In fair weather and outside of the holiday season, the three-hour drive from Niwaki HQ on the Wiltshire/Dorset border to the Petalon farm in Cornwall is a welcome gift to an overworked brain. Three hours of idle introspection while listening to a handful of albums from start to finish (no skipping), or perhaps time to catch up on an edifying gardening podcast*. But those leisurely pursuits would have to wait for the return journey; instead, I chose to repeat, like a mantra, the name “Petalon” to try and avoid referring to my hosts’ business as “Pelaton” by mistake. And what do you think happened as soon as I opened my mouth?

Back in the heady days of 2014 when Petalon was founded in East London, the play on words signalled the fact that founder Florence was cycling to the flower market at 4am, returning home to arrange her floral bounty before hopping back on her bike to deliver her creations all across London. A lot of healthy cycling, but not a timetable that is hugely conducive to family life.

By 2020, life was moving on, the business was growing, and children were exerting their disruptive influence, so, with husband James now managing the commercial side of things, they sniffed out a farmhouse being sold at auction. The place was in dire need of ‘modernisation’, but they saw potential. As I was to discover, Florence and James dream big and see potential where some just see difficulties and hard work.