Season-led sustainable floristry is an approach to floral design led by the flowers seasonally available at the time of arranging that have been locally grown in a way that nurtures the soil, biodiversity and local environment and using sustainable, foam free mechanics.

Full of vitality and shaped by the climate in which they grow, locally grown flowers often incorporate the movement of the wind as they grew, and their colour can vary with the intensity of the sun or the volume of rain. They change day by day with the seasons and no two seasons are ever the same from one year to the next. This means that they are the most beautiful and interesting medium with which to work, yet require a slightly different approach to design, preparation and use.

Our workshops teach the following:

• the use of sustainable mechanics without floral foam, 

• an understanding of what flowers and foliages are available during each season,

• the knowledge of how to work with different flowers during different seasons, 

• an understanding of how to design using colour theory, artistic composition and season-led materials,

• the confidence to explain decisions and resulting designs to clients, and

• the confidence not to resort to importing flowers in the winter months. 

We offer a range of half- and full-day classes. These classes immerse you in the abundance and beauty of seasonal, locally grown flowers and guide you in designing with the seasons, using foam free, sustainable mechanics.

We also offer our flagship, career change course The Season-led, Sustainable Professional Florist Programme run over 4 seasons within the walled gardens, grounds and house of Howbury Farm Flowers.

See below for more course details.

The School of Sustainable Floristry was set up for three reasons:

1. To demonstrate that organic, locally grown flowers perform as well as their imported cousins in terms of quality and longevity. One of the most common reasons florists cite for not using locally grown flowers more in their work is that the quality and longevity of the flowers isn’t good enough. Of course, as with all farming, there are different quality suppliers, but we believe that good quality local flowers grown with an organic approach definitely perform as well as their imported cousins. They just need to be treated slightly differently. We want to pass on this knowledge to florists to give them the confidence to use locally grown flowers more readily in their work. 

2. To bridge the gap that currently exists between grower and florist and to design a sustainable floristry course that put the flowers at the heart of the programme. There are plenty of foam free ‘sustainable floristry’ courses available, but for the most part, the flowers that these courses are taught with are all imported, and chemically grown. There remains a disconnect at the heart of the floristry industry between the florist and the flowers due to the long, disconnected global supply chain of imported flowers with little consideration for seasonality, how they were grown, where and by whom. We want to redress this, by reconnecting florists to the medium they work with on a daily basis - seasonal, natural, beautiful flowers, that are sustainably grown. Only by having a deep understanding of and appreciation for our materials can we truly master our craft.

3. To pass on our knowledge and enthusiasm for season-led floral design in the hope that we can make the UK floral industry a little more local and sustainable. Cissy has a wealth of knowledge and experience – the what to dos and what not to dos of sustainable design, the flowers to use for the best results during each season, the business mistakes and professional mindset – and working seasonally and sustainably has seen her business grow, her margins improve, her designs get better and her love for the materials and her work flourish. There is no reason why this can’t be the same for others.