New Bispham florist shop Picked makes move for niche market selling flowers that last more than a year

The flowers they sell at Picked, on Red Bank Road, tend to last a long time - in fact they survive for more than a year.

Yet the plants are not artificial, they are real enough but an innovative new process preserves them far longer than they would normally last.

Shop owner Lauren Thornton opened Picked on February 1, with assistant manager Emma Barber helping to run the shop.

The pair have an already existing business as venue stylists, under the trade name Above and Beyond, which entails them creating floral centerpieces for wedding and other events.

But they decided to open Picked after Lauren heard about ‘forever flowers’ and spotted a gap in the market.

Emma said: “They are real flowers but using a natural process, the sap inside the plant is replaced by glycerine solution which preserves the plant for more than a year .

“The thing is , they look perfectly natural, too.”

Lauren said there had been a huge amount of interest in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, as well as several orders for special occasions.

She said: “One man asked us to recreate his wife’s wedding bouquet, so that on their first anniversary she would still be able to see it.”

Each sale comes with a care card - watering is not needed and indeed it is best to avoid getting them wet, while the flowers need to be kept out of direct sunlight.

The shop also sells other gifts, including locally-made soaps, candles and silverwear.