From in-house floral designer at the White House to Marlston 'farmgirl'. Kimberly Fleming - the visionary behind a 300-acre flower farm in the English countryside, is a force of nature, quite literally, grasping opportunities in life and with grit and gusto.

Please tell us a little about your upbringing and early aspirations -  where you lived, what you loved, and what you wanted to be…
I grew up outside of Chicago spending most of my time running around outside. My grandmother had a summer house on a lake, and my earliest memories are of planting petunias in her window boxes and swimming in the lake for hours. I had this delusional idea that I would be the first female president...?! (I think I took the American "go big or go home" mantra to the extreme... After I got over that, fashion had always been my favorite thing so I did that.

Who instilled your love of gardens, flowers, and the natural world?
At our summer house, we had enormous peony bushes and remember being so scared of the ants. My grandmother taught me how insects could be good and that ants helped the peonies open. My father grew vegetables in a little patch which always made me happy. 

With your initial foray into flowers as a young mother in Chicago, was it a natural progression or did you set out to fill a gap in the market? 
absolutely...when I lived in the city, there was this darling bucket shop that was essentially a mini wholesaler of flowers. they sold by the bunch only, very reasonably and I would visit every week and come home with an armload. When we first moved to the suburbs, I asked everyone where they bought flowers and people mentioned the supermarket and a few local shops that sold primarily Beanie Babies and balloons and I knew there was a void to fill.

Who were your biggest inspirations in the floral scene?
that's changed along the way. I was first inspired by Christian Tortu at Takishamaya in NYC. I would buy arrangements and take them home to dismantle so I could see how he made them - and of course had to make the pilgrimage to Paris to see his shop. Then I went through a whole Jeff Leatham phase - very modern. now I love the VERY organic, very natural style of this amazing wave of young women designers in the UK like Willow Crossley, Tattie Rose, Millie Richardson, Lucy Vail, Jessica Lucas, and the same movement in the US by Saiupa and Floret...it's all VERY farm to table...

From your flower shop being chosen as a location in the film, Oceans Twelve to being on the calling card for Hollywood, how do you feel about opportunity and serendipity?
I think you have to take chances in life. when I decided to open my little flower shop, I had zero idea of what I was doing. yet in my mind, I knew would always regret not having given it a shot - it was better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all. I think that's a great lesson to have shared with my daughters, and quite literally the White House, my forays into the film world, and the incredible opportunities I've had to design events all over the world would never have happened if I hadn't taken the risk to open my shop. but I feel I literally have the dumbest LUCK in the world! I mean what are the chances? I do believe you have to make the most of the opportunities in life, and I am eternally grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way.

You were the floral designer for the Obama Whitehouse in 2009 - please tell us more! 
i client of mine, for whom I had designed two big events, became the Social Secretary for President Obama. A young woman who had worked for me for years and worked on both projects wanted to go work in the administration so I called Desiree and asked her to speak with Sally, my former assistant who wound up getting a job in Desiree's office. A few months later the White House florist resigned and my old assistant called me and asked if I was interested in the job. The rest they say is history - I told her that the Pad-o-wan had become the Jedi..! it turned out my husband at the time did not want to move to Washington DC, so I said I could come for a month and wound up staying for six. On my very first day, Desiree was showing me the House and the Residence and the 60 rooms that required flowers several times a week, and we walked into the outer office of the Oval Office and I hear President Obama say "Is that you Desiree, come on in". I found myself shaking hands with the President of the United States, making conversation - NONE of which I remember hahaha. There were so many incredible moments - I got to design Supreme Court Justice Sotomayar's swearing-in ceremony, the Medal of Freedom ceremony, the first State dinner, and then the first Christmas there with a fabulous Englishman named Simon Doonan and we created together. I got to see Marine One land on the White House Lawn and go to Camp David.  It really was the experience of a lifetime.

Where is your happy place?
In the field at dawn with birdsong and the sunrise.

Your favourite season or time on the farm?
That's hard, the promise of spring is always exciting, but in reality very bleek!   I'd have to say mid-August when the dahlias and zinnias and late summer flowers are raging in bloom and the field is a rainbow of color.

What’s your dream travel itinerary?
Anywhere in Africa 

How do you unwind? What’s your favourite thing to do when not ‘working’? 
Sleep. and maybe tequila. I'm a passionate baker. I've had a sourdough starter I've kept alive for about 8 years now. I try and bake four loaves of bread every weekend for the family, and some sort of treat for the team on the farm. it's incredibly therapeutic feeding other people.

What does wellness mean to you? 
Everything in moderation.

Your thoughts on aging?
It's funny...for the first four or five months of covid, when we didn't have access to our normal 'routines' I was like 'maybe this is ok, and we are meant to age gracefully' and then one day I woke up with tons of gray hair and more wrinkles I was like OH MY GOD I LOOK OLD!!! So...back to the routine which includes a bit of help along the way. I mean there's no way to thwart it really is there? but I've recently started taking supplements, which is new. I've never taken a vitamin in my life! it sounds trite, but I don't 'feel' sixty and that's the important thing...

Do you/have you ever had a mentor in business or in life?
I've had a lot..but the first one was probably Alessandra Branca the incredible interior designer, who on my first day told me I COULD have it ALL, a family, kids, and career. and then later in life maybe Sheryl Sandburg who said in her book you really can't! Something (truly) Does Have to Give and something always slips through the cracks. the important thing is to learn along the way and do the best you can. (and btw and I've learned a lot from terrible women bosses as well.)

What advice would you give women at a crossroads and looking to lean into creative pursuits?
GO!!!!