OF FLOWERS
Welcome to the
AESME SCHOOL
the aesme school of flowers specialises in naturalistic design with a focus on seasonality, exploring the connection between the garden & the vase
Based in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, we are an international flower school welcoming flower arrangers from around the world, whether professional, amateur or aspiring.
Our School is first and foremost about connecting plants and people. We are strictly seasonal, using ingredients from our curated plant collection, grown using organic methods in a Hampshire garden. Every student has the opportunity to experience the beauty and variety of garden flowers through their organic forms, textures and colours, to learn about the plants our flowers come from and to reject hierarchy, making arrangements with everything from weeds and wildflowers to fruits and vegetables. Whenever you choose to join us, you will be surrounded by extraordinary natural materials - blossoming and decadent, wild and weedy, edible, medicinal and scented.
If you are taking the first steps on your journey with flowers, or you’ve reached a crossroads, we can provide a path to arranging them differently.
"Inspiring, empowering and beautiful"
It is with the greatest pleasure that we announce the publication of our first book!
Naturalistic Flowers: A Year of Plants, Places and People is published by Thames & Hudson and available now.
Our dream is that this book will inspire readers to reconnect with the natural world as urgently and as frequently as possible. That it will find those in need of solace and the healing power of beauty, of working with their hands, of noticing the miraculous in the everyday. We hope that it will encourage some who have not done so yet to plant a seed, to reach for a vase or a camera, to take a step in the direction of tenderness and optimism.
“…Naturalistic Flowers is not a manual for the budding florist, despite appearances. Sure, every chapter might come with a ‘recipe’, an ingredient-style list detailing the components of their arrangements. But there’s an acknowledgement between writer and reader that the recipes are there to spark interest, rather than provide instruction. We may never track down that spiny starwort picked up in Provence, nor spy a red-flowered bladder senna off the north coast of Norfolk. But that would be beside the point: we can look out for similar substitutes closer to home. Intuition and adaptation are the real lessons here.”
BOTANICAL INSTALLATIONS
In our latest online course we share our tried-and-tested methods and techniques for making show-stopping floral scenery for events. You'll discover which vessels and mechanics to use, how to factor in water sources, ways to create height, volume and drama, and most importantly, how to keep it simple and safe with maximum impact.
"Scaling up can be daunting - the size and quantity of materials, the variability of the weather, the structure, safety and logistics - are all factors that require greater consideration when designing an installation than a small vase or bouquet of flowers. But there are many overlaps, too, and installation work does not necessarily need to be complicated - they are often most effective when the design is kept simple…" An Introduction to Installations
