Behind the scenes at Pyrus

Imperfect flowers, Scotland, and an artistic vision

Florists Natalya Ayers and Fiona Inglis from Pyrus have an unusual perspective on their Scottish surroundings: imperfect flowers and art. A combination which has given the duo a formidable - and justified - reputation.

Thejoyofplants.co.uk - Pyrus Exposé

Celebrating imperfection

Fiona Inglis: “I think that what makes us different from other florists is that we focus on imperfections. It’s the imperfections that make things really special. Suppose you have a flower that has a very interesting shape, but two buds instead of one: that’s the flower that stands out rather than the so-called ‘perfect’ flower.” 

"It’s the imperfections that make things really special. "

Use your surroundings

The Scottish landscape is a major source of inspiration for the artistic duo behind Pyrus. “We work with the seasons. In winter we sometimes have little to work with. Then we go outside to see what we can find there, such as beautiful branches with fantastic moss on them. It’s incredible what you can find outdoors so we don’t confine ourselves to flowers - we use all sorts of natural materials.”

Seeing from an artistic perspective

As well as using other natural materials, something else reveals Natalya and Fiona’s artistic perspective. They both went to art school, and you can see it. “Rather than look at flowers from the perspective of beauty, we try to look at them more creatively. We focus on shape and movement. For example, we produce a lot of installations and sculptures made with flowers rather than just an arrangement. Our background in art has certainly influenced us in that regard.” 

And a final tip 

“When we’re teaching or giving people advice, we usually say that they need to look at flowers closely. Start with a couple of flowers and think about the shape and how the colours go together. Think about the feeling you want to create: gentle and romantic, rustic and strong or warm and rich. It’s tempting to tie everything together, but sometimes you can remove a quarter of the flowers again. That makes the end result more beautiful, because you can see all the flowers as individual stems, instead of having to compete with one another in an arrangement.”

Watch our video about Pyrus and read all about their floral creations for weddings.