67. Flower School

Today was the start of the autumn term at Flower School. The classes take place in the local church hall and are run by a very talented local florist. Each week she decides on a theme, and every Thursday her twelve pupils turn up with armfuls of flowers and foliage, ready to be creative. This week’s theme was “Autumn Splendour” so we added fruit and seeds to the mix.

In the walled garden I grow fruit, vegetables and plants with some sort of culinary use, but the garden around the house is dedicated to flowers and foliage. There are mini collections of favourite varieties: scented pelargoniums, hydrangeas, agapanthas, camellias, roses, lilac and lavender. In spring I have daffodils, tulips, muscari and alliums, and in winter I have the scented leaves of citrus trees and the bright red blossom of Chinese plums. These are all great sources for the Flower School.

My selection for the “Autumn Splendour” theme were picked from the garden this morning: leaves / foliage from the scented pelargoniums (Sweet Mimosa and Attar of Roses), fading hydrangea flower heads (Cardinal Violet, Blueberry Cheesecake), ripening agapanthas seed heads (Jacaranda and White Queen) with apples and pears from the fruit trees. The result is a basket overflowing with beautifully subdued autumn colours, different textures and a strong scent of rose of attar.

The foliage will stay fresh and retain its scent for weeks. The agapanthas seeds will be planted to produce next year’s seedlings once they have dried out. I am hoping the hydrangeas will dry out rather than droop. Flower arranging is a lovely way to be creative with flowers growing in your garden. I will be spending the next 6 days in my garden and out on dog walks getting ideas for next week’s theme: “Balance”.

Flower School demonstration for next week’s “Balance” theme

It is interesting to see what foliage and flowers the other attendees bring. There were a lot of sunflowers this week, lots of ivy, some leucospermum (although many imported flowers are still hard to get post Brexit), faux blackberries, rose hips, lotus seed heads, eucalyptus leaves, acorns and even a few green figs. Even with a common theme, the arrangements vary wildly.

Flower School has made me think about new plant varieties I could introduce into the garden: phormium, monsterras, fatsias for interesting foliage, plants with attractive seed heads (poppies, alliums), roses with pronounced rose hips, some skimmia, bay and holly varieties for their berries and leaves, and an interesting selection of flowers with different shapes and textures. The Flower School suitability test will be an important factor in deciding on new additions to the flower garden.

Flower School Christmas Wreath 2020

PS: I was watching the Chelsea Flower Show 2021 coverage this evening, and they made the important point that the standard green floral foam (Oasis) we use for Flower School is very environmentally unsound.

Apparently one block of Oasis is the equivalent of 10 plastic shopping bags, is non-biodegradable, non-recyclable and toxic for both humans and animals. It is made from synthetic, non-recyclable plastic and is created using a combination of carbon black, formaldehyde and phenolic foam, which are all toxic.  Although it crumbles, floral foam doesn’t fully dissolve in water or degrade in landfill or soil. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller micro-plastics which pollute our rivers, marine life and food chains. So much so that the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have banned it from all their 2021 shows, including Chelsea.

We need to be thinking about greener alternatives. The recommendation from a florist exhibiting at Chelsea is to use clumps of moss packed into / wrapped in green recyclable food refuse bags instead. Piercing them with holes to feed the stems through will hold the plant securely. These are apparently as effective as the Oasis, but much more environmentally sound. It is something I will need to experiment with this term.

The London Flower School have a good article on some more innovative traditional (Pre-Oasis) alternatives including chicken wire, moss and flower frogs. It has some great ideas.

PPS: A late addition of Week 2 flower school arrangements with the Balance theme. I used a red hot poker, leucodendrum flowers, daisies, New Zealand flax and fatsia leaves. And some seeds from Mum’s garden.