GREAT things bloom out of tough times, particularly when you follow your dreams.

Single mother Jo Purdy, of Scarborough, discovered this when she was unemployed and decided to change from her old career as a social worker and take a foundation degree course in floral design at Bishop Burton College of Agriculture and Horticulture, East Yorkshire.

After travelling to Holland and studying Dutch florists' methods she returned to open Hearts And Flowers in what was a former village shop in Wykeham. "Many people thought I was mad, opening a shop in such a rural location, but I had a gut feeling it would work," said Jo.

She was right. Her shop quickly won a silver award in the Flower Shop Of The Year competition run by the Flower Council Of Holland and entered by 600 florists.

Now, having supplied flowers for 39 weddings and with a nearly-full order book for next year, Hearts And Flowers has been entered in the Small Business Of The Year category in The Press Business Awards 2006.

And Jo has been nominated for the Women In Enterprise Award.

She supplies flowers to six local hotels the Crown, the Ravenhall and The English Roe Group, at the same time gleaning wedding recommendations from them A large part of her business is running workshops and demonstrations.

In the six months to last Christmas she ran ten workshops, even though she had planned just three.

A recent pre-Mothers' Day workshop for women at Snainton village hall sold out within five days.

She has also given 12 demonstrations, all for charity, but attracting loyal customers at the same time.