Bedford seems to be blessed with a couple of lovely helpful florists. One of my favourites has to be Karen and Liam at Forever Flowers in Chiltern Avenue. Back in about May, Mum and I went to see Karen about balloons for Jaxon’s birthday and then on results day I popped by their “old” shop for a bunch of flowers for my “Little Sister” (who blew her exams out of the water!), each time I’ve been to see them Karen and Liam have always been really helpful and friendly.
About a week or so ago, Mum asked me if I wanted to do a wreath making workshop with Karen at Forever Flowers. Now this probably falls in the same realm as one of those things that I’ve always wanted to do but never knew that I wanted to do it but also fallen in that realm as flower arranging in that I’ve wanted to do it but not necessarily had the opportunity to. Had Mum not suggested it, this would have probably been a normal Saturday and I would have just hung out with the boys. Instead Mum and I headed to the shop and were both very excited about what the afternoon held.
First up we had to cover our metal frame in moss. This works as the base to attach all your branches into. It is a messy job and it certainly messes up your hands and your nails but it is good fun! The green twine holds it all in place while you do the next bits. You have to make sure it’s nice and tight. At each stage Karen kept round to check that it was tight enough or that we’d got the bits in the right place. On this particular stage she would also point out where we needed moss, where it needed to be tighter and things like that.
There were three different lengths of branches to use depending on which bit of the wreath we were doing. The biggest bits lie across the front of the wreath, with the smaller bits going in the middle and then the middle sized pieces going around the outside if needed. We also covered the back with this plastic tape that would stop the wreath scratching the door or wall when it’s hung up.
After pinning the tape into position, we then added the branches. We started with then bigger ones on the front of the wreath, followed by ones on the inside and outside. Before adding the branches, Karen taught us how to wire them and then how to attach them to the rest of the wreath.
Of course we had to have our photos taken with our completed wreaths. I loved the silver finishes. We had a lovely time and were made to feel so welcome.
Oops! Caught in the act! I was snapping pictures and posting them on Instagram and Facebook as we went along. As you do!
You can see Forever Flower’s website here and their Facebook Page here.
