How To Forage Your Own Bouquet For Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is a time for giving personal gifts and celebrating your relationship. While there are many ideas that you can pursue to find unique presents for this special occasion, you might not have considered foraging for your own Mother’s Day bouquet.
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Traditionally, you might give a bouquet of roses, and acquire it from a florist. But by growing and picking your own flowers and arranging them together, you can really create a truly individual gift for a special parent.
Arranging a foraging bouquet is not only a beautiful gift idea, it also ensures that your bouquet is ethical and seasonal. So this is a wonderful gesture for a parent who cares for the planet. Here, Burleigh Pottery will take you through some pointers on how you can begin looking in the natural landscape around you to find a beautiful gift.
Choose a time to forage
You might not have thought of this, but the time that you choose to forage at will make a difference to how the flowers look. Try to look in your garden for flowers in the morning, before the sun gets too hot (though this is less of a problem during the winter in the UK). In the morning, plants will be at their most hydrated, so putting them straight into a glass or vase of cold water will keep them looking fresh. If you wait until later in the day, you might notice the flowers wilting a little more, and they won't last quite as long as those picked when they are fresher.
Look for wild patches
Wild flowers will flourish in the wilder corners of your garden where you might have forgotten to do the weeding. These places will have patches of more wild ground where plants have been left to grow, and you should find a variety of flowers thriving in these environments when left to themselves. Overgrown plants and bushes are particularly good for foraging as you'll need to cut these areas back anyway, so you'll be doing yourself a favour! More invasive plants like lemon balm and wild honeysuckle can be excellent, fragrant additions to a bouquet.
Cut your flowers properly
Once you've found flowers that you like, you can cut them. But there is a right way do this. You should use a sharp blade, as a blunt one will make cutting more difficult and could mean you end up damaging the stems of the plants. Make your cut after a growth point (a leaf, flower or stem) so that the plant can regenerate easily when you take away a piece of it, and can continue to bloom in the future. You can also choose where to cut the plants based on what kind of arrangement you want – picking a plant that has buds will mean you get to watch the flowers open gradually, and picking stems that are curved or angled will add to an interesting composition when arranging.
Look for seasonal flowers
Before you go out on your foraging trip, it's useful to know what flowers you'll be looking for so that you can easily spot them when you're out and about. Here are the seasonal plants you could place in your bouquet:
- Mallow
- Snowdrop
- Daffodils
- Winter aconite
- Primrose
- Spring crocus
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Arrange your flowers
Once you've collected your flowers, it's time to arrange them into a beautiful bouquet. Find a ceramic vase or jug to really show off the plants to their best, and spend time creating a display that you're happy with. You can also choose a colour for your vase that coordinates with the flowers you've collected, and this opens up the option to give the vase itself as part of your Mothering Sunday present. Another thing to bear in mind, is that it often looks best when you have a variety of heights in your collection of flowers, so that when they are all put together they'll create a nice shape.
Kate Cartwright, Brand Marketing Manager, Burleigh Pottery comments: "Creating your own bouquet can be a lovely project and a way to create a truly special gesture on Mother’s Day. To make it more personal, you could even include a small tag with a note addressing it to your loved one or include their favourite plants and flowers in your arrangement.
"Finding the perfect vase to display your flowers in can really make the gift feel polished. A good way to create a homely, rustic look is to use a jug as a vase. This will complement the home-made, artisanal element of your bouquet, and afterwards it can be used or put on display to be remembered for years to come.
"Make sure to have fun with foraging, too. Think of the things you've been growing in your garden throughout the year, and what might make a beautiful bouquet for a special occasion."
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