Seasonal flowers speak to our souls

If we let them.....

I used to live in Derbyshire where I ran a flower and herb farm. I did events including weddings and have lots of fond memories of that special time. I was not like most florists back then. Brides and grooms used to visit for a cuppa and a wander around the farm while we discussed their special day - usually at least a year away. Then I would go about growing their flowers and herbs and they would pop by from time to time to visit them. How glorious is that?

If I am honest, it was often mainly the brides that were most interested. Until one visit from a lovely couple who were on the same page as me on sustainable weddings. After the first visit they quickly asked for a second and in that visit the bride barely got a word in. The groom wanted to grow some herbs for his own weddings. More than that he wanted to make the buttonholes for the big day. He did both of those things and they switched frome doing their wedding flowers to attending classes so they could do their own. It was one of my favourite times. They embraced the seasons and the demands put on growing flowers in the open air rather than hot houses with perfect petals. Their designs tumbled out of their creative soul and it made their day all the more perfect for it.

Some years later and I am still working with flowers but just on a much smaller scale. I am an mixed media artist these days but most of my starting points are flowers and I also use them in my art work. I run a beautiful Patreon community where we focus on seasonal creativity so flowers pop up there as well. Flowers are with us all year round but a wee bit shyer in the winter months. Autumn is one of my favourite seasons for flowers as the colours demand to be noticed and the shapes of the blooms are much more diverse than in the summer. Creating with flowers is a beautifully mindful activity but it is also capable of sparking much creativity.

All of these flowers in tiny expresso cups were foraged from my garden and the hedgerow beyond the garden gate. Don’t just limit yourself to flowers at this time of year as seedheads are a lovely addition to an arrangement. Look out for the Cosmos seedhead as it is breathtakingly beautiful. Teaching folk how to work creaitively with flowers is, quite possibly, my favourite thing to do. I watch the flowers work their magic and just smile. Who knows, maybe I will start offering that service over zoom mindful of that very special couple who made their flower story central to their special day. Just perfect.

A flower story