The Symbolism of Flowers

Through the ages, flowers have not only been used to celebrate key life events but have also featured heavily in myth and folklore; their symbolism has been noted throughout history with the giving of certain blooms used to convey hidden messages. The Victorians were particularly well know for sending messages though flowers. Roses, depending on colour could mean anything from purity and innocence to passionate, romantic love. Pink carnations meant ‘I’ll never forget you’ but yellow carnations would represent distain. Ivy symbolised fidelity, pansies forbidden love, rosemary for remembrance and the symbolism of iris included communication, hope, and wisdom. Giving a posy of flowers could be loaded with meaning.

Other cultures use flowers too. In Turkish and Persian folklore, Tulips represent passionate love. In the story of Farhad and Shirin, Prince Farhad fell in love with Shirin but when Shirin suffered an untimely death, Farhad, overcome with grief, rode his horse off of a cliff and red tulips apparently grew where his blood dripped to the ground.

Hellebores (also known as the Lenten Rose) are one of my favourite flowers and have a multitude of references through history. There is a French story about a wizard who scattered a cloud of the powdered, dried petals, rendering himself invisible. In the Middle Ages, the petals were used to create a a potent charm against evil and in Greek Mythology, Dionysus is said to have used his powers to turn the daughter of Argos mad, she roamed naked until Melampus made a brew of hellebore flowers to save her from her madness. In reality, hellebores contain a powerful poison called crystalline glucoside so I would not recommend ingesting any part of the plant, even if a spell is cast on you!

I have only really scraped the surface in this short blog post, there is so much more to research. Flower symbolism runs deep through many cultures and periods in history. Maybe the meanings of different blooms are worth considering when choosing flowers for your wedding or any other important life event.

My Path to Floristry

I have always found it fascinating to learn how other people arrive at their chosen career paths so I thought I would share mine. Working with flowers was not something I had ever considered but it’s funny how sometimes we stumble into things only to realise that they completely make sense. Growing up as an only child I was very curious about the world but also very shy. I would spend hours studying plants, flowers and insects, I loved their patterns, shapes and textures. I remember spending hours drawing foxgloves in our garden and my Gran’s strange dried flower arrangements. My ambition was to be an Artist and I have a strong memory of always wanting to have a different life from everyone else. I wasn’t sure how it was going to happen but I knew that having the freedom to follow my creative whims was a driving force.

Fast forward to my early twenties and after studying for my degree 3D Crafts at Brighton University, I set up as a silversmith/goldsmith and made precious metal jewellery, working to commission and selling at galleries throughout the UK. All my designs were based on plants, seed heads and patterns found in nature. After a particularly stressful commission I decided to take a full time job that I had been asked to apply for, teaching art at a leading independent school in Cambridge. I left jewellery behind and focused on teaching, aiming to inspire my students to study art beyond A level. I loved teaching but was also desperate to pursue my own creative path so I managed to persuade the headteacher to let me study for an MA in illustration whilst continuing to teach part time. This was all in the pipeline until I found out I was pregnant with identical twins. What a shock! My partner and I had only just got engaged and were planning our wedding and a lengthy honeymoon travelling around Scandinavia. We wanted to have children but a few years down the line and twins were definitely not part of the plan.

We got married a few months later at Wandlebury Country Park and we were on a tight budget so I decided that I would put the flowers together myself. I had no prior experience of working with flowers and it was pure naivety and a handful of YouTube videos on making a handtied bouquet that got me through. Looking back at photos of the flowers now I cringe but I was really pleased at the time and spending the day before our wedding making table arrangements and bouquets is one of my favourite memories.

After our wedding I felt really inspired to do more floristry but my twin boys Kasper and Griffin were born two months early and unfortunately Kasper had to be transferred to Great Ormand Street for a life saving operation. The pregnancy had not been easy and the prospect of loosing one of my babies and not being able to see the other one as he was still in hospital in Cambridge took its toll on my mental health. I suffered what I describe now as a breakdown whilst we were in London but the wonderful nurses and psychologists helped me enormously while we were there. After both boys were eventually discharged from hospital, it was full on. I was recovering from the trauma of the previous few months whilst being exceptionally sleep deprived and trying to deal with two very hungry babies. The idea of ever doing anything remotely creative again was completely alien to me, I felt cut of from everyone. How could I think about making art whilst knee deep in nappies and baby paraphernalia, if I managed to eat some healthy food and get more than three hours of sleep a night then I was winning.

After a couple of years things started to get a little bit easier at home, the boys were healthy and I was much less riddled with anxiety. Friends started to ask me to put their wedding flowers together for them. It was mainly bouquets and buttonholes but I loved it, it felt wonderful to be doing something creative but also doing something helpful for someone else. After this I started to look for a floristry course I could go to in the evening. I managed to find one locally and loved every Wednesday evening learning about flowers, how to care for them and how to create simple arrangements. I was still working part time as a teacher at this point but was desperate to leave, juggling motherhood with the demands of working in a prestigious school was too much for me. One evening I sat down with my husband and worked out if we could afford for me to give up my job, we knew it would be a struggle but agreed I should do it.

