Sean A. Pritchard on the Power of Flowers

Writer, photographer and garden designer Sean A. Pritchard is celebrated for his exuberant floral displays. In his latest book, Atmosfloric, he examines how flowers can shape mood and transform atmosphere, as he tells Jessica Jonzen.

A TERRACOTTA POT OVERFLOWS WITH A TUMBLE OF SHRUB ROSES IN THE WINDOW OF SEAN A. PRITCHARD’S SOMERSET COTTAGE. IMAGE: SEAN A. PRITCHARD

If there is one Instagram account guaranteed to raise the spirits, it is that of Sean A. Pritchard. Sharing pictures of his abundant, slightly haphazard floral arrangements in his Somerset cottage and garden, the writer, photographer and designer radiates a particular kind of joy.

Whether sharing a mass of blowsy roses standing atop piles of books; an antique jug filled with a riot of tulips on a windowsill, or branches of autumn beech leaves reaching the beams of his sitting room, Sean’s world feels abundant, playful and deeply atmospheric – which makes the clever portmanteau title of his second book, Atmosfloric, feel entirely fitting.

Part memoir, part exploration of colour and mood, the book – the follow up to Outside In – sees Sean move beyond arranging flowers and designing gardens. Instead, it becomes a meditation on how spaces make us feel. “It was something quite personal, really,” he says. “It was my own reflections on colour – and crucially how colour makes me feel, and how I think colour can make others feel as well.”

He adds ballast with an in-depth yet accessible exploration of colour wheels and theory and divides the main bulk of the book into three ‘atmospheres’: romantic, energetic and reflective. Across its pages, Sean visits homes and gardens belonging to a remarkable cast of creatives, exploring how atmosphere can be created in both the home and garden. “It felt natural to explore colour through other people’s homes and gardens as well as my own,” he explains. “I was really keen to show different scenes and different settings.”

While Sean has become known for his love of abundance, layering and vibrant colour combinations, Atmosfloric also embraces moments of stillness and restraint. He points to the inclusion of Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge: “It was really important to have that moment where it is a bit more sober,” he says. “Actually, I loved doing it because it was so refreshing – a different type of environment for me and so a good challenge.”

The result is a richly textured study of mood and emotion, all illustrated with Sean’s beautifully composed photographs. One moment you are immersed in the Mediterranean warmth of Atelier Vime, the next in the stripped-back calm of Kettle’s Yard, before arriving in the playful maximalism of Richard E. Grant’s southwest London home. The latter feels like a particularly natural meeting of minds.

AN ANTIQUE JUG FILLED WITH CORNFLOWERS, NIGELLA AND ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS AT THE HOME OF RICHARD E. GRANT. IMAGE: SEAN A. PRITCHARD

“There’s such a sense of fun with him,” Sean says. “The whole thing is just joyous and carefree. I think the main take away from him is not taking yourself too seriously and embracing what makes you happy.”

That philosophy of creating spaces that bring happiness rather than perfection runs through everything Sean does. It also explains why his work resonates so strongly online, where his interiors and garden have gathered an intensely loyal audience since he first began sharing them on Instagram in 2018. What started as a personal creative outlet has evolved into a flourishing career encompassing floral design, creative direction, writing and public speaking.

Before that shift, Sean worked in magazines: “I was on the other side of things,” he says. “I didn’t really consider at that point that things might flip the other way.” The speed at which they did still surprises him. In recent years he has collaborated with major brands, spoken at events, published books and created a celebrated stand with bespoke swing seat maker ODD at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – a project that perfectly captured his instinct for immersive atmosphere and playfulness.

Earlier this year, Sean appeared in conversation with legendary hairstylist Sam McKnight at the V&A – a moment he describes as deeply surreal. “I think that was a real highlight for me recently,” he says. The setting itself carried enormous emotional weight. A lifelong lover of museums and curation, Sean admits the experience felt distinctly “pinch-me”. Backstage before the talk, he and McKnight paused to absorb the significance of the moment. “We were both saying, you have to take a second and appreciate the surroundings and what you’re doing,” he recalls. “I couldn’t really think of anywhere better for me to do something like that.”

