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You can't wait for spring to arrive! Here are 5 signs to check......

We all love to watch nature awakening after winter, the dark, cold days finally start to fade and it’s time to head outside and enjoy nature’s wonderful signs of spring.

We already saw many snowdrops blooming and we can wait for the daffodils to feel our fields and all the hedgerows and woods burst with life and colours.

Spring signs herald the new life, sunshine and longer days to come, and are a welcome sight after months of gloomy weather.

When does spring officially start?

We officially enter in spring on the Spring Equinox that this year is on the 20th of March.

That isn’t to say that nature waits until the Equinox to show off her spring signs.

What are the first signs of spring?

Flowers

Snowdrops are brave pioneers, nosing through frozen ground at our places as early as January.

Soon after, the early bulbs come through - purple crocuses, iris, winter aconite and scillas.

Towards the end of February into March, yellow daffodils are cheering us up.

The last hurrah of spring flowers are the bluebells in early May. They're a beautiful, but fragile flower, be sure to stick to paths so you don't trample them.

The arrival of migrant birds

Sand martins are usually first to arrive, dropping back into their favoured nest sites around mid-March.

Their gorgeous cousins, the petrol-blue house martins, follow closely behind and tend to enter our skies as April arrives.

Swallows return around the same time while swifts, with their iconic sickle-shaped wings and joyful screams, bring up the rear, soaring back into the UK between April and May.

A surge in birdsong & Nest-building

You might notice the birdsong building from February as birds start singing again to attract mates or warn rivals off their patch.

In late March and April you can see evidence of remarkable workmanship. Blackbirds, robins and song thrushes build classic, bowl-shaped nests of woven grasses and twigs.They're often camouflaged with moss and lined with mud.

Rooks are more noisy and messy. They collect sticks and drop them on tree branches until they lodge and build up into a scruffy nest.

Other birds make use of existing holes in trees or under the eaves of roofs.

Tree - buds and blossom

Spring is a busy time for trees.

In early spring the tree roots start moving water and nutrients from the soil up to the rest of the tree.

The buds resting dormant since autumn are ready to burst into leaf when there's enough sunlight.

Many trees flower around this time. Some tree flowers are tricky to spot, although the confetti blossom of fruit trees or waxy blooms of magnolia are beautiful and obvious.

Early butterflies and bees

Warmer days rouse bees and butterflies from their winter slumber.

The first sign of a bumblebee or butterfly is a sure sign that spring is on its way. Hoverflies, some butterflies and hibernating bees will come out at the first sign of warm weather.

The queen bees are searching for nests any time from February to April.

Some butterflies are immigrants from warmer climes in spring, others hibernate and overwinter as butterflies, eggs or caterpillars.

Would you like to know which British flowers are in season in early Spring?

Read our blog post HERE:

Tag:
Spring

Press Flowers Workshop

How to Press Flowers and Preserve Your Favourite Blooms

Pressed flowers are a simple way to preserve a moment in time.

By pressing flowers, you can save a thoughtful bouquet from a loved one or commemorate flowers from a special event.

Plus, it's an easy way to keep the beauty of spring and summer blooms alive (almost) forever.

Unlike a bouquet of dried flowers, pressed flowers are great for framing and displaying as art, giving as a sentimental gift, or dressing up handwritten cards and letters.

Selecting Flowers for Pressing

If you're pressing flowers from a bouquet, it's best to start as soon as possible; don't wait until the day before you'll have to throw the arrangement out.

Choose a few flowers to remove from the bouquet while all the blooms are still fresh.

The better the quality of the blooms at picking time, the better they'll look when dried and pressed.

If you're picking your own flowers from the garden, keep in mind that it's best to pick flowers in the morning after dew has evaporated.

Wet flowers are prone to mold.

Harvest them when they're ready to open their buds or just before their peak.

Choose flowers that have a flat bud. If the bloom is globe shaped, you can cut it in half so that it’s easier to press.

Also collect blooms and foliage at different stages of development to give your design a natural look.

How to press flowers with a flower press

Flowers with naturally flat blooms are the easiest to press, such as violets and daisies.

If you're pressing flowers with pollen like alstroemeria and lillies, is very important remove that you remove the pollen otherwise the petal will stain.

Ferns and other types of leaves also flatten nicely.

You can also dry chunky flowers such as multi-petal roses or carnations but they'll take longer and need a bit more attention.

Flowers Press Workshop

1 - Pop your chosen flower(s) in between your two pieces of paper and place this inside the press.

2 - Once you have all the layer you want to press prepared, sandwich your full stack between the pieces of wood and use the 4 screws, washers and wigs nuts to hold the press together.

3 - The flowers will be completely dry and ready to remove in two to three weeks -

4 - Remove your paper carefully, as the dry flower will be extremely delicate.

Top tip – If you're looking to press several flowers at once then make sure they have enough room between them and aren't touching or overlapping.

Press Flowers Workshop UK

Workshops in Oakham, Rutland.

Finally are here!

After many request from September we will start to host a range of different workshops at The Rutland Garden Village in Oakham and at few other venue within the Rutland, Leicestrshire area.

Create with your hands

There’s something wonderful about working with your hands.

Floristry has a calming, restorative effect. We call it flower therapy.

Our workshops are designed to inspire. You’ll leave full of confidence and an urge to create. For friends, for teams, for flower lovers flying solo.

Beginners or seasoned snippers. The experience is relaxed, fun and filled with flowers.

