GARDEN TO VASE WORKSHOPS
Fuelled by a passion and curiosity for garden plants, our curated collection has slowly been growing in a small garden in Hampshire for the past ten years. This small half acre plot supplies the studio and school with an abundance of produce. Our popular Garden to Vase workshops take place in spring, summer and autumn, each designed to celebrate a particular moment in the garden.
Flower arranging is much like seasonal cooking in that the quality and provenance of the produce is paramount. Garden flowers are scented, characterful and graceful. They are not mass-grown or cultivated to be uniform. Each material 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.
“It was an absolute joy from start to finish - the warm welcome from you all, your inspiring teaching, the generosity of the flowers and vessels… I came home brimming with ideas on how to use ingredients from my garden and surroundings in a fresh and different way… I foraged for vetch which I had never considered before and used that with wild poppies and am now looking at a little bottle of wild strawberries on my kitchen table!” ANNABEL
During this workshop 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.
From spring 2027 we are excited to include tours of our Hampshire cutting garden as part of our Garden to Vase Workshops!
The garden day is optional - you can choose to add this to create a three day experience, or simply attend the two day workshop at the studio separately. We have a limited number of spaces available for either option.
Explore the full curriculum below by clicking the drop down arrows and scroll the page to find dates, prices and booking information.
Our seasonal Garden to Vase workshops are designed to celebrate a particular moment in the cutting garden.
Inspired by plantswoman (and keen flower arranger) Beth Chatto’s mantra ‘right plant, right place’, the garden is divided into groupings of plants that grow well together in certain conditions - part shade, full sun, covered, dry etc. Growing a wide range of bulbs, perennials, annuals, shrubs, vegetables and wildflowers (not forgetting the weeds) enables us to focus on different areas of the garden in turn throughout the year as each ‘room’ of plants reaches its peak.
In late spring our beam might fall upon the Japan-esque wabi sabi area, where delicate spires of Tellima grandiflora (fringe cups) and foxgloves dangle over Jacob’s ladder, and primroses nestle amongst ferns in dappled shade. By June the cottage garden demands full attention - a riot of ruffled garden roses, shirley poppies, peonies and alliums in Gertrude Jekyll-style gradations of colour. In early autumn we’re drawn into the drought-tolerant prairie beds, wading through massed plantings of glittering grasses, vibrant violet asters and clouds of Scabiosa ochroleucha (pincushion flower).
Over two days of deep botanical immersion you will 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.
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On the first day we will meet for a tour of the cutting garden in Hampshire. We’ll visit each of the different areas in turn, discussing the choice of plants and their uses as cut flower material. We will talk you through how we set about turning a patch of brambles into an abundantly productive cutting garden, the organic growing practices we use and our approach to encouraging biodiversity in the space.
Together we will condition a range of stems in preparation for arrangement, removing leaves and thorns, cutting stems and using hot water treatment to prevent wilting.
A further practical session will be led by our gardener, focusing on a seasonally-specific task such as sowing seeds, pruning or deadheading.
NB The garden day is optional - you can choose to add this to create a three day experience, or simply attend the two day workshop at the studio separately.
Travel plans to Hampshire are to be made independently. The garden is located in the village of Grateley (full address and directions will be provided after booking). The local train station operates trains directly to Waterloo in London (lifts can be provided to/from the station).
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You will learn how to make an airy and textural posy of flowers seemingly gathered from the garden moments before.
The ‘hand vase’ technique allows us to showcase the beauty of every ingredient without contorting or spiralling.
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A sweet tea bowl is the perfect vessel in which to display delicate garden-grown stems.
In this session we will make arrangements for the table with spindly branches, carefully clustered flowers and lightly gestural ‘whiskers’, stems fed into a simple ball of chicken wire scrunched inside.
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Our eggcup-shaped footed vases are the perfect shape for experimenting with linear designs.
In this session we’ll be using a pin-holder or kenzan, translated from Japanese as a ‘sword mountain’. Pin-holders allow for the precise placement of stems at varying angles, and we’ll be drawing inspiration from the natural growth tendencies of plants as we put together these elegant arrangements.
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A statement piece with sculptural branches for outline shape and balance, flowers layered with textural, fragrant fillers and spilling vines.
You will learn how to create a structurally sound large arrangement that gently sways in the breeze, assessing each ingredient in turn to create an impactful asymmetric design.
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.
2026
spring
21-22 MAY
£990
studio only
summer
18-19 JUNE
£990
studio only
autumn
9-10 OCT
£990
studio only
2027
spring
10-12 MAY
garden & studio
£1485
11-12 MAY
studio only
£990
summer
28-30 JUNE
garden & studio
£1485
29-30 JUNE
studio only
£990
autumn
27-29 SEPT
garden & studio
£1485
28-29 SEPT
studio only
£990
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DEPOSIT
You can pay in full for this course at the time of booking or reserve your place with a 50% deposit. The remaining balance is due six weeks before the course start date. The garden day is optional - you can choose to add this to create a three day experience, or simply attend the two day workshop at the studio separately. We have a limited number of spaces available for either option.
TIMINGS
Garden days run from 10am to 2.30pm with a short break for lunch.
Studio days run from 10am to 3.30pm with a short break for lunch.
Please arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before the start of the class.
LUNCHES
We do not provide lunch. Teas, coffees and water are provided throughout the day. Please bring a packed lunch to the garden where we will picnic as a group. In the studio we have a small kitchen area with a fridge if you would like to bring a packed lunch and there are lots of cafés nearby to choose from.
WHAT TO WEAR
For the garden we recommend coming dressed for the outdoors and to bring options for all weathers including a sunhat, suncream, raincoat and sturdy footwear.
The studio is in a converted railway arch that is shady and cool (perfect for the flowers!) We recommend bringing additional layers, wearing comfortable shoes and to bear in mind that you will be handling organic flower material throughout the day.
EQUIPMENT
Snips, aprons, flowers, vases and mechanics are all provided.
We stock a small range of our own brand ceramics and Japanese tools in our studio shop as well as our book, Naturalistic Flowers.
DIRECTIONS
Travel plans to the garden in Hampshire are to be made independently. The garden is located in the village of Grateley (full address and directions will be provided after booking). The local train station operates trains directly to Waterloo in London - please keep us up to date on your travel timings and lifts can be provided to/from the train station. There is parking available at the garden if you would prefer to drive.
Directions to the studio in Shepherd’s Bush can be found here. If you are visiting from outside of London you can find suggestions on where to stay, shop and eat here.
Ts & Cs
Please read our Terms and Conditions in full before booking.