Milston Flower Barn in Salisbury offer floristry workshops

The team at Milston Flower Barn in Salisbury, Wiltshire promote sustainable floristry through teaching eco-friendly techniques in their workshops, but also by gently influencing couples when choosing their wedding florals. We catch up with Susanne Kennedy to find out more about sustainable wedding flower choices. She tells us, "In our sustainable floristry workshops we have a very hands-on approach where participants will make their arrangements using traditional methods like the Japanese Kaizen (better known as Flower Frog), moss, wood or chicken wire as a base, and also traditional flower arranging vessels with metal cut-out lids that you can often pick up in charity shops. There's a small theoretical part in our workshops where we talk about where our flowers come from and what socio-economic and environmental impact the international flower trade has. We discuss the pros and cons of floral foam and how it impacts not only the environment but also your health." 

Susanne continues, "Another fun part of our workshop is learning about seasonality and the availability of English flowers. We love showing our participants the abundance of an English flower garden which proves there's no need to ship the blooms in from 6000 miles away. Forage, grow and shop local!"

When helping their couples select their wedding flowers, Milston Flower Barn aim to implement sustainable principles as much as possible. "We encourage choosing local, seasonal flowers but we're not going to turn away a winter bride who wants roses in February," says Susanne. "We don't want our couples to feel pressured to have the perfect eco-friendly wedding. Instead, we are suggesting constructive ways that they can reduce the environmental and ethical impact of their big day. This can mean avoiding single-use plastic and floral foam; re-using church arrangements in the main venue or donating them to a charity after the celebrations so that the blooms can be admired for longer."

At Milston Flower Barn they offer a selection of courses and workshops that teach a range of different skills required for wedding flowers, events and church decorations. All classes can be personalised for a group of friends and family, making it a fun-filled evening in your own home or at Milston Flower Barn.

To find out more and to shop, visit www.milstonflowerbarn.co.uk