A Mother's Day Made in England

I wanted to try something different for Mother's Day and came across Common Farm Flowers on Twitter. I loved the natural, cottage style of these flowers and also liked the fact that they are organically grown in England. It's nice to support British growers as most flowers available in the UK are from Holland or are flown in from far-flung places like Columbia and Kenya.

A box of British loveliness

I was excited when my cut flowers arrived by courier on Friday afternoon and it was even more exciting to think that just a few hours earlier they had been growing in Somerset, so I knew they were really fresh :-)

I unwrapped the beautiful, spring, scented blooms and conditioned them ready to use the next day.

I made two hand tied bouquets from the mixed bucket of flowers I bought (one for my Mum and one for my boyfriend's Mum). I added a little bit of extra spring foliage too.

Informal spring hand tied bouquet in decorative jug

Cottage-style hand tied bouquet in earthenware jug

I was pleased with the seasonal, relaxed look of these bouquets. I will definitely keep looking for alternative sources of cut flowers for my designs.

Further Funeral Tributes

Started the day with the based wreath assessment:

I had 75 minutes to make the box pleated ribbon edging, base the wreath with Chrysanthemums, make the rose and spray carnation spray and do a costing. Job done - Distinction :-)

Now for something completely different:

This afternoon I made this textured design. The idea is to keep the materials within the frame of the base to retain the shape, but to have differing heights throughout. This design uses a range of materials including Gerberas, Kermit chrysanths, spray roses, Hypericum, bun moss, ivy, slate, terracotta and loofah. It is edged in pleated hessian.

I think it makes a nice change from more traditional designs and it can be personalised for someone who liked gardening with little tools or even small vegetables.

Dainty Wedding Delights

A nice mix of flowers at college today for the wedding unit. Three lovely designs completed:

Hair comb with Gerberas and Hypericum

Corsage with Cymbidiums

Pomander with spray roses, spray carnations and wax flower

Formal Funeral Designs

This Thursday I learnt basing (covering the foam in one type of flower) and box pleating (ribbon edging).

These techniques are used in formal designs. The first one I have to make again as an assessment next week and the second one is a portfolio design.

Based wreath

Based cross with double placement

The cross has the most complicated ribbon edging as each corner has to be mitred. I'm going to do some practice with my stapler ready for the timed assessment :-)

Decorative Wedding Floristry

I had a really enjoyable day at college today learning how to make some very pretty items.

Wired orchid hat decoration

Same corsage converted into a clutch bag decoration

I really like these designs and think they would be ideal for a wedding, evening event or day out such as Ascot.

In the afternoon I made a glued rose and orchid head band. This would be suitable for a young bridesmaid.

Funeral Portfolio Pieces

I learnt two new designs today:

Loose wreath in foam

Single ended spray

I like the pale yellow Dianthus in these designs - nice and spring-like :-)