Wild Designs by Abi

23/07/2024

Had fun playing with dried flowers last week. Lots of little bunches for table decorations. All British flowers, all dried locally.

12/04/2024

Conside this my OUT OF OFFICE!
On holiday till next week. Bliss.

05/03/2024

Not strictly flower related but I received a delivery today from Allbirds and I think it might be the most beautiful delivery of (non-flowers) I've ever received 😍

Look at that for minimal, recyclable, responsible packaging 📦
.. and the shoes are bloody beautiful too!
Love, love, love these 👟

03/03/2024

Church flowers 💒

Take 2 milk churns, one big ole church stoop, some extra large rattan ribbon and a ton of foliage and flowers and voila ... stunning entrance decorations to greet your guests on your special day.
Repurpose for your venue afterwards and save a penny or two.

What's not to love 💚

09/02/2024

Hi 👋

It's been a while! I few things happened in 2023 that pushed flowers down the to-do list.

Well, 2024 is the year to get back to having green fingers, lots of lovely flower deliveries and spreading floral happiness around Penrith and Cumbria.

This week saw lots of little spring jars leave my base and I was super pleased to include British narcissi, Irish Green Guys foliage and some bits and bobs from Spain, Italy and Portugal. It won't be long till we have alllllll the British flowers again and I, for one, can't wait 💐

Spaces still for weddings this year, just give me a shout!

10/05/2023

Such a wonderful collaboration coordinated by Flowers From The Farm to decorate Westminster Abbey for the Kings coronation last weekend.

Going one step further, the flowers were disassembled afterwards and distributed to local hospices, charities and care homes afterwards.

08/04/2023

I am currently enjoying 5 different varieties of daffodils in my house and garden, but who knew there were so many! 💛

Fun daffodil facts

90% of the worlds daffodils are grown in the UK, 80% of which are grown in Cornwall.

There is only one native species to Britain, the Lent Lilly. Seen in orchards and pastures

They’ve been here since the 17th century with Shakespeare celebrating them as the flowers that “come before the swallow dares”

There are now more than 26000 cultivars coming from a gene pool of just 56 species

If grown above 305m they produce high levels of the compound galantamine used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. Welsh hill daffodil farmers now grow enough to give 9000 sufferers their daily dose

They prefer not having their stems submerged in water as they’re soft and rot quickly, just remember they’ll drink it quickly so keep topping them up.

Ideally separate them from other flowers as they produce a toxic gooey sap BUT if you keep them separately for 24 hours in water and then rinse them, you can mix them as we do with others. Just make sure your vase is roomy and you change the water often.

They dry really well too

We buy ours in early March from the Isles of Scilly where they bloom first, moving to Cornish growers as the season progresses topping up with our very own Cumbrian grown. This weekend I think we saw 10 different varieties heading out to your homes and businesses.

If you’re lucky enough to have them growing near you look out for them glowing almost luminescent under the few days old but still beautiful big full pink moon tonight.

06/04/2023

B I G N E W S ! ! !

I have just had my first delivery of BRITISH blooms for 2023 🇬🇧

(Thank you very much The Fellside Flower Company )

AND even better they are perfectly Easter themed! How beautiful are these!?

25/03/2023

This. Exactly this. Well said The Fellside Flower Company

This is the message I’ve been sharing as part of delivering carbon literacy training over the last few weeks for . For tonight’s Earth Hour I wanted to share it with you. You may feel you’d like to share it too.

Some people will say this climate crisis isn’t urgent. The science is clear this is not true. We have just a few short years to act, but it’s not too late to stop irreversible damage.

Some people will say ‘there’s no point doing anything when others aren’t’ or that ‘we’re already doing more than everyone else’. That’s not true either. The more we do, the more we influence others. And we also need to think carefully where we cast the blame. The stuff that’s around you, the food you eat - where was it manufactured or grown?

Some people will say that getting to zero carbon is not possible. Again, not true. There is a clear pathway for getting there, but it requires big changes in our lives, diets, industry, transport. We need to start now. And we need to move fast.

We can sleepwalk into a future where our children pay the price for our inaction, or we can stand up and say no, I’m going to act. We know we must, we know we can. It’s time to say we will.

19/03/2023

A very happy Mother's Day to all the women out there who care for others. We salute you.
💜

28/02/2023

Fundraising Quiz Night for Penrith Netball Club

I've got my tickets! Have you got yours?!

You probably don't need to know much about netball to stand a chance of winning ... 🤔

🤩 ONE WEEK TO GO 🤩
In a week's time, we'll be hosting our fundraising quiz night, and we cannot wait! The last few tables are still up for grabs so get your teams together ASAP.

🎉 Our huge thanks are also extended to our two new business supporters for their donations to our raffle. Alongside Willan Living and Penrith Stationers, we have a £50 voucher from Wild Designs by Abi, and another voucher from The Sun Inn, Newton Reigny too.

