About Fierceblooms - A Wild Garden Style Artisan Florist
It started out with a kiss how did it end up like this
WORDS:
Kathryn Cronin
PHOTOS:
Ricky Bache
Wild garden style floral design is a passion for me. It probably always has been but I took a different career path.
Not too long ago, a rather large pharmaceutical company decided to move to Cambridge. I decided to stay in Cheshire.
So here, in our vintage warehouse beside the Shropshire Union Canal (that’s the Shroppie cut to you and I), I started to watch the seasons in the hedgerows, to belong to a village who hardly knew us when we were jetting here there and everywhere, to notice the swallows when they returned and even, when I was very lucky, to catch a glimpse of the beautiful brilliant blue kingfishers as they darted along the canal.
I have also reconnected with some much earlier influences.
My grandfather built a greenhouse. It was half the size of his garden. I was quite small and so was his garden. When he used to open the greenhouse door, I would take a deep breath. The scent of geraniums was intoxicating. I can see him now with his tie and his tank top, shirt shelves folded neatly over and over and held by his steel arm bands.
My grandfather built a greenhouse - It was half the size of his garden. I was quite small and so was his garden.
On the greenhouse shelves too were pots and pots of cascading fushias in all colours and all manner of shapes and sizes. I spent hours watching him tend his amazing blooms.
I was very fortunate to study Botany at University. I suspect this was always meant to be from my grandfather's early influence. And now, I feel I am exactly where I am meant to be.
As a wild garden style artisan florist, this blog is about my wild garden style floral design where spirited flower curation captures the essence of each and every passing month and season. Each floral arrangement is designed to engage, to literally make you stop and gaze a while. A moment to rest in this rather hectic world of ours.
But why fierce I hear you cry? Isn't that a bit violent, its' meaning almost aggressive and forceful? What attracted me to the word 'fierce' though has its roots in its alternative meaning and the writing of David Whyte , a poet who is rather fond of using the 'F' word to discuss engagement in life.
I want to know if you are willing to live, day by day, with the consequence of love and the bitter unwanted passion of your sure defeat. I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even the gods speak of God.David Whyte
So my floristry is fierce in the sense that I approach it in a heartfelt and intense way, spirited if you like. The work I do of learning from others is done with humility. I risk by putting my floral design out there while giving others the gift of my insight for what it is worth to them.
I have studied floral design at Reasehealth Collage in Cheshire as well as having an honours degree in Botany from Nottingham University. As an aspiring artisan florist, I was delighted to achieve 2 second prizes in my first ever South Cheshire (Nantwich) Show (2015).
For each project, I:- Grow (some) flowers and foliage in my cheshire canalside flower cutting garden - e.g. see my recent post on choosing dahlias for that wild just picked look. I forage for other foliage (responsibly in our beautiful British hedgerows).
- Design using the unfolding seasons as inspiration observed from our home next to the canal.
- Create bespoke wild garden style cut flower arrangements that generate atmosphere for wedding and styling events.
You can also browse through other examples of my work on my wild garden style floral design portfolio page and let me know what you think.
You can read even more from this british artisan florist and flower grower on the floristry blog.
Do get in touch to discuss your wedding or event. You can also get inspired and learn what informs my designs by attending on of my fierce flower classes.
If you are interested, you can also review some of my wild garden style wedding flowers ideas.
My Studio And Canalside Cutting Garden
a taster for fierceTV2021 Flower classes
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@fierceblooms
There's a gathering at the Wharf this Monday and Tuesday.....
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There'll be tea and Welsh cakes - well, once you've made one batch, it's easy to make the next one.....
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....and it's the same with making bouquets, once you've found a way to think about them, to understanding your way to creating with the things growing around you, they're easy.....and I'll show you an easy way to wrap your spring bouquet too...
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Come to Cheshire in the North West of England this Monday and Tuesday, there's a few seats, virtually for now, but with all the clever cameras and sound, it feels like you are right here. See our canalside cutting garden, still damp and cold but starting to spring. The beautiful @smithandmunson tulips have arrived (ours are just peeking), so like proper school, our online flower school is back again on Monday. DM for details.
On the edge of spring, there is but one question....
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when will there be blossom?
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I confess I do have a method to help our blossom along a bit as I know I want it for our virtual flower workshop next week, even though it's a damp dark driech day here in Cheshire......do come along if you're curious.........
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#blossom #gardeninspiredfloristry #thatwinterspringthing #slowsimpleseasonal #homegrownflowers #flowerworkshop #grownnotflown #gardengathered #realflowersoftheseason #seasonalflowers #seasonalfloweralliance #ecoflowers #aseasonalyear #thefloralseasons #britishflowers #sustainablefloristry #wildgardenstyle
It is the day of yellow and Daffodils and celebrating being Welsh.....
