Christmas at a burgeoning flower farm in Berkshire

This led to a new career designing floral schemes for film sets and Kim went on to work on 21 major films - from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to the 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland. Throughout this busy period, the Lake Forest flower store continued to trade, but, during the 2008 recession, Kim made the decision to shut up shop. A month later, her reputation preceding her, she received a call from The White House asking her to consider the position of White House florist.

With two young children, she knew it would be impossible to uproot her life to move to Washington, DC. So she agreed to join as a consultant, accepting the post of interim chief floral designer, with the aim of injecting new life into The White House's floral displays, taking a more sustainable and cost-effective approach than had been usual under the previous administration. 'It was incredible - the experience of a lifetime,' she recalls. 'In the first week, I met the Obamas and went to Camp David. I was doing flowers for the most amazing events.' Then it was Christmas and Kim created a more frugal, but still very beautiful, festive scheme for The White House, designed to feel more appropriate during the recession. 'We saved every hydrangea and allium head in the gardens to dry them, and made garlands from foraged evergreens. Everything looked more natural and we spent way less.'

With Emma and Olivia, Fergus's son Atticus at the wheel, and Oliver (far left) and Charlie Hobbs, who help on the flower farm

Dean Hearne

When her stint at The White House was over, Kim returned to working on film sets and life continued apace until she met Fergus. He swept her off her feet and eventually persuaded her to move to England with him. 'Actually, I didn't take much persuading,' she admits. 'I've been an Anglophile all my life, so it seemed quite natural to marry an Englishman and come and live here.'

The story does not end there. How did the grandeur of The White House and glamour of the film world lead to a cold, muddy flower field in the Berkshire countryside? 'It was simple - I came to England to live on Fergus's family farm just before lockdown and decided to grow flowers,' she says. 'I turned 60 last year, so it was meant to be a retirement project. But it's become so much more.'

Kim and Fergus dug over the first acre of flower field themselves during the lockdown. Every year since, another section has been added as Kim's ambitions grow. She now employs 11 staff, with up to 20,000 stems a week picked in peak season, to supply top floral studios in London, such as Lavender Green Flowers and Lucy Vail Floristry. 'I quickly realised I needed to grow at scale,' she says. There are lots of farms that produce small amounts of flowers, but all the event florists need large quantities. And more people want sustainably grown British blooms.' By choosing to grow a wide selection of popular cutting flowers rather than having a monoculture, she has made her task even more challenging.

Cutting hydrangea seed heads for use as decorations

Dean Hearne

Nestled in the heart of the organic farm with beautiful views over the Pang Valley, Kim's flower field is managed without chemicals, and the diversity of blooms attracts birds and pollinators galore. She has made it her mission to show people that flowers can be grown successfully this way. 'When you look at the carbon cost of chemically treated Dutch flowers being grown in a propane-heated greenhouse, then shipped to another country, locally grown blooms make so much more sense,' she observes. She is noticing a change in the industry, with florists saying that clients now ask for British flowers. 'The younger generation is pushing things forward.'

The one time of year it becomes much more difficult to buy local British blooms is at Christmas, Kim concedes. For her fresh green and white scheme for this year's extended family Christmas gathering in the school hall, she has used potted hellebores and ferns, as well as pine cones and foliage from the farm. She bought a few forced tulips from Smith & Munson, a British grower, and just a handful of Dutch amaryllis, the jewels of her scheme.

Kim with her husband Fergus and Labrador Baxter

Dean Hearne

'Flowers bring joy - they elevate people's lives,' says Kim. 'So if you want flowers at Christmas, you need to look further afield. In the winter, you have to be more imaginative - grow your own paper-whites, forage from the hedgerows or use dried flowers.'

With its wooden panelling and a roaring fire tempting you to linger, the Brockhurst & Marlston House hall is certainly an atmospheric room to decorate and, for now, it is all Kim needs to keep her challenged during the flower field's downtime. After the larger celebration, the couple head back to their own cosy cottage on the estate with Kim's daughters and Fergus's twins - son Atticus and daughter Phoenix - to mix Manhattans and play backgammon: the perfect family Christmas.

Kimberly Fleming: marlstonfarmgirl.com