Wild Flowers: The Wigan florist aiming to 'leave people with memories'

Kerry Docherty’s son had recently been born and she wanted a real creative outlet in her life. She took up flower arranging at night school and the rest, as they say, is history.

By Jack Marshall, Reporter

Published 11th Feb 2020, 06:00 BST- 2 min read

Now the proud owner of Wild Flowers, which opened in 2008, Kerry fell in love with floral arrangement, quickly giving up her job in banking to embark on a national certificate in Floristry at The Welsh College of Horticulture and a degree in Floral Design at Myerscough College.

Returning to her home town of Wigan, she opened Wild Flowers, originally renting the space before buying outright just last month and converting the upstairs into a unique space for workshops.

“I absolutely love the work; it’s just not like work,” said Kerry, 45. “It’s very different from banking and it’s been difficult to diversify enough to survive on the high street, but you’ve got to think outside the box. That’s our USP - people come in for an experience and you get to know the customer a lot better.

“We’ve built up a really strong community: we get people coming in saying ‘my friend gets flowers from here, I want to send her something’ and I can say ‘oh, yes I know what they like’,” added Kerry. “It’s lovely.”

Having held workshops on spring flower and eucalyptus arrangement as well as hosting crochet and weaving events this year, Kerry has three part-time members of staff at Wild Flowers and is loving offering customers more than just a place to grab a bog-standard bouquet.

“Everything’s tailored to the customer: sometimes we buy things in if I know someone has a particular favourite,” said Kerry. “It’s more than just a transaction, it’s an experience and the workshops are brilliant for mindfulness. We leave people with memories.”