Sweet peas, peonies and cow parsley: the best events to celebrate British Flowers Week across the UK
British Flowers Week from 18-24 June 2018 is an opportunity to pay tribute to the best of British flowers. And there's an abundance of native blooms to celebrate: guelder roses, sweet william, lilacs, delphiniums, stocks, snapdragons...to name just a few.
To mark the occasion, six must-see installations from renowned floral designers will be displayed to the public at the Garden Museum in Lambeth. The exhibition is curated by the New Covent Garden Flower Market, the founders of the campaign.
But there's also a number of events taking place across the UK - so here's our pick of the best workshops, activities, open days and and talks at a cutting garden near you.
Petals and cloth: natural dye and bouquet making workshop, North Norfolk
Flower farmer Cel Robertson of the Forever Green Flower Company in north Norfolk has collaborated with The Way of Tea, a plant-loving natural dyer and clothing maker in Norwich, to present a petals and cloth workshop using a seasonal bouquet of Norfolk-grown blooms.
£75pp, Friday 22 June, 10am-1pm; Forever Green Flower Company, Grove Farm, Holt Road, Aylmerton, Norfolk, NR11 8QA
FarmerFlorist exhibition at Ryedale Folk Museum, Yorkshire
Photographer Tessa Bunney presents an exhibition which explores explores the fair trade flower movement, celebrating domestic growers past and present in the setting of the Ryedale Folk Museum in the North York Moors. In a series of stunning photographs, Tessa sheds light on the individuals who are contributing to the UK's vibrant cut-flower industry.
Free, open daily from 10am - 5pm; Ryedale Folk Museum, 1 Pear Tree Garth, Hutton-le-Hole, England, YO62 6UA; britishflowersweek.com
Floral dog collar workshop with Young Blooms, Wiltshire
Dogs, flowers, coffee and cake: what more could you ask for? Allow florist Grace Farrimond of Young Blooms at Hartley Farm to provide you with all the materials you need to create a floral dog collar with locally grown flowers at Doghouse, a pet shop, café and dog grooming salon in one.
£35pp, Sunday 24 June at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm; Doghouse, 1 Lamb Yard, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1FG; eventbrite.com
Summer floral workshop at Pentillie Castle with Miranda Hackett Flowers, Cornwall
2018 marks the bicentenary of the death of the great landscape designer Humphry Repton - so Pentillie Castle have teamed up with Miranda Hackett Flowers and The Gardens Trust to celebrate with a guided garden walk and floral workshop. You'll create a loose, eccentric, hand-tied bouquet, followed by a two-course lunch (and a glass of wine).
£110pp, Friday 22 June, 9:30am-3:30pm; Pentillie Castle & Estate, Paynters Cross, St. Mellion, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 6QD; pentillie.co.uk
Pick and Paint with Merri Flowers and Something Less Boring, Bedfordshire
Enjoy a relaxing tour of the grounds at Merri Flowers farm (please wear appropriate outdoor shoes and clothing), and choose a selection of flowers to grow and paint in a new artist's workshop. Hosted by Liddy Parry, the illustrator behind Something Less Boring, you'll finish the session with a piece of floral artwork to take home. Delightful.
£30pp, Saturday 23 June 10am - 1pm; Merri Flowers, Queens Close, Oakley, Bedford, MK43 7TB; flowersfromthefarm.co.uk
Summer handtied bouquet class and afternoon tea at Daylesford Farm, Gloucestershire
Select the blooms and natural materials which catch your eye in Daylesford's organic cutting garden (a colourful, fragrant medley of quintessentially English seasonal blooms, grasses and meadow flowers - a haven for bees, florists and foragers). Then, proceed to create a hand-tied summer bouquet to take home in the Chelsea Garden room, followed by fizz and afternoon tea. Bliss.
£125pp, Tuesday 19 June, 12pm-3:30pm, Daylesford farm shop near Kingham, Gloucestershire, GL56 0YG; daylesford.com
Seasonal boutonierres and spiralling bouquets with Evolve Flowers, Lincolnshire
Head to arts and crafts destination Unique Cottage Studios near Spalding to learn how to present and care for your blooms with maximum effect, with the help of Helen Chambers of Evolve Flowers. Homemade cake will be on hand to fuel the creative process. Heaven.
£42pp, Thursday 21 June, 2pm - 4pm; Fulney Lane, Spalding PE12 6FA; uniquecottagestudios.co.uk
British Flowers Week with horticulturalist Cathy Marchant, Newmarket
Cathy Marchant runs the Midnight Flower Garden farm in an old walled garden designed by Lancelot Capability Brown in Cowlinge, Suffolk. To mark British Flowers Week, she'll be giving a talk on a history of flower growing in the UK and its demise during the war, as well as the rise of a new generation of British flower farms - all in the stunning surroundings of King Charles II’s racing palace in Newmarket.
£15pp, Saturday 23 June 2pm-3:30pm; Palace House, Palace Street, Newmarket, England, CB8 8EP