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Its the first day of March and I am resolved in a Fawlty Towers-esq fashion to not mention the war - or the rugby on Saturday even ha ha 🏴....
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Rather I am dreaming of warm Welsh cakes cooked on a Welsh steel griddle that my father made me.
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That heavy bake stone holds heat like nothing else I possess. That steel holds so much more than heat. Home and hiraeth and love and laughter are melded into that steel just like the scent of daffodils drifting over all of Wales on dydd Dewi Saint.
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This Welsh girl is wishing all her followers a very happy St David’s Day today.
It appears the only thing the rabbits don't like...
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...are the daffodils! So, there's going to be the odd daffodil bouquet this spring!
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...and the season is marching on with just over a week to go for our wild garden style online floristry classes with British flowers, of course. Will you be joining us?
Nurturing our wild garden is my focus right now......
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.....or is my wild garden nurturing me? Things in life are often the other way round. In late winter, as my potatoes are chitting on the Wharf's window ledge, there are patches of frothy cow parsley shooting and bulbs braving the Cheshire weather.
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Most gardeners are already planning, weeding, sowing, if not quite digging for the season ahead. Our floral seasons are carrying on, whatever else is happening. So, I have decided to take a leaf out of its book, if you'll pardon the pun.
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Along with our garden, we've been carrying on too. We're daring to be different, and reimagining how we do our flower classes for a more sustainable mothers day.
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Our wild garden style "Nurture and Nature" booklet is written and our mothers day bouquet class is coming up soon. In this world of ours that is feeling disconnected and isolated, we want our "online" to be so so much more than the click of a button. I think it matters to nurture both our environment and ourselves. I think it matters to use local seasonal, and in our case, British grown flowers. And more than ever, I think it matters to keep creating.
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I hope you do too. DM to join us
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#flowerclass #britishgrownflowers #slowsimpleseasonal #homegrownflowers #ayearinmygarden #flowerworkshop #grownnotflown #gardengathered #wildgardenstyle #realflowersoftheseason #seasonalfloweralliance #learnfloraldesign #floristrycourse #flowerschool #gardeninspiredfloristry #aseasonalyear #thefloralseasons #britishflowers #sustainablefloristry #onlineflowerclasses #mothersdaybouquet
Where do you get your inspiration?....
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.......was a question I was asked just the other day. The answer is both short and long, appears both superficial and deep. It is both simple and complex......
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....and I think to do it justice, to hold the authentic discussion if you will, it is beyond the written word even. It is a conversation, an engagement if you will, with the things that matter to you. Then, and only then comes the how. How to translate that into your floral design.
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The swallows will be swooping when next I can gather the stems for this spring bouquet from our canalside cutting garden. DM if you would like to converse with us.
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#springbouquet #inspiredbypetals #wildgardenstyle #slowsimpleseasonal #homegrownflowers #ayearinmygarden #flowerworkshop #grownnotflown #gardengathered #wildgardenstyle #realflowersoftheseason #onlinefloristry #seasonalfloweralliance #learnfloraldesign #ecoflowers #floristrycourse #flowerschool #gardeninspiredfloristry #floristrystudent #aseasonalyear #thefloralseasons #britishflowers #sustainablefloristry #onlineflowerclasses
Growing wild garden style bouquets...
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.....and like every other grower of seasonal British flowers up and down the country, I am sowing seeds for our canalside cutting garden. Rather than germinating too many though, I now have a method after ending up with hundreds of plants and no beds left to plant them! So I have learned over the years that if I sprinkle enough seeds to cover a single small pot, it is more than enough for 4ft blocks of different types of home grown garden flowers.
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After a disastrous "weeding" of one of our flower beds, or perhaps a stroke of genius on his behalf dear reader, the darling Scot proved he is unable to tell an emerging flower from a weed. The flower beds are not covered in anything, I want them to be be beautiful and plastic free. And having just the bare earth means there's always lots of self sown plants free from mother nature. So as it's just me on the weeding front, I am also filling our cutting garden with perennials, bunnies willing. We're playing to our strengths here though. He is, after all, far better at the IT.
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And if you'd like to experience our extended zoom platform incorporating multimedia, multiple camera angles, great sound technology, and a few flowers, DM for details of our classes.
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#gardengathered #gardeninspiredfloristry #littlegardenstories #slowsimpleseasonal #realflowersoftheseason #wildgardenstyle #ecoflowers #gardenbouquet #onlineflowerclasses #learningfromnature #seasonalfloralstyle #naturalflowers #authenticflorals #gardengrown #floralstories #akinderwaytoflourish #seasonaltales .
