What we do: floristry workshops
Workshops are a key part of the offer from many Flowers From The Farm members, and an important form of outreach for the organisation. Sarah Smith of Eden Valley Flower Courses in Cumbria tells us more.
Want to learn a new skill, and make something beautiful in the process? We can help!
I’m a relatively new member of Flowers From The Farm, having only joined at Christmas, but I have been in the floristry industry for over 20 years. Originally a shop-based florist, I became self-employed after the pandemic, working freelance for other florists at weddings and events; I then joined FFTF, and started growing more flowers in my well-stocked cottage garden. I plan to sell my flowers wholesale as well as using them in my own work, and to teach small-scale workshops to the public and other florists.
Workshops are an increasingly common offering from British growers and florists: they are a great way for us to engage with the public and our local communities, and especially useful for raising funds at otherwise quiet times of year – i.e. from Christmas to early spring, when seasonal British flowers are at their lowest availability.
Detail of a winter wreath made by Sarah. Christmas wreath workshops have become hugely popular across the country, and provide a valuable source of income for FFTF members at an otherwise quiet time of year.
By offering workshops we are both advertising our own services and helping to educate people about the advantages of local, seasonal flowers; in particular their promotion of sustainable practices, and reduction of transport miles and plastic waste. From a consumer perspective, places on workshops have become a popular alternative gift in recent years, and more generally a way of trying new experiences and learning new skills.
At Eden Valley Flower Courses we offer workshops in spring wreaths, gift arrangements (often in up-cycled containers), hand-tied bouquets, always teaching sustainable, eco-friendly practices, and championing British grown flowers and foliage.
A spring bowl arrangement of cheerful narcissi and ranunculus by Sarah.
More widely Flowers From The Farm members offer workshops throughout the year, all over the country, and somewhere near you there will be a flower farmer, florist or designer in all things floral offering a variety of workshops. You can find out what’s on offer by visiting the Events page on this website, and also by following your local FFTF members through their own websites or on social media.
