When a florist and a homeopathist got together and began exploring their interest in alternative therapy, the results were colourful, intriguing and unpredictable. Working with the principles used by physician Edward Bach, their herbal remedies combine local ingredients with holistic theory and a generous dollop of intuition. ALLI PYRAH met Saskia Marjoram and Christine Felce, who believe flowers hold the key to curing common illnesses.

INCAPACITATED by insomnia? Run down by a recurring rash? Well, it may all be in your mind according to devotees of flower essences, who believe that balancing the emotions is the key to health and happiness.

Unlike conventional western medicine, which treats the symptoms of an illness, flower essences address underlying emotions in the belief that a physical improvement will follow.

"We had tried some Australian flower remedies but although they worked we didn't feel that familiarity with the ingredients," said Saskia Marjoram, a florist and former gardener from Gypsy Lane, Chalford.

So she and Christine Felce, a qualified homeopath who lives in Chalford High Street, decided to make their own infusions, using the multitude of colourful fauna on their doorsteps.

The result was Saskia's Flower Essences, which offers a range of treatments that local people recognise and hopefully feel some affinity with, such as cowslips, which grow abundantly on the common.

Given the huge range of negative emotions they address, the method for creating remedies is remarkably simple. The appropriate petals are plucked, put in a bowl of spring water and left to infuse for a couple of hours before being preserved in alcohol.

The idea is that flower essences contain the vibrating energy of the plant they came from, which is carried through water and stabilises energy levels.

"Your body is more than 90 percent water and these messages in the water vibrate within you," said Christine. "But there's that problem of how homeopathy works. People aren't sure."

Their first preparation was made with polyanthus, a colourful member of the primrose family. They named the remedy Nan's Polyanthus after Christine's mother Nan Smith, who was given a polyanthus shortly before she died in hospital.

The plant was neglected and very dehydrated but somehow revived and flowered brilliantly immediately after she died.

Being unsure of what the infusion would do, they recruited around 20 housewives, who were handed the mysterious concoction and told to report back on anything they noticed.

"After we had made the first one, we were both a bit sceptical because it had all seemed too simple," said Christine.

"So we tried them on housewives and they all started spring cleaning like mad and writing letters they had been putting off.

"Then I sent it off to a spiritual healer in York and she tried it on her clients. She reported it was good for doing things you've been putting off."

But not all of their experiments have turned out entirely as they expected. "Christine made this essence from mignonette, which has quite a strong oily smell," said Saskia. "When we tried it on people, they had weird nightmares."

However, the mignonette finally found a fan during Mind, Body and Spirit day the women attended at Hawkwood College. One intrepid guinea pig felt compelled to try it and sent back a glowing report, demonstrating that while not all remedies suit everyone, there is an essence for everyone.

The instinctive approach Saskia and Christine take to the preparation of the remedies extends to matching the plant to the patient, who are encouraged to take responsibility for their own healing.

A popular way of choosing is to let your subconscious guide you, selecting the remedy you feel most drawn to. Alternatively, you can try dowsing - using a pendulum to guide your decision.

But traditionalists may prefer to make their decision intellectually, matching their emotional state with the most suitable remedy through a quiz in the accompanying leaflet.

Christine and Saskia's experiments have so far resulted in 11 remedies and they have another three in the pipeline. They are always looking for volunteers to test their latest inventions.

Saskia's Flower Essences are sold in several local outlets for around £4 each.

For more information call Saskia on 01285 760413 or Christine on 01453 884775.