GARDEN TO VASE WORKSHOPS

21-22 MAY

18-19 JUNE

8-9 OCTober

Flowers grown in a garden setting are, quite simply, the best materials it is possible to handle as arrangers. Flower arranging is much like seasonal cooking in that the quality and provenance of the produce is paramount. Cutting from a garden and arranging straight into the vase means arrangements are both as fresh as possible and of a garden-grown character not possible to source at larger floral wholesalers. They are not mass-grown or cultivated to be uniform - every flower is individual and quirky, varying from stem to stem in colour and shape, bringing a sense of spontaneity not only to the arrangements themselves but also to the creative process of arranging them.

Our popular Garden to Vase Workshops take place in spring, summer and autumn, celebrating that particular moment in the year. Over two days we explore the ways in which seasonal, locally-grown and foraged materials can become a vital and holistic part of our creative practice. In each design session you’ll discover new plant varieties and deepen your understanding of how they behave and change with the seasons. You’ll learn how to study the natural materials that the garden provides - flowers, leaves, twigs, seedheads, fruits, vegetables, grasses and weeds - to arrange them in a way that references how they grow in a garden setting. Together we’ll examine what it means to take a nature-led and garden-inspired approach to designs, creating arrangements that evoke the style and character of different gardens from the prairie planting scheme and abundant perennial border to the cottage and kitchen garden.

At the AESME SCHOOL OF FLOWERS we introduce people to plants. Materials remain firmly at the forefront of everything we do; the garden houses an extensive collection of unique plants so that students are able to create arrangements from ingredients that are extraordinary and diverse. The curated selection of flowers for each class is not one you will meet in any other flower school. We guarantee that you will be surprised, challenged and enraptured by new acquaintances. You may find yourself charmed by the jaunty faces of Viola sororia ‘Freckles’, lost in conversation with Tropaeolum ‘Lady Bird’ or fall head over heels with a scented briar of Rosa ‘Lykkefund’. Not to mention exchanging words with tangly lengths of bean vine from the kitchen garden or navigating the prickly stems of foraged teasels.

In late spring our beam might fall upon our Japan-inspired ‘Wabi Sabi’ beds in part-shade where delicate spires of fringe cups and foxgloves tower over Jacob’s ladder nestled among ferns and the elegant shrubs of Nandina domestica (sacred bamboo).

In early summer our attention is held by the ‘Cottage Garden’ awash with the ruffled petals of garden roses, shirley poppies and peonies in full sun.

In autumn we’re drawn in by the glinting metallics of ornamental grasses in the drought tolerant ‘Prairie’ beds and the speckled ice-cream cones of Hydrangea paniculata in the shaded border beyond.

On this workshop we contemplate how to evoke place in floral design, looking to specific areas of the garden depending on the season, translating the feeling of each of our garden ‘rooms’ and noticing how plants that grow well together correspondingly look right together in the vase. 

 

DAY ONE

21 MAY

18 JUNE

8 OCTOBER

INTRODUCTION

We come together over coffee to meet and get to know one another and to set our intentions for the workshop. The studio will be filled with an array of seasonal materials freshly harvested from our garden in the Hampshire countryside. We’ll begin by talking you through the AESME SCHOOL OF FLOWERS naturalistic philosophy and what it means to take a garden-inspired approach to arrangements.

HAND TIED BOUQUET

An airy and textural bouquet seemingly gathered from the garden moments before. The hand-vase technique allows us to showcase the beauty of every ingredient without contorting or spiralling.

SMALL VASE WITH CHICKEN WIRE

A low-slung arrangement for the table with spindly branches, carefully clustered flowers and lightly gestural ‘whiskers’. These are balanced and harmonious designs for the table that delight and surprise, composed in an elegant ceramic vessel.

DAY TWO

22 MAY

19 JUNE

9 OCTOBER

LARGE ARRANGEMENT WITH PIN-HOLDER

A statement piece with sculptural branches for outline shape and balance, and voluptuous focal flowers layered with textural, fragrant fillers. We’ll explore the possibilities of using a pinholder (Japanese kenzan) for structure and assess each ingredient to create an impactful asymmetric design.

CREATIVE FREESTYLE SESSION

In this session you’ll be encouraged to flex your design muscles. We’ll conjure an imaginary brief using the prompt of three descriptive words. You’ll choose a vessel, select materials and refine the colour palette. Anything goes, with one proviso: have fun!

An abundant harvest from the drought-tolerant ‘Prairie’ beds which we quite literally ‘wade into’ later in the season to cut armloads of Rudbeckia triloba (brown-eyed Susan), Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) and clouds of Scabiosa ochroleucha (pincushion flower) and Stipa gigantea (golden oats).

Digitalis ferruginea (rusty foxglove) - a perennial variety with tubular coffee-coloured flowers streaked with golden veins - as exquisite as she is useful.

May: Tulips, bearded iris, Star of Bethlehem, Jacob’s Ladder, allium, sweet pea, daisy, Granny’s bonnet, cornflower, meadow rue, clematis, poppy, fringe cups, Sicilian honey garlic, scorpion weed, larkspur, geranium, geum, flax, love-in-a-mist, laceflower, rose, mullein, valerian, wood fern, meadow sweet

This is a two day workshop which will run from 10am to 3.30pm each day with a short break for lunch. If you are visiting from outside of London and are looking for ideas on places to stay, shop and eat in our wonderful home city you can find suggestions here. Directions to the studio in Shepherd’s Bush can be found here. Teas and coffees throughout the day are provided, as are the use of snips, aprons, flowers and mechanics. We stock a small range of our own brand ceramics, books and Japanese tools to buy at the studio.

You can pay in full for this course at the time of booking or reserve your place with a £500 deposit. The remaining balance is due six weeks before the course start date.

Please read our Terms and Conditions in full before booking.