GAIA ELKINGTON EROS
FLORAL DESIGNER
AND CURATOR
Gaia with floral artwork by Sophie Powell u.fl.o.london at Strawberry Hill Flower Festival 2024
Gaia is a London-based florist, botanical set designer, curator and documentary film producer.
She brings a passion for environmental responsibility and regeneration, inherited from her father John Elkington, along with a co-supportive and collaborative network of free-thinking, groundbreaking nature lovers and multi-media artists.
Background
Gaia’s first career was as a Lumberjill, one of the then very few women tree surgeons in the country. Twenty-five years on from co-founding Lumberjills as an all-female tree surgery and landscaping company in Edinburgh, she remains a pioneer.
After working as Executive Assistant to Danny Boyle and Christian Colson, she retrained as a florist, moving away from a screen-based career and back to working with the botanical world.
Work & Approach
During COVID, Gaia created a network of neighbours based on Mutual Aid groups to deliver flowers safely to those isolating. This became a meaningful way to support others during lockdown.
The pinnacle of her career so far has been curating the Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival. Less Disney, more goblins, folklore and herbalism. Her proudest contribution was that one third of the 60 exhibiting artists were also diagnosed neurodivergent. Now in its 8th year in 2026, the SHHFF is the most sustainable flower festival in Europe.
Environmental responsibility informs everything she does as a florist. ‘We essentially lost our flower farms a hundred years ago… Now however, flower farms are resurgent in the UK… spreading the “grown not flown” message.’
"Flowers are a visual expression of emotion… Flowers can tell a story, they help people make sense of things, they provide meaning."
Personal Perspective
Inclusion and representation are a consistent thread throughout Gaia’s work. At the Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival, one third of the 60 exhibiting artists were diagnosed neurodivergent, a reflection of both her creative network and her intention to broaden who feels represented within the space.
The festival quietly positioned difference as something to be recognised and valued, creating an environment where younger audiences, particularly those navigating their own identities, could see creative pathways that felt open and accessible. This approach reflects a wider commitment to ensuring that floristry and botanical design are not defined by convention, but by the diversity of people shaping them.
Practice & Collaboration
Gaia’s approach to large-scale projects is grounded in collaboration. The Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival was developed as a collective effort, with individual designers contributing distinct perspectives while working within a mutually supportive framework.
Rather than reinforcing the competitive nature often associated with the industry, the project prioritised shared ambition and collective output. This enabled the formation of a broad and highly engaged creative network, bringing together artists, growers and makers across disciplines.
This same approach continues to shape ongoing work, where collaboration is treated not as a process, but as a principle that informs both the creative outcome and the way in which it is delivered.
Built on connection. Designed to give more than it takes.
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