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Last summer in our cutting garden.......
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........when the copper beech tree is in his splendid red coat, when there are foxgloves and roses and sweetpeas and flowers and colour. More though, dear readers, when there is the scent of summer, and the life of a garden with all its imperfections.
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Garden inspired floristry is seeing a branch and then gathering other flowers for the bouquet in a sesaonal and authentic way. It is being knee deep in weeds and the wild garden and knowing that part of the cutting garden is as necessary, if not more so, for the sustainable, for the creativity, as the more formal cutting beds.
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Experience our wild cutting garden next to the canal, from the chair in own home. Contact me for details.
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#gardenbouquet #ayearinmygarden #gardengrown #littlegardenstories #floralstories #gardengrown #aflowerenthusiast #aflowerfilledlife #ecoflorist #britishflowers #realflowersoftheseason #natureandnurture #onlineflowerclass #sustainablefloristry #aseasonalyear #gardeninspiredfloristry #britishflowers #wildgardenstyle
Delivered by a beautiful canal boat.....
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.... my fid. A what? A fid, a tool, a rather old fashioned tool, but a tool none the less, used to work with rope.....
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.....we grow flowers right next to the historic Shropshire Union canal. We live in an industrial Wharf, with Jacobean gable end walls, and stone finials. Beauty and aesthetic with function at Bridge 14. That is where you'll find us, with all of the nostalgia of the Cheshire countryside that surrounds us. You'll find us crafting and making our wild garden style floral designs.
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One of @country_cut_flowers rope wreaths hangs on our door. Our friend Emma appreciates that history of crafting, handed down by her uncle to her.
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A grateful thank you always to @coalboat_alton and @fuel_boat_halsall, for passing slowly on their beautiful historic narrow boats. Frankly , they make our day whenever they pass our Wharf. And although you can't physically come here right now, you can escape here to one of our classes from your very own chair at your home.
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If you want to learn how to craft your own bouquet of flowers, DM me for our classes. I can promise you'll adore the canal, and the beautiful narrow boats that pass here, oh and did I mention the swans? See our stories....
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#inspiredbypetals #wildgardenstyle #slowsimpleseasonal #homegrownflowers #ayearinmygarden #springbouquet #flowerworkshop #grownnotflown #gardengathered #wildgardenstyle #realflowersoftheseason #onlinefloristry #seasonalfloweralliance #learnfloraldesign #ecoflowers #floristrycourse #flowerschool #gardeninspiredfloristry #floristrystudent #aseasonalyear #thefloralseasons #britishflowers #sustainablefloristry #onlineflowerclasses
The reason I know that spring is coming is....
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...the rooks are attempting to rip off the chimney cowls. You know, the covers at the top of the chimney pots.
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It has me thinking of making, as clearly the enterprising pair are thinking of their next nest. Some of their predecessors were not as efficient in their design and came tumbling down into the Wharf. That's what put the cowls there in the first place.
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Learning how to make things well is an age old tradition. Here at our Cheshire canalside garden, we craft bouquets. Our purpose is encourage an enthusiasm for design, but not any old design. Wild garden style floral design that uses garden gathered materials, that make our wild garden style bouquets, well, wild. There is nature in the crafting and nurture in the giving.
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Escape to our Wharf from the comfort of your own home to learn how to craft bouquets, with nature and nurture and the hope of the spring season. DM for details.
Home grown flowers for a Saturday at home........
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The Wharf feels like a boat today. It is built slightly lower than the canal, so when the wind is whistling across our cutting garden, as it is right now, we're looking at waves through the goods entrance, now our low window. And just like a choppy sea, I suspect it far too tricky to navigate.
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So I braved the elements to check on our bulbs. Yes, they are still there. This is good because I want our grown not flown flowers for our online flower classes. And whatever the weather and whatever the circumstances, our flower workshop will still be happening.
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Join us for some online floristry in our boat like Wharf. We'd love to have you aboard. DM for details.
In ever hopeful anticipation of spring, and bouquets...
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"Are you Fierceblooms?" was the shout from the canal tow path. I almost didn't hear knee deep in weeding as I was.
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"I recognise the hat!" was the next sentence (my current favourite green one in case you're wondering). And then we had the lovliest of conversations about her plans for flowers and growing.
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Isn't it a small world?!
Today's thought on tulip bouquets......
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....is that the rabbits in our paddock appear as enthusiastic as I am about these seasonal flowers.
