April Reflections: Beneath the Highs, the Lows, and the Canopy

As we roll further into spring, I’ve been thinking a lot about the rhythm of this season – how it mirrors the nature of running a small business. One moment you’re full of energy and fresh ideas, and the next you’re juggling far more than two hands can manage, just hoping everything you’ve planted will bloom in time. April, in particular, has been a mix of both for me: moments of celebration, a few curveballs, and plenty of hard graft behind the scenes.

Running Sprouts of Bristol isn’t always easy. As an independent plant and gift shop in Bristol, there are highs – new projects, creative sparks, kind words from customers that absolutely make our day – and then there are the lows. The bits you don’t always see: the long hours, the problem-solving, the things that don’t go quite to plan. Finances are always tight – and that’s the reality for a lot of small business owners. Prices keep going up, from supplies to bills, and we’ve just seen another increase in wages this month too. It’s a constant balancing act, trying to grow something special without the kind of financial cushion bigger businesses often have. But through it all, I’m constantly reminded of the joy in what we do. There’s nothing quite like seeing someone light up when they find the perfect plant, or watching an idea grow into something much bigger than you imagined.

One of those big joys this month was the Bristol Rare Plants & Orchid Fair 2025. Held on Saturday 5th March, at St Phillip and St Jacob's Church in Bristol it was an absolute roaring success! Thank you so much to everyone who came along, chatted with us, or took home something special. It’s always such a pleasure to connect with our community in person – and to be part of an event that celebrates rare, beautiful, and unusual plants felt like a real treat. Massive shout out to Jazz, one of my lovely Sprouts team, who ran the stall after I double booked the weekend - meaning I could go to my best mate's hen do that weekend! 

Me and Ferne also took a trip down to the Eden Project in Cornwall on the 25th March – a bit of a creative field trip to gather inspiration for our upcoming garden at RHS Malvern. It was incredible to walk through those huge biomes, completely immersed in layered greenery and earthy, otherworldly planting schemes. We came back full of ideas and with a clear sense of what we want to create for our next big show moment: our garden, Beneath the Canopy, at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2025.

We’re thrilled to be exhibiting once again at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2025, this time with our new show garden in collaboration with Ferne of Ferne Creative. We'lre excited to introduce Beneath the Canopy, designed and built by the team at Sprouts of Bristol. We'll be heading up to Malvern on 29th April to start setting up, with the show running from 8–11 May. It’s going to be a celebration of the lush, wild beauty you find when you step under the rainforest canopy – a little escape into a slower, more grounded world. If you're coming along, do pop by and say hello!