Eleanor is a post-harvest floriculture specialist who spent five years working at the Royal FloraHolland auction in Aalsmeer assessing flower quality and cold chain compliance. She holds a master's degree in Post-Harvest Technology from Wageningen University and has trained staff at New Covent Garden Flower Market on stem conditioning protocols. With 12 years in the cut flower industry, she now consults for supermarket chains and subscription flower companies on extending vase life and reducing waste throughout the supply chain.
Eleanor Hartley's expertise stems from her master's degree in Post-Harvest Technology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the world's leading institution for horticultural supply chain research. Following her studies, she joined Royal FloraHolland in Aalsmeer, the world's largest flower auction, where she worked as a quality assessor evaluating temperature compliance, hydration levels, and disease presence in millions of stems weekly. Eleanor gained intimate knowledge of how Kenyan roses, Colombian carnations, and Dutch tulips travel thousands of miles while maintaining freshness, and conversely, where the process commonly fails. She subsequently returned to the UK to work with New Covent Garden Flower Market, training wholesalers on proper cold storage and conditioning techniques that can add days to vase life. Her technical understanding covers stem physiology, bacterial proliferation in vase water, ethylene sensitivity across different species, and the scientific basis for flower food formulations. Eleanor is passionate about exposing why supermarket flowers often disappoint and how consumers can dramatically extend their enjoyment of cut flowers through proper care. She consults for major UK retailers seeking to reduce flower waste and for subscription box services aiming to guarantee customer satisfaction. Her writing demystifies the journey from farm to vase and provides practical protocols anyone can follow.