approached to do the entertainment at wedding receptions and I would love to get more corporate family events," Eibhlín said.

She said that the parties are suitable for children aged between three and ten and it gets them interested in gardening, but also gives them a great sense of achievement, when they see a tiny seed they planted growing into something that they can eat as part of their dinner.

Over the past year, she has also been working on a voluntary basis with Knockadea NS to help them to develop their school garden and this is something Eibhlín would like to see more of in other schools.

This year, Eibhlín also ran a gardening course in Stag Park through Ballyhoura Development, where participants were coming in to learn what they could plant in window boxes and with even the smallest of green areas, people could plant things like onions, garlic, herbs and peas. 

"What I found is that a lot of people might have tried gardening, but got overwhelmed by weeds and gave up," she said.

Eibhlín explained that being a florist can be very solitary work, particularly when you are working from home, so these little extras are great ways to mix with other people who have similar interests, while also adding to and strengthening her core business.

Contact: Eibhlín Walsh-Boland between Ballylanders and Mitchelstown, wildheatherflorist@hotmail.com, 086-8603839, Facebook WildHeatherEibhlinWalshBolandFreelanceFlorist and Art 'N Craft & Gardening Parties, www.wildheatherflorist.weebly.com.

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