A Catterick Garrison florist has opened new premises which she hopes will allow her to pass on her passion for flowers.
Kimberley Ward, 36, moved to the district from the East Midlands in 2010 when her husband was posted to Catterick with the Army.
Although she opened her first shop aged 17 and went on to run three flower shops in the Midlands, she has worked from home supplying flowers and taking floristry classes since moving north.
However, Kimberley says the business has now grown too big and she needs her own premises.
The business woman has opened a new Dutch florists, Ward’s, on Borough Road on the Gallowfields Trading Estate in Richmond, where also bases sister company, Fancy Flaming Events.
She got a love of flowers from her mother who is also a florist and loves passing on her knowledge to others.
As well as a flower shop, she wants the premises to be a community resource and an educational base to teach children.
Once a month, she will run free floristry workshops for the elderly and children.
Kimerley also runs day and evening courses, as well as a six-week intensive course to take people from beginners to advanced.
She said: “My mission is not only bring high-end floristry at affordable prices but to make floristry sexy, fun and exciting.
“I hope to be able to show children that floristry is an amazing career to be involved in by offering courses and classes to the young and not so young.”
As well as selling flowers from the shop and offering an international floral relay service, Wards supply other nearby Richmondshire stories including Brooke’s Farm Shop, in Richmond, and Premier Meats in Colburn.
They also specialise in floral funeral tributes.
