As I jot down this blog entry it’s evening on Thursday 9th March, this morning we woke up to a garden full of snow, enough to keep us home, at least for the morning until the rain came in and began to turn it all into sludge on the roads and we could carry on with our busy routines.
By the evening, a new book I’d ordered only last night had arrived (thanks amazon) and as the rain poured outside I jumped right into the story of another florist, flower grower and gatherer, living in the here and now, working with the seasons and creating joy with all that nature has to offer- in the moment. Beautiful, simple, childlike joy. So, I recommend this book – Flower Philosophy by Anna Potter of Swallows and Damsons.
You may remember from last weeks post that just four days ago my baby sweet peas got planted out into the beds in the garden now they are sleeping under a blanket of snow with temperatures forecast to reach as low and minus 7 tomorrow night, I’ll be sure to let you know how they hold up, or not as the case may be…..
Friday 10th March, more snow had arrived overnight. I always get excited to see snow when I open the curtains in the morning, I don’t know why, but I never expect it, even if it has been forecast and the excitement I feel now, is still the same as when I was little. I rush to get ready and run out, to just be in it. So I rushed out this morning to make the first footprints in the garden and then the first foot prints down the lane and then after another cuppa, the first foot prints into the woods. Some people love being in the woods, they find comfort, almost cosiness in the woods, in the same way some people find comfort on the coast. I prefer being in open spaces and on the hills, I don’t love being in woods, I find them eerie, but in the snow, for some reason, the woods are where I love to be.
Back in the garden, the branches of the pine trees were so heavy, completely encapsulated in ice. As the sun came out by mid morning icy casings of tree branches began falling to the ground like glass. By dusk the sweet peas were still under the blanket of snow, maybe it will protect them from the now updated forecast of minus 9 overnight low for tonight? I’ve covered the seedlings in the greenhouse over with fleece just to be on the safe side. Germination is really slow this year, I don’t think it’s been quite warm enough to get everything going. I’m learning that it really wouldn’t hurt to wait a little longer.
Saturday 11th March, still snow on the ground, the sweet peas are still hidden under it. The yew hedging for the boarders that Simon had prepped last week arrived on Thursday and we couldn’t wait any longer to get them in the ground. So we ventured out today and in the sleet and snow we got them in. Hooray!
Im eager to get going on the field but I’m still waiting for compost to be delivered for the new no dig beds, so there is no update on that at the moment, probably next week.So while things are a little quiet because of the weather I thought it would be a good idea to give my thoughts on sustainability in floristry- particularly about floral foam as I have been asked quite a few times – did you use flower foam to make that? And the answer is no and so I feel the need to share my thoughts…
I really strongly believe that the flowers we consume, that we gift to our loved ones and that we use to mark milestones in our lives shouldn’t contribute to the harm of the planet and needn’t. I see despair in a bunch of roses in March filling the entrances of our supermarkets, roses, which have travelled halfway across the planet, that are sprayed in pesticides and treated with silver nitrate to preserve them for their very long journey. If you’ve stuck your nose into them whilst you stood in the queue to pay you know there is no scent in them, there is no movement to their stems, and then theres the plastic wrapping, does the buyer even really see their beauty I wonder?
If you are a florist or flower grower and on social media, I’m sure you’ll resonate with me on this one- we don’t need to see another post on why we shouldn’t be using single use plastic especially floral foam, right!? And it’s true, I think the industry is preaching to itself and I also wonder is the message getting out to the customer?.. So, if your a florist or flower grower that loves working with what the seasons offer and like me, you despair at the sight of roses jabbed into a block of floral foam or wrapped in swathes of plastic in March, you really don’t need to read this post! But if you are wondering how I arrange my flowers and why I don’t use single use plastic for them (including floral foam) then this post is for you.
Thankfully, there is a huge shift in the floral industry that has been happening in Britain over the last decade, in both floral design and in flower farming. Networks such as flowers from the farm have led the way- championing, locally grown, seasonal flowers all over the country, connecting local growers with each other and their customers and sharing ideas on how to make the floral industry more sustainable and seasonal. Social media has certainly also helped, because of social media the amateur and professional can share design ideas and practical methods, information is freely available and generously shared. I don’t have any formal floristry training or horticulture qualifications, yet I, and many like me feel equipped to grow flowers for cutting and arranging in a sustainable way. The sustainable way of working with flowers is simple. In fact, I wonder if this lack of training helps the ‘florist’ feel freer in their work, where the trained florist who learnt their methods using floral foam may now find it more of a challenge to design without it? Unfortunately floral foam methods are still taught in colleges today. I believe that floristry should be available to anyone who wants to have a go, it can, of course be elaborate, and if you desire it should be – flowers are for beauty and your pleasure after all, but it should also be quite possible, for a stroll with some snips around your garden to result in the most enchanting of floral arrangements fitting for any life event!
