Sustainability

My botanical pressings are vegan, non-toxic, plastic-free, legally-collected and ethical. 

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Ethically garden-grown wild flowers 

 

My pressed plants are:

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• Native species propagated from cultivated stock by reputable specialist nurseries (Emorsgate Seeds,or Naturescape) and grown on myself or by friends, peat-free and without use of plastics. My garden is shady and small, so I grow several ferns in pots.

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• For a few abundant and increasing species like cow parsley or creeping buttercup, I have permission from the landowner to collect small amounts from a local wild garden, where the wild flowers were planted. This site is not designated as a Local Nature Reserve, SSSI or National Nature Reserve. I pay for the licence. It limits quantities, the species collected to very common plants only, and ensures any impact of my collecting is monitored. I am trusted as an experienced botanist and former professional ecologist who knows the ecology of the plant species involved, the insects dependent on each species, whether these plant species are declining or increasing, as well as how to identify them. So, for example, I only press garden-grown Viola species - wild violets are the food plant for the caterpiller of several endangered fritillery butterflies, and wild populations may look abundant, but are declining due to loss of habitat due to lack of traditional woodland management, developments, and atmospheric nitrogen deposition from intensive farming and vehicle emissions. 

 

• Finally, I also follow the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland's Code of Conduct (2017) for foraging and collecting wild plant material. This code is available from https://bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/Code-of-Conduct-v5-final.pdf

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Reused, recycled & vintage

 

I work with local artisans in Yorkshire and around Britain:

• Handmade papers made with recycled fabric and natural botanical dyes from Lauren Ink in North Yorkshire or The Vintage Paper Co in Orkney.

• High quality reused vintage frames, and frames from recycled wood produced by a craftsman a couple of miles from my home.

• Botanical-dyed vegan bamboo silk and recycled sari silk ribbons from Penelope's Child in Devon.

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All packaging is either re-used, recycled or biodegradable and I tie up your item with natural flax cord or recycled brown string, and biodegradable recycled paper stickers.

 

Plastic-free, biodegradable & vegan

 

Many pressed plant and wedding bouquet services use 'resin', or 'acrylic', to encase the dried or pressed flowers. This provides a protective coating for the plants. However, it is made of plastic and is highly toxic.

 

I use a natural gum, made from cultivated plants in the plant genus Astragalus. This gum has been traditionally used for herbarium specimens since the eighteenth century. I came across this while volunteering at Kew's herbarium. Where this is not suitable, I use other water-based vegan glues widely used in herbaria, such as certain PVAs and modpodge, which are non-toxic and have low levels of petroleum-derivatives. 

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I use vegan, non-toxic, and lightfast walnut ink from Tom Norton. I love oak gall, walnut, and other handmade botanical inks but these are too acidic and fade-prone for herbarium work. Other sepia inks are often made with animal by-products(cuttlefish and shellac from the lac bug).

 

Finally, I check my supply chains are sustainable. For example, if I cannot source a suitable vintage frame, I only use ethically certified frames.

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Archival quality

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• Acid-free materials of archival quality suitable for museum-grade herbaria.

• Museum conservation-grade UV filtering glass if required, and ideally, re-used vintage glass.

 

The brighter pressed flower colours will fade over a period of 5-10 years. This is a natural part of the ageing of organic materials. The faded colours themselves are exquisite, tonal and perfectly imperfect!