The arrangement of roses I’m holding is exquisite. The flowers are in full bloom, and each petal is a warm, velvety rose.
The roses are mixed together with foliage, and I detect a faint smell of eucalyptus. This would make an ideal bridal posy — vibrant, elegant and, I imagine, just picked.
‘This is around six months old,’ says florist Erni Visser, co-founder of the perfectly named Ethereal Blooms.
These flowers have a delicate, otherworldly beauty that is due to the unique preservation process they have undergone. This keeps them looking fresh for upto a year.
Erni Visser, 34, (pictured left) and Kathryn Popplestone, 36, (pictured right) who live in Central London, are the founders of long-life flower company Ethereal Blooms
Gently I touch the petal. The only clue that this isn’t your normal wilt-in-days bloom is that it feels slightly firmer than you’d expect, and it isn’t as cool and moist to the touch.
But otherwise, it’s hard to tell. These long-lasting roses, unlike freeze dried flowers, are vibrant and vibrant.
And as long as you don’t fiddle with them, or put them in a steamy bathroom, they’ll stay that way for 12 months — or two years at a push (after which they become drier and fade in colour).
‘We just say a year, because it sets expectations,’ says Erni.
Perfect flowers that last 12 months. No trimming. No watering (in fact they must not be — key to preserving their look is removal of their water content). No dropping stalks. There is no browning or fall of petals.
It is no wonder that the idea has grown in the two-and a-half years since it was first launched by Erni, 34 and Kathryn Popplestone (36).
The cut-flower industry was devastated by the pandemic, and artificial blooms began to grow in their place. This was not helped by the trend for ‘flower walls’ — towering arcs of fake flowers outside shops and restaurants to provide a glamorous backdrop for selfies. Could this scientific breakthrough lead to the return of real flowers, however?
Initially, Erni and Kathryn, both of whom have science backgrounds, acquired clients on London’s Bond Street. Erni cold-called in winter clutching a six-month-old bouquet and asking for managers’ advice.
Their business has grown by 400% year-on-year. They have a global clientele that is largely high-end, including Rosie Huntington Whiteley, a British model.
A single rose in a cubed pot is £35, or three roses arranged with sprigs of eucalyptus in a porcelain vase costs £95. Pictured: Anna Maxted visiting Ethereal Blooms
From a practical viewpoint, corporations, luxury yachts and hotels love that the flowers still look gorgeous a year on, and they’re economical: though they might seem expensive at first (a single rose in a cubed pot is £35, or three roses arranged with sprigs of eucalyptus in a porcelain vase costs £95), really they’re a bargain if you usually order a high volume of fresh blooms every four days.
They are also a great choice for anyone who enjoys the pleasure of fresh flowers at home.
Most customers — in London, the U.S. and Europe — order online.
Erni notes that despite the high price, small bouquets are still affordable due to the long-lasting nature of the flowers. A small bouquet costs about the same price as one cup of coffee per week for a whole year.
However, for those with deeper pockets, Ethereal Blooms’ collection at Harrods provides a taste of what they can offer.
Each arrangement is named after a female icon, and Madonna (a coffee table bouquet of roses in peach, pink, red, white, or champagne) costs a Material Girl-worthy £1,200.
Cleopatra (gardenias, large standard roses and English garden roses in pale pinks and purples, with eucalyptus and foliage in a marbled vase) starts at a queenly £720.
If you want to add fresh glamour to your hotel lobby or boardroom, it comes in ‘supreme’ size — for the royal price of £3,100.
Kathryn
Kathryn explained how the flowers’ lives are extended by placing them in a preservation solution containing alcohol and other secret ingredients. Pictured left to right: Kathryn, Anna Maxted and Erni
So how does it all work? ‘Foliage and filler flowers are placed in a preservation solution of alcohol, and a few other secret ingredients,’ says Kathryn.
‘They stand upright in it as if in a vase. We leave them out in the sun so that they can still photosynthesise.
‘The liquid is taken up through the stem, and that replaces the water content, and that’s how they become preserved.’
