I have been trying to cut down my usage of single use plastic on a personal level over the last few months and so naturally, I want to do that in my work too.

Part of than means not using floral foam. It’s such a handy product when you’re making installations or even smaller arrangements but it’s so bad for the environment. It’s not biodegradable so doesn’t break down in landfill, it can’t be composted and it’s toxic. It has a load of chemicals in it like formaldehyde which isn’t great for anyone, including the florist working with it.

Sometimes it’s tricky to figure out how to go about making an installation without floral foam because it’s so ingrained in our industry to just reach for it but I think restrictions can be great for creativity. I’m not saying I’m perfect, I still have it in my house - mainly as I’m not sure what to do with it now?! But if you want to talk about your wedding flowers, I will be designing them without the aid of foam, so if you want something crazy big, then bear with me while I figure out the best way of doing it - but I promise it will be worth it!

Here’s a quick guide to how I made an arch at Hampton Court House recently. There’s a lot of ways you can do this but this is how I did it. Hopefully it’s helpful to see the progression.