Gill Oliver finds out why everything is not coming up roses in the floral trade.

A Witney florist battling rising costs has blamed Brexit and says she is worried the problem will worsen.

Rosa Ashby, who has run Flowers by Rosa for 21 years, sources almost all her blooms from the Netherlands.

The cost of buying from Dutch suppliers has shot up due to the pound’s fall in value versus the Euro, following the leave vote in June 2016.

Now the florist is worried costs will rise even further if tariffs are introduced after we leave the free-trade "club" of the EU.

She said: “This make it very hard for independent small businesses like us, and it is going to get harder.”

According to the British Florist Association, more than £800m-worth of Dutch flowers are shipped to Britain each year, with just a tenth of those sold through UK supermarkets and florists grown here.

Last year the NFU ran a campaign to try and persuade people to buy British blooms.

But Ms Ashby said sourcing flowers from the UK is not a realistic option.

She explained: “We have to buy from Europe because you are limited as to what you can source in this country.

“Holland is the known place where all the flowers come through and have done for generations.”.

She added: “We can get narcissi from the Channel Islands in the spring, we may be able to get alstroemeria but that is just in the summer.

“We did try and get freesias from somebody in Worcester and it was on and off, in that sometimes he could deliver and sometimes he couldn’t.

“We have to have a reliable source for our shop, because customers won’t understand if we say ‘Oh, sorry, we can’t deliver today’.

“Flower shops need it every month of the year.”

Taking to social media earlier this month, Ms Ashby sent a Twitter message to former Labour minister Lord Adonis, who recently quit his role as chairman of the Government's National Infrastructure Commission because of his opposition to Brexit.

Ms Ashby posted: "We have been trading with Holland in our flower shop for 21 years. One of our Dutch suppliers said yesterday he is very worried about #brexit, as we are. The livelihoods of many independent shops are at stake. Sadly, many people do not understand."

Last month she Tweeted: "We still don't realise what #Brexit really means to people's livelihoods. We should be allowed to vote again. Thank you @Andrew_Adonis for standing up for democracy."

In a leaked draft of his resignation letter, former Keeble College student Lord Adonis complained Brexit was a "dangerous, populist and nationalist spasm worthy of Donald Trump".

Before the EU Referendum vote in June 2016, Ms Ashby’s firm was chosen to be part of the EU Small Business campaign, aimed at persuading other small business owners to vote remain.

West Oxfordshire constituents voted 54 per cent in favour of remaining, in contrast to local MP Robert Courts’ pro-leave stance.

The florist is calling for a second referendum, in the hope it could overturn Brexit.

She said: “I would be very glad if there was another referendum – I voted remain.

“Some people say ‘Oh, don’t worry, it will all work out’ but we don’t know what is on the other side of the cliff.”