March seems to have lived up to its name and marched through at great speed… how are we nearly into April? From those lazy days in January each month seems to have picked up the pace, and whilst I’m keeping up, there really isn’t much time to relax!
Last week I was delighted to create a bespoke group course for Anneris Flower Farm and her colleagues. Five of them travelled over from Italy to enjoy a week of brilliant Cornish sunshine, ok I joke, the weather was rather pants, however they had a wonderful time.
Elisa wanted to combine garden classes with floristry and so I set about designing a three day course for her that would fit their groups needs. With this being an international trip I wanted to include some visits out of the class room and experience creatives that surround my own business. So I brushed out the van, removed all smells of floristry water gone stale and took this wonderful group on a three day creative experience.
Day One - Garden Inspiration
Day one started with a tour of Duchy of Cornwall Nursery. Whilst early in the year the group were able to see how I set up my tunnel for the early part of the growing season. Duchy is always a feast of inspiration and even with our late start to the spring the Bee Garden was looking so pretty.
From here we headed off to The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Starting with a lunch in their cafe and a brisk (due to excitement) walk to the flower gardens. We were lucky to chat to Yoko, who is in charge of the walled flower garden. This is an impressive space and I’m trying not to feel green with envy at those glass houses filled with peach blossom!
Day Two - Creative Design
Day two was met with great excitement. I arranged for Sian of Lancaster & Cornish to come and give a mornings class on Bundle Dyeing silk ribbons and an introduction to the art of Sabori Tie-Dyeing. This was such a wonderful morning. The dining room table was transformed into a creative space of exploration of dye materials. From dried plants to powders I felt like I was in a chapter of Georges Marvel Medicine and we all couldn’t wait to dive in!
Whilst ribbons dried out in the breeze and we kept a sly eye on the chickens interest we tidied away in preparation for the afternoon’s activities.
The groups accommodation, Brean Park Farm was very close to Lostwithiel and this meant at lunchtime we were about to grab lunch at The Mess Hall. We were really well looked after by Rich and his team and the group insisted on coming back the following day to try other dishes. We also called in on John Webb our local potter and visited the beautiful Scandi shop, which the Italians already knew about via Instagram, Alice in Scandiland.
The afternoon saw us cracking on with a bridal bouquet class. Focusing on seasonal ingredients and adding foraged elements. The group created designs that reflected the time of year. I always say to my students if you can crack making a bouquet in March you will be fine for the rest of the season! I'm sure many of my fellow industry folk can relate the joys of snapping spring flowers!
Day Three - Immersive Floristry
Day three was a full floral immersive day. We reviewed the bridal bouquets before going into the art of larger scale arrangements and how you can scale up when the season only offers you short stems. In pairs they worked and re-worked urn arrangements. We focused a lot on flower placement and how you can create movement in your design.
After lunch we took to table styling. Creating beautiful low bowl arrangements in Leach Pottery vases and how to add and these to additional bud vase arrangements for a more meadow style. Each person took multiple elements to work on and as a group combined one cohesive design to practice the art of group working for larger weddings.
As the day ended I was reminded how inspiring it is to work creatively amongst others. I myself always learn when I am teaching and I had forgotten how nice that was.
Huge thanks to Elisa and her colleagues for booking a course with me and I hope I will see you all again soon….perhaps next time Italy (the weather is better!).
Create you own Class
If you would like me to organise a company creative day(s) for you please do get in touch. Courses can be designed around your own group needs and all visits can be arranged for you. I have the advantage of being able to offer five seats in my van so small groups can even be driven around by me!
