From a Little Flower Fridge in Gosport to Our New Floral Cooler

From a Little Flower Fridge in Gosport to Our New Floral Cooler 🌸

Sometimes the smallest things from the beginning of your career stay with you.

Back in the early 1990s, I did my work experience at Corrine's Florist in Stoke Road in Gosport.

I was at the very beginning of my floristry journey, learning, watching and taking everything in.

And I remember their little flower fridge.

It was black, short, compact and, to me, looked incredibly smart!

I thought it was SO POSH! 😂

I don't think I really understood then just how important that little fridge was.

Fast-forward more than 30 years, and here I am, investing in our very own professional floral cooler for Solent Stems.

And I have to say… I still think they're rather posh!

But now I know why they're important.

A fridge isn't just a fridge when you're a florist

When you first look at a floral cooler, you might think:

“Why can't you just use a normal fridge?”

Well, flowers aren't a pint of milk. 🌸

Cut flowers are still living plant material. Even after they've been cut, they're continuing to respire and lose moisture.

So looking after them isn't simply a case of making them cold.

It's about creating the right environment.

A professional floral cooler is designed specifically for flowers, helping us control temperature, humidity and airflow in a way that's much more appropriate for our precious stems.

For many cut flowers, professional guidance recommends a storage temperature of around 1–3°C, together with high relative humidity. But not every flower wants exactly the same conditions — some tropical varieties, for example, need considerably warmer storage.

That's one of the reasons floristry is much more than putting flowers in water and making them look pretty!

So what's different about a domestic fridge?

A domestic fridge is designed for food.

A professional floral cooler is designed for flowers.

And that distinction matters.

A typical domestic fridge can have relatively dry air and airflow that isn't particularly kind to delicate flower material. A professional floral cooler is designed to maintain a much higher level of humidity and gentler air movement.

In simple terms, we want our flowers to be:

Cool — but not dried out.

Hydrated — but not sitting in condensation.

Protected — but with enough airflow to maintain a healthy environment.

It's about finding the balance.

And that's exactly what we want for our flowers before they become one of our bouquets, wedding designs, funeral tributes or event installations.

Why does that matter to you?

Because this investment isn't really about us buying a new bit of equipment.

It's about investing in your flowers.

At Solent Stems, we're incredibly lucky to work with flowers from lots of different sources — including seasonal flowers that we grow ourselves here in Hampshire, alongside flowers sourced from our trusted suppliers.

Our designs are inspired by gardens and nature, and seasonal flowers are a huge part of what we do.

Whether we're creating something for a wedding, a celebration, a heartfelt farewell or simply a beautiful bouquet because someone deserves some flowers, we want to give every stem the best possible care.

The work starts long before you see the finished arrangement.

It's all about the journey of the flower

Think about the journey.

A flower is grown.

It is cut.

It is transported.

It arrives with us.

Then we condition it, hydrate it, prepare it and eventually turn it into something beautiful.

Every stage matters.

Our new floral cooler becomes another part of that journey.

It gives us a dedicated space where we can care for our flowers properly while they're waiting to become part of your order.

And when you order flowers from Solent Stems, we want you to know that we're not just thinking about how they look when they leave our studio.

We're thinking about how we can help them look beautiful for you afterwards too.

From that little fridge in Gosport...

There's something rather lovely about looking back.

That little flower fridge I saw during my work experience at Corrine's Florist all those years ago probably seemed like just another piece of equipment.

But to a young person starting out in floristry, it represented something.

Professionalism.

Care.

Knowledge.

And perhaps a little bit of florist magic.

I never imagined then that, more than 30 years later, I'd be running my own floristry business and making the decision to invest in a professional floral cooler myself.

And now I understand why that little fridge seemed so important.

Because behind every beautiful bouquet is a whole lot of care that you don't necessarily see.

An investment in Solent Stems — and in you

Our studio is here at Royal Clarence Yard in Gosport, in a historic waterside building with its own story to tell. It's a pretty special place to create flowers....and a bit warm in the height of Summer !

And we're continually looking at ways to improve what we do while staying true to what matters to us: seasonal flowers, natural designs, good floristry and personal service.

So our new floral cooler is another step in that journey.

It's an investment in our business.

But more importantly, it's an investment in the flowers we care for on your behalf.

Because when you order from Solent Stems, whether it's a garden-inspired bouquet, wedding flowers, a special event or flowers to mark one of life's more difficult moments, we want you to receive flowers that have been given the very best care we can provide.

And who knows...

Perhaps 30 years from now, one of our apprentices will look at that floral cooler and think:

“Wow… that's posh!”

And I'll be very happy with that. 😂🌸

Solent Stems Gosport Florist — flowers inspired by gardens & nature, created with care in Gosport, Hampshire.