Country style table arrangement
The flowers that bloom in the spring may be pretty, but they still need arranging. Time for a visit to Judith Blacklock Flower School. Helene Parry sniffs the bouquet
When choosing flowers, I favour a perennial solution – daffodils. And as a veteran St David’s Day reveller, I’ve perfected my two-stage method: stick ’em in a jar and hope for the best.
But this year I’ve had a spring bulb moment and joined top flower arranger Judith Blacklock, who runs a prestigious flower school in Knightsbridge, for a lesson at New Covent Garden Flower Market. This class is the first of a 12-week part-time course entitled Parties, Weddings and Flowers for the Home.
But first, Judith gives me and seven other budding florists a tour of the market. Stall after stall of every flower imaginable, as well as foliage, wire and – crucially – a rainbow array of containers.
“Containers are part of the design,” notes Judith, who lives in Barnes. “But if you’re doing arrangements for the Scouts, use a non-expensive pot!”
Our first task is to make a classic table decoration, so we’re given pale grey pots – classic designs gain from neutral colour containers. Three things we need to know: the names of our flowers and foliage, the mechanics of flowers – “Don’t force them to curve if they don’t want to” – and how to pick flowers that go together.
“Flowers tend to have round, linear or spray forms,” says Judith. “Every mixed bouquet needs a round-faced flower, like a rose, to give it form. Round shapes hold the eye and stop the design from looking fussy.”
Armed with our pots, and water-absorbent floral foam, we’re to arrange pink roses (Rosa, ‘Heaven’) and pink-flowering Bouvardia with Heuchera – stunning foliage with chocolate brown leaves.
“Don’t plunge the foam. Place it on the surface,” says Judith. “When it’s level with the water and dark green, it’s soaked through. Then trim it to fit the pots.”
As for the arrangement, proportion is key.
“In contemporary design, sometimes you can allow the container to dominate the flowers. But don’t have them equal – the eye has to focus on one or the other.”
Before long, I’m amazed to find that I’ve made something that could grace an interior design magazine. So, on to the next challenge: to fill a glass container with white roses, Hypericum, Narcissus and Viburnum, a shrub with globe-shaped lime green flower clusters. Lime green goes with any colour, says Judith, who shows us how to keep the flowers in place: make a sellotape grid across the surface of the container while it’s dry, then pour water through the grid before adding the flowers. The result is stunning, the fragrance beautiful.
“British growers try to retain the fragrance, rather than breeding it out in favour of having long straight stems.”
I haven’t felt so good about filling in a grid since the day I completed The Times Crossword.
“Cut flower food helps flowers last longer,” adds Judith. “Otherwise, change the water every day. And, every other day, cut a bit off the bottom of the stems.”
Advice which stems from 30 years of experience. Judith taught at Richmond Adult Community College for 14 years before opening her school. Author of 12 books and Editor of The Flower Arranger, she has arranged flowers at Kensington Palace and, for the past five years, created the Queen’s bouquet for Chelsea.
“When you’re gardening, the world goes by,” she says. “It’s the same when you’re working with flowers.”
Judith’s school offers courses for all tastes and timetables, with some online. Her past pupils include Kirstie Allsopp, Gordon Ramsay, John Sergeant and Top Gear’s James May, whom she helped to prepare for Chelsea in 2009.
“British men often think they shouldn’t enjoy this,” says Judith. “But they find it more fun than they’d expect. James May was remarkably quick and easy to teach. And he ended up enjoying it!”
Judith Blacklock Flower School, 4/5 Kinnerton Place South, Knightsbridge, SW1X 8EH. Tel: (020) 7235 6235; judithblacklock.com. Judith’s own work will feature at Flowers @Oxford, Aug 22-24, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Visit: flowersatoxford.com.