I started to buy flowers in small quantities and practised making up bouquets and arrangements, I then spent time photographing them and sharing the images on social media. I began to get enquiries about weddings quite quickly from this point and things just grew from there. It still amazes me that I somehow manged to grow a business out of seemingly nothing. I had a strong belief that I could do it and somehow that got me through. I have learnt so much along the way and have picked up lots of tricks from other florists which I am so grateful for.

As well as drawing on my knowledge and experience of working with flowers I also use my art background. I still think about composition, tone, colour and texture when creating with flowers, it’s just in a different form. I am inspired by art, interiors and fashion but I find inspiration everywhere, a rusty drainpipe on the side of a building or a pile of logs I spot out on a walk. I also really love working with a natural, fragile material. As soon as a flower blooms it is in the process of dying so I only have a short amount of time to use it. This is perfect for a chronic procrastinator like me as it forces me to get started. I also really appreciate the impermanence of flowers, I don’t have a stack of paintings or sculptures lying around that I have to store. I can take a photo which serves as a memory but apart from that they are gone and I can start afresh with a new bunch.

The past year of living with a pandemic has been very hard in terms of running a business. Weddings and events have been cancelled or postponed which has been tough. From a personal perspective though, the time away has been very creative. I have so many fresh ideas for how I would like to use flowers outside of a floristry context. Hopefully I will be able to bring some of these ideas to fruition over the coming months. Flowers are the material I love to work with but I feel like I am only getting started in exploring what I can do with them. Floral installations in unexpected places are something I really want to make in 2021 so watch this space.

Why do wedding flowers cost so much?

Wedding planning can be a minefield, finding a venue, choosing a dress, thinking about all the details and deciding which ones are important to you can feel overwhelming at times. Are you going to have flowers and if so, are they going to play a big part in your wedding day? For some couples, flowers aren’t a big consideration but for most, flowers can really elevate the overall look and styling of your wedding. But why are wedding flowers seemingly so expensive? In this blog post I will try to explain why.

Yes, wedding flowers can seem expensive, especially because as consumers, we are used to buying flowers from supermarkets very cheaply (news flash, they sell their flowers at a loss to compete against other companies). From the first communication with us, we are working, whether it be responding to your emails, writing quotes, adding pins to shared Pinterest boards, meeting for a consultation or chatting over the phone and this all takes time. We love the planning stage but it can be lengthy.

When you book a florist for your wedding, you are tapping in to a wealth of experience and skill, not only in creating bouquets and arrangements but also in choosing the right flowers to fit with the look you are going for. If you’d love tropical flowers in hot, spicy colours then we have the expertise to pick blooms that fit that brief and also to know what will be available and in season. Alternatively, if you want a wild, loose vibe there are some blooms that are going to work perfectly but others that wont give you the look you’re after. You are also paying for our accountability, we are responsible for making sure every bloom is in tip-top condition, ensuring there are the right number of table arrangements, bouquets and buttonholes for all your groomsmen.

Flowers can be costly per stem, and often the flowers for weddings (that clients want) can be more expensive than varieties used in gift bouquets, for example, a beautiful David Austin rose can cost up to £10 per stem. In addition to this, every single flower and stem of foliage has to be conditioned. This means removing all packaging, checking each stem for damage or disease, removing lower foliage, de-thorning stems and placing in clean water prior to using. Leading up to a wedding, the work starts on Sunday or Monday ordering all the flowers. We then collect everything from the wholesaler and condition all the flowers which can take up to a whole day, depending on the size of the wedding. Then, once all the flowers are in water and have had a good drink overnight, we start to create all the elements for your wedding.

Of course, we have overheads and are running a business but now you know a little of what goes in to what we do, hopefully this will give you an insight in to the value of working with a florist to create hand crafted wedding flowers and a service that will really enhance your special day.

How to look after your flowers

So, you’ve been given a beautiful bouquet of flowers, how do you keep them looking fresh for longer? In this short blog post I’ll give you some tips to lengthen the life of your cut flowers. This works for all bouquets, not just ones from us.

So the first step is to remove all packaging. We always deliver the flowers in water but this is just for transportation and there won’t be enough to keep your flowers hydrated for more than 24 hours. Remove from the presentation bag, take off the paper and cellophane if there is any.

If your bouquet is tied together keep it that way for now. With a clean, sharp pair of secateurs or snips cut the stems of your flowers to fit the vase they are going to be displayed in. If you are able to, cut them at an angle, this will increase the surface area enabling the flowers to draw up more water.

