Two Ryedale florists are joining hundreds of other 'Flower Magicians' as part of a special event to celebrate everything floral.

Leonie Allardice from All In Bloom in Norton and Gemma Bicknell of The Topiary Tree, Malton are taking part in the first awareness campaign for the floricultural industry, National Florist Day.

Along with a week-long ‘Meet the Maker’ showcase which starts on June 1, both businesses will be sharing stories about flowers, their secrets and tips to make them even more special, host events, flower giveaways and of course show off thousands of flowers.

Leonie said: “We are lucky to have the most wonderful customers, and we wanted to show them more into our world and what the flower industry is all about! The sad reality is the UK has the highest level of supermarket flower sales in the world and as a local community, we can change that with supporting local florists. We are lucky to have local florist shops in our town so go support them in whatever way you can."

Gemma said: “I’ve been a florist my whole working life following in my mum's footsteps. I can’t imagine every doing anything else but there is much more to being a florist than people realise. We supply flowers from crib to casket and everything in between and use flowers to reflect people’s emotions and personalities. I’m delighted to be part of National Florist Day and will have lots of insights, promotions and competitions coming soon.”

National Florist Day is the industry’s way of sharing the florists in and around the country and showing the public that there is so much more to flowers and floristry than meets the eye.