... seasonality in floristry is the way to stand out ...
Autumn-inspired Golden Leaf Collection:
As you may already know, it's only us humans that can say something like 'what bad weather today'! Actually, nature doesn't have bad weather. Every season has a purpose... and today I would like to talk about seasonality in floristry and how it has a straight link to being sustainable.
We all know, for example, that there are certain foods we should eat in certain seasons to gain the most vitamins and nutrition from them. However, do we all know that the same rule applies to floristry?
In sync with nature
Each season has its own greenery and flowers in bloom, which means that they are easy to grow in that specific time... and a key point here - they are grown locally! This means that they will be the cheapest to buy. If you use seasonal blooms, you will get the freshest flowers and a colour palette that matches the current mood and surrounding nature. This will make the design relevant.
Trust me, there is beauty in every season, even winter (actually a truly magical time), and I will be exploring each season with you in my upcoming designs.
About trusting your florist
So next time you go to your florist for a fresh bouquet or to design your wedding flowers, ask them to work with seasonal blooms. Even if you have a specific favourite flower, you can still ask for the type that is in season. It can be from the same flower family, it can be a different colour/size, or a seasonal substitute that is preferably from a local grower. It will still be gorgeous!
This would help you and the florist stay sustainable. We should be using local suppliers more, they have a lot to offer!
The trick is to truly notice your surroundings and see the beauty in the nature around you. This makes designs unique and unforgettable.
Autumn in the florist's eyes
How do I see autumn?
Autumn for me means, first of all, rich colours, sometimes even richer than in summer!
The Colour palette usually consists of deep shades with black undertones: all shades of red, dark pink, moss green, dark orange or copper, mustard yellow, all shades of brown, and deep purple.
Fall flowers in the UK
dahlias, chrysanthemums, hydrangea, sunflowers, roses, azalea, Japanese anemone, coneflower, rudbeckia, alyssum, strawflower, crocosmia, asters, snapdragons, cosmos, scabiosa, statice, gomphrena, zinnia to name a few.
Scottish special - heather, thistles and eryngiums, both in fresh or dried forms, will add that traditional twist.
British foliage: abelia, cotinus, eucalyptus, Chinese Lanterns, physocarpus, ivy, spindleberry, rose hips, and weigela.
Also to remind you, most of these flowers and grasses are easy to grow in your own garden.
Dried/stabilised flowers
Autumn and winter are the perfect seasons to show off dried and stabilised flora.
The key here is to choose a responsible supplier or to experiment with the drying process yourself.
Unfortunately, there's a lot of 'greenwashing' happening in the industry. Most of the dried flowers you can find in the shops were bleached, heavily treated with chemicals, or painted with aerosols, which doesn't make them sustainable at all.
Here, at Pirita Blooms, we prefer to control the whole process from start to finish and stick to hand drying. Please head to our Drying Flowers page to find out about different methods, explained in step-by-step. We do urge you to try this fun and creative process!
Autumn accessories
By accessories I mean additional natural materials that would make your design unforgettable and so special.
They are the essence of this gorgeous season and are able to create the atmosphere even without flowers.
Firstly, of course, it's leaves! In all kinds of shapes and colours, dried or fresh, hand-painted, and even skeleton.
Have you heard of skeleton leaves? Definitely check them out! I personally call them natural lace due to their texture.
All kinds of berries, fruits, nuts, acorns, seedpods, branches, moss - rowan berries, ivy blackberries, hypericum, rosehip, elderberries, chestnuts, monkey nuts, hazelnuts.
And pumpkins!! Don't forget the pumpkins 🎃 Make a floral pumpkin, it can become a wonderful table centrepiece.
Take out all the insides and use it for the pumpkin soup.
Herbs of all types - add wonderful smells to your design - sage, rosemary, lavender, mint, bay leaf, thyme, and anise to name a few.
We hope that this blog will inspire you to create wonderful seasonal designs, which would be both sustainable and unique!
Happy Autumn!
🍂🍁
Pirita Blooms
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