I also think it’s really important to acknowledge at this point that so much emphasis (especially in the case of plastic floral foam) is put on what happens at the end life of a product, it’s also important to consider what are the methods that go into producing the product not just what happens to it after it’s been used. It could be that the production of floral foam for instance is less resource draining than say a reusable plastic vessel? Food for thought…
It’s also worth reminding ourselves that sustainability isn’t the only consideration in any business it’s just one small part. It’s the florists job to create something beautiful for their client and something that realises their clients vision not just their own- of course they can, and should explain why they would prefer not to use plastic foam in their work if that is their intention. However there might be an instance when the thing the client would like cannot be achieved in any other way than to use foam and even after having a discussion with the client they still want to go ahead with that particular design! So that being said, for the florist who relies on the job to pay the bills and put food on the table, it would certainly be wrong to shame them for their use of floral foam in that instance- this is sadly the kind of mantra currently on social media.
For me right now at this early stage in my business I’m in a privileged position where I don’t rely on the income from my flowers to pay my bills so I can strictly say I don’t use floral foam in any of my work, this may mean turning down some jobs in the future but for other florists this may be more tricky.
So with all that said, I want to share with you how I made this arrangement that is on my homepage; the church arch. I used flowers grown in my garden such as delphinium, corn flowers, roses and ammi. And foliage such as Himalayan nutmeg, ivy and jasmine. It was my first attempt at a large installation and so there is of course much to improve upon but I just wanted to have a little record to show it is completely possible to do without the use of single use plastics or floral foam. Of course this is just one small way of using less plastic in our designs but I think worth sharing because I don’t think anything is compromised in the overall finished result by not using foam. The whole structure can be used many many times and adapted if needed for many events. I hope you find something useful from it.
Here’s how I made it:
First I chose a branch, it needs to be pretty chunky, straight at the bottom with a nice arching shape at the top. My branch was hazel but you could use what ever you have an abundance of. I then set my branch in an old flower pot using cement.
Next I wrapped my branch in a couple of layers of chicken wire using string and cable ties, to secure it.
Next I nestled plastic grave vases into the chicken wire, these hold water for the flowers in the design that wouldn’t cope well being out of water. By using these vases in the design, it would also be possible to make the flowers that go in them as little hand tied bouquets, which guests could take home and enjoy after the event.
Then I packed moss into the chicken wire to begin to cover it over. The moss can be watered when in situ to help keep any greenery fresh.
Once in situ, the whole structure was put into a larger bucket of water into which flowers and greenery can be added to give the effect that the piece is growing up from the basket. The bucket of water was then put into a basket to make it pretty. You will then need to secure the structure to some thing stable or tie it down somehow-for this particular job I was able to use some sturdy wire to attach it to the wall from some hooks which were already in place.
Now the mechanics are in place you can start adding your greenery, it’s a good idea to have a helping had at this point. Someone prepping the foliage and passing it to you so you don’t have to keep hopping up and down from the hop up.
Once you’re happy that there is a good base of green and most of the mechanics are covered you can begin to add your flowers. And then finally add any smaller buckets of flowers around the main installation and soften any edges with moss to finish. Ta da!
If you are interested in finding out more about foam free mechanics in floral design, there are a few great books I can recommend:
- The flower hunter by Lucy hunter
- Flower philosophy as mentioned above, by Anna Potter
- A guide to floral mechanics by Sarah Diligent
- Floral evolution by Catherine Foxwell
On Instagram you could also follow @sustainablechurchflowers for foam free ideas and @greenwashtheflowers to learn more about sustainable floristry.
On podcasts Vic and Jess of The flower girl podcast, do a brilliant interview with Stephanie Gillespie of Smithers Oasis (episode 61) all about the ins and outs of floral foam and their newer more environmentally conscious alternatives.
And on YouTube and Instagram Georgie Newbury of Common Farm flowers provides all round advice on working in step with what nature has to offer and creates the most beautiful, honest floristry straight from her garden.
Thank you for checking in this week, it’s been a bit of a long rambling one in the end but please do leave your comments, I’d love to chat with you and learn what you want me to be posting about in my little corner of the web!
Much love, Rebecca