My Day at McQueens Flower School

When all the madness of Christmas was over, my first strategic plan for 2020 was to attend a Large Installation Workshop, to fill a gap in my floristry skill set and learn just how the experts create those enormous hanging installations, making them look like they’re floating on air.

Being an avid Instagram follower of McQueens Flower School in London, and therefore very familiar with their work, they were at the top of my wish list.  And with an amazing stroke of luck, I discovered they have just introduced one-day workshops into their course schedule, and indeed covering large installations, they had one scheduled in just two weeks’ time - it was meant to be…

Needless to say, it didn’t take me long to book my place, together with my train ticket to London, and in no time at, all the day had arrived.

Living in Stratford upon Avon, I got up ridiculously early for a Saturday and headed off to the station, full of anticipation for my day.  After a train and a tube ride, and with the much-needed assistance of Google maps, having little sense of direction, I hot-footed it across Bethnal Green, and soon arrived at McQueens Flower School. 

The shop downstairs was a flurry of activity with the florists busy conditioning their flowers ready for the day.  The school itself was located upstairs and was set up all ready for the day’s students.  The stunning workshop is reminiscent of New York loft-style living.  The far wall filled with an impressive selection of unusual flowers and plants, all ready to wow us!  The other side of the room hung an enormous Magnolia branch, suspended from the ceiling by ropes and wires.

As you would expect from a London Flower School, my fellow students were very cosmopolitan - there were students from France, Sweden, the Philippines, Japan, Venezuela, and one other fellow Brit!  Some interesting conversations ensued over coffee regarding the differences in floral trends around the World.

The tutors, Sophie and Christophe were so inspiring - not only were they very knowledgeable and so much fun to work with, but they were also really helpful on all matters floral, including the commercial side of floristry, so definitely a day to soak up lots of floral knowledge and pick their brains.

The day began with a presentation from Sophie on previous large floral installations created by McQueens, the considerations of creating these in commercial environments, and the technical side of how they are actually constructed. 

We then moved on to that huge Magnolia branch hanging from the ceiling - and the fun began!  Before long I was climbing onto tables, cable tying more Magnolia branches onto each other, and creating chicken wire cages to attach to the branches.  The mechanics of the installation were now in place.

And then onto those buckets of stunning flowers and foliage.  There were exotic red & pink Banana Blossoms, the most beautiful dyed brown Parrot & Fringed Tulips, fluffy Stypha, Wild Thyme, huge air plants, and a selection of houseplants.  Now for the careful and considered placement of each element, starting with the largest first, and working the smaller flowers around them, followed by the filler foliage, taking great care not to cover the most extraordinary elements of the Magnolia, which not only provides the structure but brings its own beauty.

After much climbing on and off tables, getting my hair tangled in branches, and some impressive moves of contortionism, we created the most stunning foam-free floral installation - the ultimate wow factor for any event!

It was such an amazing day, and a great opportunity to spend a day with the most prestigious Flower School.  I definitely plan to return for another day of floral indulgence - learning is so much fun.  Thanks, McQueens!

 For more information on future workshops at McQueen’s, visit their website.