Growing native

For one thing, they loathe oasis (the green foam into which florists arrange flowers, not the rock group fronted by Noel and Liam Gallagher). And for another, they don't wrap their flowers in plastic, but in recycled brown paper.

Most important of all, however, is the sustainable message conveyed in their choice of flowers. They are all grown locally – unlike about 85 per cent of cut flowers, which are imported in an industry worth an estimated £1.2 billion a year.

"We hate oasis! And chrysanthemums! And carnations!" declares Bella. "It's much nicer to buy some of the many beautiful native flowers that are in season, like narcissi or anemones."

"Or irises," interjects Fifi. "We have these gorgeous Cornish black irises that smell amazing. We've also got a local sweet-pea grower who produces these sweet peas with really long stems that last about a week. When he first showed them to us, he had to convince us they weren't imported!"

Bella is actually Anna-Marie Appleton, aged 32, and Fifi is 28-year-old Vashti Cassinelli, who both live in Montpelier, Bristol, and set up Bella & Fifi together last year.

"We thought 'Bella & Fifi' sounded right for an ethical floristry business, and those are the names we use when we're working," explains Anna-Marie.

Vashti – whose father is of Italian descent – says: "Nobody else in the area seemed to be doing this, and we felt there was a gap in the market. Most of the cut flowers on sale in Britain are imported from other countries, mainly Holland. It's a shame because about 20 years ago there were lots of flower growers in Britain.

"People are very aware of the need to be organic with food, and the problems with importing food from hundreds of miles away. But they're not so aware of the problems of air miles and chemicals when it comes to flowers."

The flowers sold by Bella & Fifi are not the sort of imported plastic-wrapped bunches that you might pick up in a supermarket, or on a petrol station forecourt – they come from flower- growers on small- holdings around the South West. They are mainly used for weddings, events and displays and can also be bought from the Bella & Fifi stall that is occasionally set up on Picton Street, Montpelier, for occasions such as Valentine's Day.

"We like to use things we can get in season. It's all about using natural flowers and foliage," says Bella. "That's what our customers want. For example, a bride might ask us for flowers that look as if they have been gathered up that morning."

Bella and Fifi also deliver bouquets in their three-wheeled Piaggo pick-up van, which was imported from Italy and has a top speed of 50mph. They call it The Bee. "It's lovely driving around in The Bee. It's like driving a motorbike as it has handlebars instead of a steering wheel," says Bella. "Whenever we deliver in The Bee it always makes people smile."

Fifi adds: "It makes us smile, too!"

Their ethical approach to floristry (even their business cards are printed on recycled card) has been advantageous in the credit crunch.

Bella says: "The weakness of the pound against the euro has also meant that prices of flowers imported from Holland have gone up dramatically, which is making it difficult for many florists, but we're not having that problem."

Why did they decide to go into business together? Fifi replies: "We kept on bumping into each other in Montpelier and realised we had so much in common.

"I was working with homeless women with alcohol and drug issues, and Bella was working in mental health.

"We'd been doing our jobs for a long time, and although we loved our work, we both felt that we needed to go in a new direction, but still wanted to do something that made a difference."

After making the decision to start their ethical floristry business, the duo went to the Bristol-based enterprise organisation Brave, which helps local people start new businesses.

They initially joined the new entrepreneur scholarship scheme, and then transferred to study further to each obtain a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 in business.

Fifi recalls: "When we had the initial interview it was like being in a real-life version of the TV series Dragon's Den."

Bella adds: "Both of us are full of creative ideas – like having an ice cream van and driving around the streets so people could come out and buy flowers at the sound of the van's chime.

"The team at Brave has been great at keeping us grounded and making sure we deal with the figures and finances."

So what flowers should people be buying now? "This is a wonderful time of year for tulips, and pinks," says Bella.

"And also freesias, and narcissi paperwhites – and those gorgeous Cornish black irises," adds Fifi.

For more information, visit www.bellafififlowers.co.uk

Flower facts

The average bunch of flowers is flown 33,800 miles to reach the UK.

Nearly half of flowers imported into Britain come from Holland, although many will have originated in countries such as South Africa, India, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, and Japan.

Kenya is the second biggest exporter of flowers to the UK, followed by Colombia and Spain.

Recurrent droughts in 2001 left three million people short of adequate water, yet Kenyan farmers still diverted enough water to produce more than 52 million tonnes of flowers.

There are no regulations on the use of pesticides on cut flowers, and importers are not required to monitor pesticide levels.

The World Health Organisation rated more than a third of toxic chemicals in use on Colombian flower farms in 2005 as "extremely" or "highly" toxic.

In the fertile Rift Valley region of Kenya, the Okiek people were forced out of the Tinet Forest of Olenguruone in March 1994 to make way for a huge flower farm.