Norfolk grooming brand Captain Fawcett and royal florist Simon Lycett are celebrating the gentleman gardener, ahead of the inaugural RHS Sandringham Flower Show. Cate McKay-Haynes, writer for The Fawcett Times, explains all about the ‘English garden in a tin’
There is a particular sort of man who delights in discovering a new pelargonium. He will insist you crush a scented leaf between your fingers (“Go on, have a sniff of that”), explain that one smells of lemons or apples, while another recalls old roses, then garnish your gin and tonic with a jaunty leaf and disappear into the greenhouse to raid his tomato vines for a picnic on the lawn. He is, in short, excellent company. The world has always needed enthusiasts. The sort of people who dive down fascinating rabbit holes and emerge clutching a curious plant, an old map or a tale they simply must share. The great plant hunters travelled extraordinary distances in search of unfamiliar species, bringing home seeds and stories that transformed Britain’s gardens. Others devoted themselves to stamps, fossils or other niche collection. Each becomes more than a catalogue of objects; it is a portrait of the person who assembled it.
Richard Finney MBE understands that instinct perfectly. His King’s Lynn headquarters for Captain Fawcett, the Norfolk gentlemen’s grooming company inspired by the spirit of Edwardian adventure, is part workshop, part museum and part cabinet of curiosities. Antique barber’s chairs, expedition trunks, shaving mugs and tonsorial treasures fill every corner. From this unlikely setting, Captain Fawcett’s moustache waxes, beard oils and fragrances are now exported to more than 50 countries, flying the flag for British craftsmanship around the world.
Over a hundred miles away, celebrity florist Simon Lycett has been building a rather different collection. The gloriously moustachioed RHS Ambassador Simon Lycett has spent a career transforming palaces, cathedrals and grand houses into breathtaking floral wonderlands, from the weddings of King Charles III and Queen Camilla and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank to grand occasions and the flowers for Four Weddings and a Funeral. Yet for all the grandeur, it is the scented pelargoniums in his own south London garden that make him fizz with excitement.
His treasured pelargoniums are like old friends, spilling from terracotta pots, each with a character entirely its own. One releases the soft perfume of roses, another the cool lift of peppermint; others hint at balsam, cinnamon, lemon, citronella or verbena. Underfoot, self-seeded wild rocket springs rakishly between the flagstones, releasing a spicy flourish with every step.
Naturally, Simon wondered whether this intoxicating bouquet might make an excellent moustache wax. Captain Fawcett, with his reputation for craftsmanship, curiosity and character, proved the obvious accomplice.
The result is Botanica, Captain Fawcett’s latest collaboration. Forget powdery florals. This is the scent of the garden itself: pelargonium leaves, crushed herbs, green, peppery and vegetal, underpinned by the mellow warmth of beeswax. Less florist’s shop, more the delicious moment when the day’s heat begins to ebb, ice clinks in frosted glass, and an English garden releases its scent to the evening air.
When Simon first tried it, his review was right on the nose. “Captain Fawcett, you’ve got it. It’s like a waft of scent floating over the garden wall. I smell bloody gorgeous. It’s blooming lovely.”
Quite so! There will always be a place for the rich warmth of whisky, tobacco and polished leather. They are perfectly splendid companions. But then, so is tweed, and nobody sensible insists on wearing that in July.
A gentleman has always dressed for the season. Why shouldn’t his moustache? The inaugural RHS Sandringham Flower Show is the perfect occasion for embracing summer’s gentler elegance: cool linen, crisp cotton and perhaps a Panama hat with a little mileage. One’s moustache, if worn, should remain reassuringly shipshape through heatwaves, horticulture and melting ice-cream. One need only glance at Wimbledon or indeed His Majesty The King to be reminded that the best summer style is about staying cool, looking comfortable and carrying it all off with good humour.
The same goes for gardening itself. A familiar face from the Chelsea Flower Show television coverage and an RHS Ambassador, Simon is keen to remind people that gardening isn’t an exam.
“I never learnt Latin”, he says with a grin. “I’ve never had any formal training as a florist. When you really love something, the knowledge just goes in.” His advice is refreshingly uncomplicated: “You don’t need six acres. You can grow a bouquet in a bucket. Just start.”
Perhaps that is why this collaboration feels so natural. Captain Fawcett began when founder Richie Finney MBE brewed a batch of moustache wax in an old baked bean tin on his kitchen stove in Terrington St Clement. Today, the proudly Norfolk-made brand is exported to more than 50 countries.
“Neither Simon nor I have much interest in following the beaten path,” says Richie. “Curiosity, a dash of courage and a healthy disregard for the rule book have always served me well. Simon looked at a pelargonium leaf and saw a moustache wax. Most people would simply have enjoyed the scent. He saw a possibility. Those are the people who make life more colourful.”
As Sandringham prepares to show the very best of British gardening, Captain Fawcett’s Botanica celebrates a particular sort of gentleman. Curious, generous and full of possibility, he sees adventures in pelargonium leaves, treasures in old shaving mugs and the promise of another splendid summer wherever he happens to be. Entirely at ease with beauty and never afraid of delight, he’s exactly the sort of fellow one hopes to meet among the flower borders this July. The world could do with rather more of him.
For more information about Botanica Moustache Wax, visit Captain Fawcett
Featured image of Richie Finney MBE and Simon Lycett – supplied
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