Join Us For a Flower Arranging Workshop on May 4

Florida’s temperate climate makes it convenient to grow an almost limitless number of plants year-round. This makes each season in the Gardens feel like it has its own character – those of bountiful color, like our spring peak bloom with azaleas and camellias lining the pathways, and others consisting mainly of a palette filled with shades of green and a variety of colorful foliage and textures.

Next month, as part of our Great Garden Speaker series, we’ve invited garden writer and lecturer Debra Prinzing to the Gardens to teach us about the “slow flower” movement and the art of flower arranging.

Take a look a selection of Debra’s “slow flower” arrangements

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Debra will be presenting two sessions on May 4: a hands-on workshop making green floral arrangements using locally sourced plant material, and an after-hours lecture about the “slow flower” movement – the basis of her latest book.

“Slow Flowers” is about the artisanal, anti-mass-market approach to celebrations, festivities and floral gifts of love. Debra values her local sources, whether clipped from her own shrubs and cutting garden or procured from a nearby flower farm. “I want to know where the flowers and greenery I use were grown, and who grew them. Having a relationship with the people who planted and nurtured each flower is nothing short of magical.”

It was in Debra’s own backyard where the idea for Slow Flowers emerged. “One September day as I was making a bouquet out of burnished autumn leaves, green millet seed heads and the last dahlias of the fading summer, I had a brainstorm that led to the birth of this book. I jotted down some ideas, including this one:

There’s a common misconception that it’s impossible, or at least tricky, to find enough beautiful ingredients in one’s own garden or region during certain times of the year for creating interesting seasonal floral arrangements. Taking the Do-it-Yourself designer’s point of view, I want to disprove that notion by making bouquet-a-week – all year long. My goal is to inspire others to create personal bouquets with what’s at hand, if only they begin to see what’s around them with new eyes.

I launched the project then and there, and continued it for 52 weeks. As each season unfolded, so, too, did my passion for floral design. My experiment turned into a season-by-season, week-by-week collection ideas and inspiration for gardeners and DIY floral designers.”

Join us for this exciting educational program at Bok Tower Gardens on May 4 in the Visitor Center. All supplies are included in the cost of the workshop. Tickets can be purchased online through May 3 at 5 p.m. Reservations are required as space is limited.