NO FOAM
FLORAL WREATH BASE
SUSTAINABLE MECHANICS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
A few weeks ago I mentioned on Instagram that I would share the steps behind making a wreath base, without floral foam.
The story behind wanting to share these steps started a year ago, when I was asked by a friend to help with her late mother’s funeral flowers. I sadly couldn’t make the funeral, so I spoke to a few florists local to them. My main request, was that the designs would be created without floral foam. Every florist I spoke to said it wasn’t possible. When I dug a little deeper, I discovered that it wasn’t because they didn’t want to, it was because they were genuinely scared to step away from using a technique they had been taught and had relied on for years. I understood and empathised, and became more focussed to share more sustainable mechanics.
What do I mean by sustainable mechanics? Mechanics that don’t use single use plastics, nor hazardous materials. There are five main alternatives to floral foam - moss, wire, branches, garden twine and kenzans. Within this step-by-step guide, we use a combination of branches, moss and garden twine.
I am a strong believer that we can all successfully and easily move away from relying on floral foam; it has to be done with kindness and encouragement, to have positive and real, long term effect.
I hope you find these steps helpful, and please share with anyone who you think might also find them helpful, and as always, you are welcome to ask any questions either via email kate@philippacraddock.com or send me a direct message on Instagram @philippacraddock.
Warmest,
Philippa x
tools & MECHANICS
GARDEN TWINE
SPHAGNUM MOSS
NEW FLEXIBLE (GREEN) BRANCHES
FLORISTRY SCISSORS
MIXED, HARDY GREENERY
“So motivating, many thanks for sharing.”
“I loved this tutorial. I mainly make wreaths from dried flowers, so this was gold.”
“I am a newbie florist, running wreath workshops, I have been fretting about methods to demonstrate and then your tutorial dropped into my inbox ... thank you for encouraging and sowing the seed of self belief.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been looking for these instructions for years. I’ve managed to eliminate all foam from my flower shop with the exception of wreaths, and now I have the tools to totally remove it!”