Add water to your vase and add in flower food if you have it. There are lots of myths about adding aspirin or sugar to the water to extend the life but we wouldn’t recommend doing this. Sugar especially, will encourage bacteria to grow in the water, the aim is to keep the water as clean as possible.

Now it’s time to remove the string or twine binding your bouquet together and place in the water. Check that there are no leaves below the water line, if there are then remove these as they will quickly rot. Change the water often, daily if possible. Keeping it fresh will help to keep your blooms looking perky for longer.

Lastly, place your vase somewhere where you can see it often but away from direct heat or light and definitely keep it away from the fruit bowl, ripening fruit produces ethylene which can quickly degrade flowers.

With these tips you should be able to keep your beautiful blooms looking fresh for longer.

We’ve recently updated the bouquet section in our shop, making it easier to see what you get for each size and price. At the moment we offer a florist’s choice hand tied bouquet but we are always open to custom orders.

Juliet xo

A DIY Guide to Making a Simple Table Centrepiece

This centrepiece is really a collection of small containers that can be grouped together. The benefit of this method is that the containers can be placed in different arrangements. If you have a rectangular table then they can be dotted in a line or placed in small groups down the length of the table, if you have a round table they look great grouped altogether in the centre.

You will need a collection of small vessels, small bottles, cups, jam jars all work well, just make sure they are clean. Placing flowers in dirty vessels will shorten the vase life, I usually soak any containers in a weak solution of bleachy water before I use them, ensuring that I have thoroughly rinsed them afterwards. Fill your vessels about half full with fresh water.

The next thing you’ll need is some flowers, the varieties are completely up to you. You might have some that can be snipped form your garden or you could buy some from a supermarket. I have used a couple of varieties of Narcissi, Poppies, Fritillaries and Grape Hyacinths. Foliage would also look great, catkins, blossom or fresh spring leaves would look very seasonal. Ensure that the stems are clean and any leaves from the lower parts of the stems have been removed. If you have leaves submerged in the water it will encourage bacterial growth and will shorten the life of you blooms.

Now its time to add the flowers to you vessels. The general look I go for is organised chaos (in life not just in flowers) so you want the stems to be various lengths, some much taller than others. Don’t be tempted to cut everything too short, you can always remove more length but can’t add it back. I generally start by adding the tallest stems and then work down to the shortest. Cut your stems at an angle with sharp snips or even better, a sharp non-serrated knife. By cutting at an angle you are increasing the surface area of the stem so it has more contact with the water, this will help your flowers take up water more easily and therefore prolong their life. My other tip would be not to mix narcissi/daffodils with other flowers, they have a sticky, poisonous sap that can quickly kill other flowers sitting in the same water. The only flowers that can tolerate them are hyacinths or Grape Hyacinths so they are ok to mix.

When you place the your bottles/jars on your table, think about how they sit together. Again, organised chaos works well so make sure that you haven’t grouped all the same kind of flowers together, the general look is fairly informal but there needs to be a visual balance overall. Change the water every day or every other day and pull out any blooms that have faded.

Best of luck and do send me a photo so that I can see your creations.

Juliet xo

How to Make Your Own Festive Garlanding

Garlanding is a lovely way to bring fresh foliage into the home at Christmas. It can be used to decorate your tables, shelves, mantlepiece or if you’re feeling ambitious you can even tie it to banisters to create real impact.

In this how-to guide I will show how to make your own, it’s easy and fun to do and if you collect foliage from your garden it’s very inexpensive. If you decide to have a go let me know how you get on in the comments below.

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The first thing to do is to gather your materials. You’ll need some thin rope or if you don’t have any then use a few strands of twine knotted or platted together. You’ll also need some sharp secateurs and some reel wire. The foliage you use is completely up to you but my advice would be to choose evergreen foliage as it is much tougher and won’t wilt as quickly out of water. I’ve used spruce, cyprus and senecio in my garland. I like to choose foliage with a variety of textures as it creates a more interesting look.

Decide on how long you want your garland to be and then cut your rope a few cms shorter as the foliage will extend out at one end. Before you start to construct your garland cut all the foliage down to shorter lengths, I’ve cut mine to between 10-15cm, if you want a looser look keep a few pieces longer.

Gather a few pieces of foliage (3 or 4) and hold together in a bunch, then using the wire, bind this bunch to the end of your rope. Continue adding small bunches binding them on with wire, overlap the bunches so that you are working back on yourself. Make sure that you fan the bunches out when you place them, so one to the left, one to the right and then one in the middle, continue like this until you run out of rope.

To finish, add you last bunch and cut the stems to that they are flush with the end of the rope, wrap the wire around a few more times and then cut and tuck the end into the foliage so that it wont scratch you or the surface you place it on.

How you style it after that is up to you. Adding candles always looks great, you could also place small vases of flowers in amongst the garlanding. Best of luck and Merry Christmas x