On a dark Friday night at the end of a busy week in November twenty one Cambridge Society novice florists braved a stampede at Oxford Circus and rush hour on the tube to get to the Covent Garden Academy of Flowers for the Society’s very first flower arranging class. The idea for the evening had been suggested to the Society by expert florist and ex Cambridge graduate Kim Ropek, and we are enormously grateful to Kim for organising this event and for making the Academy available to us.
In the spacious teaching rooms beneath the Academy, Kim gave us a quick introduction to the history of the flower market at Covent Garden. She then encouraged us to create our very own autumn table wreaths, using a beautiful range of flowers and autumn foliage supplied by the Academy.
As we put together our choices, Kim and her helpers were on hand to provide top tips on everything from how to create a natural looking arrangement to how to transform an ordinary bouquet into a Christmas wonder with glitter and hairspray. A wonderful calm settled over the class as everyone shed the stress of the week and concentrated on creating their own designs. We were delighted to see some chaps had also taken up the offer of the class too.