Oakham flowers schol

The workshops

We are passionate about using British flowers and we will sharing our world of sustainable floristry.

You can learn how to arrange flowers for your home or create the essential bridal flower bouquets and accessories that you will need for your wedding.

Our one day Introduction to Floristry workshop will give you a taster as to what it's like working as a florist, or if you want to take the plunge join us for our Career Course, an intensive three day workshop where we cover all you need to start your flowery journey.

Light refreshments and all the flowers and materials you will need are provided in all of our workshops.

Workshops list

This is a list of the workshops that we are planning to run:

FRESH FLOWERS

Hand Tied Bouquet
Low vase floral arrangement (without the terrible flower foam)
Introduction to floristry
DIY Bride
Autumn Wreath
Flower Crown
Seasonal Flowers For The Table
Christmas Wreath Workshop
Afternoon Tea/Prosecco + Hand Tied Bouquet Workshop
Christmas Table Arrangement
Festive Tablescape

DRIED FLOWERS

Dried Flowers Wreath
Dried Flowers Arrangement
Dried Flowers Terrarium
Dried Flowers Crown
Dried Flowers Hand Tied Bouquet
Dried Flowers Terrarium

PLANT

Terrarium
Macrame

Oakham Workshop

British Flowers Week 2021

British Flowers Week is back!

This campaign run by New Covent Garden Market in London, is returning for it ninth year between Monday 14th and Sunday 20th June 2021.

The week long festivities will celebrate the beauty and variety of British cut flowers, foliage and plants, as well as the florists, growers and wholesalers who make it all possible.

Would you like to get involved?

British Flowers Week Windows

To get involved this year The British Flowers Association encouraging businesses and the public to decorate their windows with British flowers in their home or places of work; preferably where passers-by can enjoy them from 14th to 20th June.

Whether it’s with a single stem, a bouquet made from garden flowers or a spectacular display, a decorated window with show support for the British flower industry this June.

To get involved create a British Flowers Week window with British flowers, foliage or plants, from the garden, a local grower, florist or wholesaler.

Once you’ve created your design take a picture of your British Flowers Week window, share it on social media using #BritishFlowersWeek and tag @MarketFlowers to show support for British businesses and go in the draw to win fantastic prizes.

The Hiden Collective and British Flowers

We love Ethical British Flowers!

Our supply chain is very simple, trackable and energy efficient.

We order flowers either directly from the grower or from a British flowers wholesaler and in that way the grower will only cut the flowers that are preordered.

We also buy only what we can sell and if we have any spare blooms, we donate and brighten the life of the residents of an elderly home close to our studio.

This process allows us to deliver the flowers to your doorstep in the minimum possible time and for you to enjoy the flowers at their freshest.

Our flowers never sit around in a very high energy consuming warehouse fridge like in many cases when you purchase imported flowers.

The classic supply chain can keep flowers in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks with the relevant energy use.

Talking about waste… the classic supply chain will waste approximately 1 in 3 stems, and if you scale this up on a yearly basis you are talking about millions of blooms, wasted land, labour, resources and fuel.

We only use seasonal flowers and so we can’t source hundreds of varieties of flowers.

Our limitation is our strength!

Each season has its own bloom star and we can guarantee that they are looking stunning as ever, like the scented garden rose between early May and late autumn.

We are experiencing an Ethical British Flowers revolutions with lots of new flower growers opening every month across England.

After many years of decline, the British Floral Industry is starting to truly starting to bloom again and we love being a part of it!

The more the independent flower growing movement thrives within the UK, the more accessible home-grown seasonal flowers will become and the less we rely so heavily on importing.

Shifting to locally grown blooms to decorate our houses, work spaces and weddings has the potential to lower the carbon footprint of the industry and give us better control over the working conditions in the fields where our flowers are grown.

British flowers

Chicken wire for floral arrangement

Chicken wire is much better that floral foam and should be the first option when you are going to create a floral arrangement.

Is reusable, is more economical, the flowers are able to drink naturally and is much much better for the environment.

A win win for us and the planet.

Step by step to how to use chicken wire in a floral arrangement:

Chicken wire floral arrangement

Cut a square of chicken wire and fold it into a cushion shape, making sure that all the sharp edges of the chicken wire are twisted towards the inside of the cushion to avoid damaging the container.
The size of the chicken wire required depends on the size and shape of the container. Unfortunately there is not a specific rule to follow but I am sure that after few attempts will much easier.
Place the chicken wire cushion into the container and if you have the possibility you can fix it with floral tape or with any other tape that you have available. The best method is create a cross on the wire with the tape and stick the end on the container. Try to use as little tape as possible and try to not make showing that much or you will need lots of flowers and foliage to cover it.
If you decide to use a transparent glass vase a good trick is to line the container first with large simple leaves or a twist of trailing ivy to conceal the wire.

Foam free floral arrangement Oakham

Add water to your container and possibly includes some flowers food. Start your decoration by adding you foliage, make sure that the stems are long enough to reach the base of the vase and so they can drink easily and last for long time.
Once you are the majority of foliage add your flowers and use the last foliage where required.
Every few days or whenever you fill that is need it top up the water in the container.

Chicken wire floral arrangement tutorial

Do you wonder why floral foam is not good for the environment?

Read here our blog post THE GREEN ALTERNATIVE TO FLORAL FOAM

The green alternative to floral foam