This process takes about ten days. No harsh chemicals are used, and a few plants, such as lavender and rosemary, retain a little scent (though most flowers don’t, which — while a boon to allergy sufferers — seems a bit of a shame to me).
‘With the larger-headed flowers, like roses, orchids, carnations, it’s a two-step process,’ adds Kathryn. ‘They’re submerged in the solution, that removes the water content. Then they’re placed in a second solution and that adds back natural oils, so the flower looks and feels supple and fresh, and won’t wither, go brown or die. It freezes it in that state.’ This takes four weeks.
Erni and Kathryn learnt the basics of preservation from Asia. ‘We can’t claim to have created it,’ says Kathryn, but they’ve adapted the formulas to achieve the natural and fresh-looking result.
‘A lot of work we do is with yachts, as they have issues with fresh flowers on board,’ says Erni.
Roses are prominently featured, with neutral colors especially popular because they blend in with decor, rather than dominating it.
Kathryn said even if you keep your preserved blooms for only months rather than a whole year, this would still be more cost effective and less wasteful than buying fresh each week. From left to right, Kathryn and Anna.
Erni says: ‘We tend to focus on the slightly larger-headed flowers — roses, chrysanthemums, orchids, carnations — because those are the types people usually want as part of their interiors for longer.
‘We do some English wildflower bouquets, but people like to buy those more seasonally.’
Indeed, part of what makes fresh flowers feel special is their impermanence — and I do wonder whether that element of their appeal might be lost if one bouquet, no matter how beauteous, sat on my mantelpiece for a year.
Kathryn states that some clients move their arrangements around. Kathryn also points out the fact that even though preserved blooms are only kept for a few months, it’s still more cost-effective than buying fresh flowers every week.
Their move is well-timed, as the nation is becoming more eco-conscious. Personally, too, they were lucky — falling in love after meeting through a mutual friend on holiday in Bali.
They live in Central London with two small dogs and a cat, all of whom accompany them to the office which — with shelves of preserved flowers, ferns, grasses, buds and berries — is a riot of colour.
Kathryn says that many clients order fresh-cut bouquets from Ethereal Blooms. All the same, she adds, in terms of sustainability, ‘This is the future of flowers.’
Forever flowers . . Best of the Rest
BUILD YOUR OWN
Lego flower bouquet, £44.99, lego.com
Jenny Wood gives verdict on a selection of other forever flowers, including Lego flower bouquet (pictured)
This is a fun gift that will bring out the child in you. It requires that the recipient carefully assemble their own bouquet of blooms using 756 small pieces of plastic. The 15 stems are very impressive once they have been assembled. No water required — just the odd go-over with a duster.
PETAL POWERA combination of decorative flowers and entertainment for an afternoon. 4/5
MIDAS TOUCH
Potted gilded orchid, from £500, tommymitchellcompany.com
Jenny said Potted gilded orchid (pictured) are detailed enough to look real, but the real thing is far cheaper
These metallic blooms were created by Tommy Mitchell, an American artist. They are made from thin sheets of brass, copper, and steel.
Gilded and painted, they are detailed enough to look real but will never die — just as well, given the price tag (and you’ll have to pay to have them shipped from America).
PETAL POWERBeautiful and intricate, but much more affordable. 3/5
WEDDING KEEP SAKE
Paper wedding bouquets, from £190, petalandbird.co.uk
Jenny said Paper wedding bouquets (pictured) are like individual works of art and it’s hard to tell them from the real thing
What if your wedding bouquet could last forever? These paper flowers are meticulously handcrafted to look exactly like real flowers and make the perfect first anniversary gift.
PETAL POWER These are beautiful, as individual works of art. It’s hard to tell them from the real thing.5/5
HAND-PAINTED CREATION
Handmade wooden flowers, £40, Seagirl & Magpie at notonthehighstreet.com
Jenny said Handmade wooden flowers (pictured) are kinder to the environment, and would make a stylish and charming gesture
These are made from coppiced hazel and hand-painted ‘to replicate meadow colours’ before being wrapped in hessian. These are unique and beautiful, and will earn you brownie points for being environmentally conscious.
PETAL POWERThey would be a charming and stylish addition to the environment if they could. 5/5
By JENNYWOOD