What's therapeutic about flower arranging?

First I'd like to say- just to be clear where I’m coming from - I’m not a scientist or expert of the mind, but I do have my own humble opinions on this that have developed over time, not only from practising but watching others too. I'll bang on about them a bit now.

As you may already know, there’s something about carrying out a focused activity with the hands that seems to connect the mind directly to what our hands are doing: measuring, balancing, linking colours, shapes and so on, resulting in the world we ordinarily perceive melting away around us. We are not giving part of our attention but the entirety of it.

If you’re a reader it is likely you’ll know this sensation; much like getting lost in a great story you are no longer aware of things happening around you. It’s just you and the book (or flowers, in this case) in your existence at that moment and what a moment that is! Time becomes elastic - hours can pass without awareness of time, the sounds around you blurring and merging until you don’t really hear them at all anymore.

The occupation of your mind on such a singular activity seems to rid us of extraneous thought, allowing us to pass into a zone of perfect harmony.

That’s what flower arranging is to me in its best moments; an opportunity for a lovely mental drift while watching beauty emerge from my hands. The unsurpassed joy of creation with materials that are already so beautiful in their own right. Placing them into pleasing patterns has become a way for me to level myself and zone out in a happy place.

I won’t pretend it’s all smelling roses, learning any new skill at first comes with challenges such as the mind-bending feeling it can give us, not to mention the odd ‘I don’t think I can do this’ moments. Ultimately though, when we push through and overcome those feelings, the sensation of things clicking into place - when it suddenly makes sense and you’re actually doing it - gives such satisfaction that you know it was worth it. You may even feel you want to do it again!

We all have our own reasons for wanting to engage in a creative activity but I think the one thing that links here us is that flowers are inherently good for the soul. And aren’t we all searching for things, particularly in the fraught times we live in, that ease our very beings?

Why we are saying no thanks to floral foam

Have you wondered what all the recent fuss about floral foam is for? Let's go over it. I'll try to keep it simple.

Floral foam is a product that, while incredibly convenient to use, also causes serious harm to our beautiful planet, wildlife and even us.

Made of plastic (phenolic resin), it does not compost or biodegrade. This is a real problem as it breaks down into tiny particles which we know as microplastics, ending up in waterways and subsequently often in our bodies via the seafood we eat. It just doesn't go away.

Whilst there are 'bio' versions available, studies have now shown that they are likely to only partly biodegrade under very particular conditions that are not found in natural settings. In fact, the bio foams have been found to cause more harm, not only because they can leach more toxic compounds into water but also due to the partial-degradation process creating microplastics faster, doing real damage to aquatic life.

That's why so many florists worldwide are moving away from the use of floral foam and it's heartening to see the Royal Horticultural Society have banned the use of it at their events including the beloved Chelsea Flower Show as of 2020.

It's time to step up. It simply feels wrong to simultaneously love and appreciate flowers that grow from the Earth while dumping harmful substances back into it.

I am by no means here to judge those who still use floral foam, each person's choice is their own after all. However, I do take heart in helping to raise awareness and provide education in alternative methods and materials in the spirit of supporting florists to consciously do less harm. The small changes we make collectively can add up to big differences.

For more information on this topic, I recommend having a look at https://www.sustainablefloristry.org/blog-index/aboutfloralfoam

It's a good read and gives some excellent information.

On Inspiration

A question that commonly comes up over the years is about where inspiration comes from.

It's a difficult one to answer, not only because it's different for everyone but also because it can strike in a flash without any apparent reason. Retrospectively it's sometimes easy to trace the process back, and conversely sometimes it is something that just appears in a moment.

Having said all of that, I do think that inspiration is often an incremental process rather than a singular event.

For me, I think it comes from taking in life. It's in the small wonders we witness every day. It can be visual; witnessing sunrise and sunset, observing silhouettes and shadows, art and architecture or simply watching other florists work.

At times it comes from movement like watching wind blow through trees or the roll of the sea.

Textures, sounds and smells also come into play by being triggers of memories, nostalgia and emotions.

Or it could just be the act of happening upon an old picture of angelica seed heads rising up against grey London skies.

This might sound a bit abstract but for me it all combines to be the truest source of inspiration. It's a collection of moments, feelings, observations and absorption of life through the senses.

I'd be interested to hear any opinions you may have, you can always get in touch with me via the contact page if you would like to share your thoughts.