Yet despite these career highs, there is still a refreshing groundedness to Sean’s work. Nothing feels overly polished or performative. Picture frames sit slightly wonkily on walls; candleholders gather in imperfect clusters; flowers spill naturally from vases. Some people assume the look is carefully contrived, he says, but the reality is much simpler. “I’m not going around making everything wonky,” he laughs. “But when things do go a bit wobbly or out of place, I don’t straighten them again. I just let things be as they are.”

SEAN A. PRITCHARD AT HOME IN SOMERSET

That relaxed approach perhaps stems from the way gardens first entered his life. Growing up with three brothers in Cheshire, his family garden was less romantic oasis and more football pitch. “It was literally a lawn where we could play football or have a trampoline,” he recalls. The real magic happened at his grandparents’ house.

His grandfather, a local cricket groundsman and competitive sweet pea grower, introduced him to the sensory pleasures of gardening. “I remember being mesmerised by the sweet peas,” he says. “The smell was intoxicating.” Even now, the scent instantly transports him back to his grandparents’ home. “Whenever I smell sweet peas, it takes me straight back there.”

Yet despite this early fascination, gardens did not become central to his life until much later. After moving to London in his twenties, Sean found himself navigating the loneliness and uncertainty familiar to many newcomers to the city. “I knew I wanted to be in London, but I found it difficult at first,” he says. “I didn’t know anyone when I moved down. It took time to make friends and find my place.”

During those early years, gardens became both a refuge and a way to navigate his new home. Alone at weekends, he wandered through London’s parks and green spaces, gradually building a map of the city through its gardens. “That was the London I began to love,” he says.

Without a garden of his own, flowers became his constant companion. He developed an obsession with flower markets, regularly visiting New Covent Garden Market and filling each rented flat or house share with arrangements. “Flowers were the one part of a garden that I could have,” he explains.

A LOOSE ARRANGEMENT OF DAHLIAS AND FENNEL. IMAGE: SEAN A. PRITCHARD

Everything changed when he and his partner bought a home in Somerset. Finally, after years of longing for one, he had a garden of his own – and promptly made every mistake possible. “I basically threw every idea I’d ever had about gardens into it immediately,” he says. “I didn’t spend any time just observing the space.”

It was only later that he realised the garden’s true nature. Surrounded by large beech trees, it was fundamentally a shady woodland garden, entirely unsuited to the sun-loving dahlias and hot borders he initially envisioned. “I’ve spent years since unpicking that,” he admits.

That process of learning to work with the garden rather than against it has shaped his philosophy profoundly. Today, the garden is carefully orchestrated to function both as a beautiful landscape and as a source of flowers for the house. Spring bulbs erupt before the trees leaf over; roses give way to cosmos; shade-loving plants now thrive where sun worshippers once struggled.

The relationship between house and garden is central to his thinking. For Sean, interiors and planting are not separate disciplines but deeply interconnected expressions of the same language. “I’m always trying to bring the chaos and joy and excitement of the garden into the house,” he says. Paint colours are chosen not simply for aesthetics but for the feelings they evoke — the vivid green of the window frames (Sorrel Green by Mylands) recalling hedgerows bursting into leaf in early May, or the fiery orange of his kitchen walls conjuring late summer crocosmias and heleniums even in the depths of winter.

The ability of colour, flowers and objects to lift us out of the everyday lies at the heart of Atmosfloric. “I think I’m always creating moments in the garden and in the house that take me somewhere else,” says Sean. “Something that can lift me out of whatever boring day-to-day things are happening and take me into my imagination somewhere else.”

Sean’s approach to both interiors and gardens is one of generosity. Rather than creating spaces that intimidate or impress, Sean wants to create environments that comfort and delight. His work reminds us that beauty is not about perfection or rigidity, but about feeling.

As for what comes next, Sean remains characteristically open-minded. A major new project linked to Atmosfloric is in the works for later this year, although he remains coy on details. “My interest lies in creating worlds and moods through flowers and gardens,” he says. “Whether that’s through books, imagery, gardens or something else entirely, the thread linking it all is this idea of elevating the everyday.” And that is exactly what Sean A. Pritchard does best.

A FIERY COMBINATION OF DAHLIAS. IMAGE: SEAN. A PRITCHARD

SEAN EXPLORES THE COLOUR WHEEL AND COLOUR THEORY TO DEMONSTARTE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLOUR, EMOTION AND ATMOSPHERE. IMAGE: SEAN A. PRITCHARD