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Arranging tulips in a bouquet can be a bit tricky though but I do have a method, says the ever experimenting botanical scientist!
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So I thought I'd share the mechanics with you. How I add their beautiful but rather large headed stems into my wild garden style bouquets.
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And what I've learned also? Now is the time to note all the names of your favourite tulip varieties, yes, now rather than the autumn when you're forgotten all your favourites and truly forgotten the names for the ones you want to buy.
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Join me for our first live bouquet class in March.They'll be tulips. DM for details
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For the love of a spring wreath...
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......and lichen.....fitting I think for Valentines, as they are a symbiotic partnership of two different things, then it feels entirely the right thing to have lichen covered branches to represent love.
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Thinking beyond the conventional was one of the things that sometimes ended up happening in a previous corporate career. "It can't be done" was the one response never given, and actually, when you thought about things, something could always be done, but perhaps not what was "standard".
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So, on the edge of winter, with ice on the canal but my spring bulbs starting to peak, I am dreaming of daffodils and tulips, and light and love. Do you love Lichen?
In anticipation of spring bouquets.......
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On the edge of winter, the canal is ice white and frozen solid. If any of my British grown slow flowers were enthusiastically growing yesterday, they have been stopped in their tracks today. This is late winter, that wonderful edge when we have started to just believe that there is an end to the cold and the damp.
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And after our wild garden style flower class earlier this week, we're following the example of our flowers, and just keeping going. We've finalised the details for our new Mother's Day bouquet classes. Booklets drafted, zoom meetings scheduled. In a few weeks time, it will be Spring. DM for details. We'd love you to join us.
A wild garden style valentines wreath...
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Made on my "Nature and Nurture" live online class this morning. Yesterday and today attendees at my valentines flower class live and online have been learning from living rooms my approach for making an alternative seasonal love token using sustainable floristry techniques and materials.
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The fourth and last class is at 7:30pm tonight uk time and their are a couple of slots left. DM if this interests you.
A spring bouquet for this Sunday morning.....
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My fingers are emitting sparks of fire in anticipation of the labours to come.......
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Monday is the first of our "Nature and Nurture" series. Valentines reimagined. In a year where I have no doubt I am not the only one who has never cried so much, nor loved as much. Flower arranging classes for the the love of, well love.
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We'd love to welcome you at ther wharf, virtually for now. DM to join us.
A flower wreath for February......
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Forced camelia branches from some winter pruning are what I have chosed to gather to create this floral wreath..
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There may be a flurry of snow due in Cheshire this weekend. For sure there's a flurry of activity at the Wharf. Although 2021 may still be on the unpredictable side of things, we're gathering the technology, and our British grown flowers, for a chat.
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If you're curious about having a conversation, yes, a real one, about what seeds I'm sowing for my flower arranging, in just 2 sleeps, we'll be doing just that. Showing you our wild garden, style and all, seasons and sustainability, and how you can get all creative too with your garden grown flowers.
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Our brand new "Nature and Nurture" flower class begins on Monday. Contact me to join us for the lastl few places. I'd love to see you.
Valentines wreath with dry flowers.
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Rather than sending traditional valentines flowers this year, we think the best way to share the love is to gather together and create, virtually of course. It's why we're sharing how we grow our garden gathered flowers to make our dried flower wreath.
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If you'd like to see the booklet with our mechanics and step by step process for our wild garden style designs, join us at our live on line flower class. DM for details.
A spring wreath to..........
.......re imagine a sustaining and sustainable start to February.
In the year that was, and perhaps the year that is just about to be, many are talking about "resilience", there are those that are still "pivoting" and others focused on "well being". All have a common root, if you will pardon the pun, my dear floral readers, and it is this. They are are all a response to the times.
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I am going to argue it has been ever so. Perhaps one of the many reasons Constance Spry had for writing her beautiful book in 1957 "Simple Flowers, A Millionare for a few pence" was just that. Her experinces just prior to, during and after the second World War inspired her to focus on freedom, beauty, and an aesthetic unconstrained by social norms. Ultimately she saw that "The urge for something pretty" had the power to heal, her design philosophy was both sustaining and sustainable.
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"...for what, I ask you, is there to be bought for money that will give a title of the reward of richness and beauty that is yours when you buy plants or seeds or bulbs. If you have a garden, however small, if you have access to field, hedgerow, or common, then you are among the 'millionaires'."
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The primulas are flowering in the shetlered parts of our Cheshire canalside cutting garden. Perhaps they don't know it is late winter and not yet early spring but flowering they are. Garden gathered birch and branches of pittosporum are our "sesaonal flowers". They are our beauty and those simple flowers feel like inspiring riches.