nyc & the little flower school

I'm back! And still on a high from my amazing trip to New York...

This year for Christmas my amazing and incredibly generous parents surprised me with a trip to new york to hone my floral skills! So last week I went down and took a class with Sarah Ryhanen and Nicolette Owen, who run The Little Flower School. 

Sarah and Nicolette's classes are coveted, and fill up quickly, so to take a class with both of them was thrilling! I have such admiration of the work they do, both Saipua (Sarah's business) and Nicolette Camille (Nicolette's business) produce the most gorgeous arrangements. The amount of time I spend on their respective websites borders a little on obsessive.

I have to bashfully admit that I was nervous going in to the class and a little starstruck meeting these two ladies. In the flower world it was a little like meeting celebrities. But in reality they couldn't have been more generous, humble and lovely... and just as talented as I expected them to be.

This specific class, was an "Ode to the anemone" and was held at The New York Botanical Garden's midtown Manhattan education center. The ladies started off speaking to each of the types of flowers they brought in for us to use, where they were from, and how to care for each of them. After their tutorial they did a little demo, just in itself was exciting to watch (I'm such a flower nerd) and then they let us loose! 

This was the fruit of my labour: a wild looking arrangement of sweet peas, ranunculus, roses, citrus still on the vine, tuberose, eucalyptus, spirea and anemones (it smelled so good!)

I briefly considered taking this giant branchy beauty on the subway with me, but reconsidered and treated it to a cab ride back to my hotel where it sat on the coffee table for the rest of the week...