About Shepherd Flora
Having helped on the family Shepherd Nursery site for the couple of years during Covid due to the restrictions in place, Shepherd Flora was set up by Hannah as a new floral farm venture at the same location.
The business came out of a love for seasonal plants and flowers with uses more than simply looking great in a garden (although they do often have this advantage too!). This is in addition to, a love for Jesus and His creation around us, a love for helping people find joy in their lives, and a love for teaching and seeing people better understand and steward the environment around them.
Along with the aim to grow flowers and ornamental flora for joyful creative use, yearly Bible verses and values of stewardship also form the foundation of the floral farm.
This is simply a small overview, however if you would like to know more then please do get in contact and we would love to chat more with you in person!
Yearly Bible Verses 2026
Each year an Old Testament and a New Testament Bible verse is chosen to help direct some of the floral choices, giving a different theme focus for the year, alongside many regular flowers and flora.
This year starts a series looking at the fruits of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23, with this year being the first; 'Love'.
'...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.'
Love speaks of who God is and how love through Jesus is steadfast, fearless, vast, unreserved, boundless, selfless, beautiful, willing to grow others, perfect, complete peace, fullness, freedom, and ready to go so far beyond what we can ever imagine! A number of the flower or plant names this year reflect some of these characteristics of God's love linked to love Bible verses below. In addition, a new rose garden for 2026 (many with fragrance) reflects the overwhelming beauty of a flower, often recognised as a symbol of various aspects of love.
Jeremiah 31:3
'...I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.'
NIV
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.'
NIV
Faith & Flowers
Flower/plant names to look out for in 2026 linked to the Bible verses:
- To come soon!
Godetia F1 Grace Mixed Tulip 'Amazing Grace' Narcissus 'Lemon Beauty'
Whilst sustainability has become a key word in people's vocabulary during recent times, it has also become a complex word with various meanings depending upon who is using it.
Stewardship in the Garden
At Shepherd Flora, the term stewardship is preferred because it focuses on the attitudes behind our actions by asking the question;
'How can we steward the resources, land and life that we've been given by God to the best of our ability?'
This may include only using biodegradable or compostable wrappings and other reusable sundries, or utilising other methods of gardening or composting. However, it also may include combining this with some more affordable conventional methods, after careful thought and consideration about the choices. For example, it may be that peat reduced rather than peat free compost is used due to the current water and nutrient retention issues which currently simply shift environmental problems to another area, especially at a Nursery/Floral Farming scale.
Everyday however is an opportunity to look at how we use and do things, seeking to constantly grow and develop better practices for looking after what we have been given, and hopefully grow good flora for creative joyful use!