On top of all of this, our quiz winners will be taking away a one-night B&B stay for two people at Another Place 😵‍ It's not one to be missed.

🎟 Tickets are available here: https://penrithnetballshop.square.site/shop/special-events/7

24/02/2023

How it is nearly March already?! 🌷
*just waking up from hibernation here*

Hope everyone had a happy Christmas, an enjoyable new year and were spoilt at Valentine's?!

Mother's Day soon apparently, so you'll be needing blooms for the special people in your life.

.... remember to order local, order direct, choose seasonal British spring flowers and dispose of properly after use, composting/recycling/drying

16/12/2022

CHRISTMAS FOOD AID

This Christmas, whilst flowers may make people smile, donating, giving food, presents and time, will make more of a difference to local people in need than flowers can this year.

Wild Designs has donated to The Salvation Army Penrith this Christmas to try and support those in our town and surrounding areas who need help.

Consider donating this Christmas and make a difference to a family in need.

Help us be there to support the most vulnerable members of society.

30/11/2022

Not flower related at all, but had a gorgeous morning run about in the fog with my trusty sidekick at Welly and Tails dog park this morning 🖤
Highly recommend it!

24/11/2022

WREATH WORKSHOPS!🌲

I've posted before about hating making traditonal wreaths so I don't offer to make them at Christmas time. With so many local artisans making them, there's really no need for me to either.
The lovely Emma at The Fellside Flower Company offers workshops in Long Marton using only local materials and will show you how to make something a bit different to those traditional mossy monstrosities 😉

Wreath workshops update 🎄✨ 👀

When?
Fri 2nd Dec 12-3pm
Sat 3rd Dec 10am-1pm
Sun 4th Dec 10am-1pm

Where?
Warm & spacious Long Marton Village Institute

Ticket price?
£50 which includes all of these lovely things:
🎄 fresh winter foliage & selected natural trimmings
🎄 tuition & guidance in sustainable techniques - no experience necessary
🎄 all tools & materials
🎄 tasty treats & drinks
🎄 fun with friends
🎄 a little me-time
🎄 your own luxury, eco-friendly wreath to go home with ✨

Head to link in bio & comments to grab your place via our Kendal based bookings partner TryBooking. I’m looking forward to seeing you! x

16/11/2022

Two handy tips for making the most of your wedding flowers from Clodhopper Blooms ... especially during the current economic climate!

Weddings…..a little chat about wedding budgets and flowers…..Given the financial uncertainty we face at the moment, it is understandable that you want to get the most you possibly can from your hard earned pounds when planning your wedding flowers.

I’m really good at helping couples make the most of their wedding flower budget so if you are feeling daunted by the cost of wedding flowers, we can chat about how to spend wisely and I quite understand it can be tricky.

My two main tips would be: 1) work out your budget and stick to it, 2) re-purpose as many of the flowers during your wedding day as you can - ie bridesmaid posies can be put into waiting vessels and used as table flowers or to decorate a bar area. Ceremony flowers in a big vase/jar or meadow can be also used as top table flowers.

There are different ways of using your budget, for instance instead of having little bunches of flowers or foliage as pew ends or tied to the rows of ceremony chairs, you could put the money into having a large ceremony vase. A large vase or jar that can be used near the registrar’s table, in photos and on or beside the top table.

At the end of your wedding celebrations you can give your guests handfuls of flowers to take home as a memento. Nothing wasted!!

More info and ideas on my bio link by the way.

How’s everyone feeling at the moment thinking about recent news? If you’re mid wedding plan and you’re thinking you might like to book for wedding flowers but are a bit worried, do drop me a message!

Photo by

04/11/2022

T H R O W B A C K !

10 years ago I won my first competition with FIREWORKS at Shrewsbury Flower Show and got BEST IN SHOW!!!

This design was semi-imposed so I had to use tennis balls, chryanths, spray carnations, mikado sticks and floral foam balls 🤢
.. I think it's safe to say my style has evolved to something a little refined and natural since then!

23/09/2022

💚 Even now leading by example.

18/08/2022

I was honoured recently to be asked to create the flowers for the gorgeous Jo and Stephen's wedding in Ainstable. Such a pleasure!

Beautiful photographs by Peter Ostrowski Photographer Cumbria 💗

(And thanks to The Fellside Flower Company for the lovely local blooms)

09/08/2022

These herbs *SIGH* ...
Dill, mint and lavender 🌿
(The rudbeckia aren't bad either 🏵)
The smell, the colours 💜

19/07/2022

Seems my request to Mother Nature for some heat for my tomatoes has been granted!!! Yay!!!

☀️ + 🍅 = 🥵

14/07/2022

A recent tribute for my late Granny. I feel lucky to have been able to make something beautiful in her memory from me and my cousins.

Thank you to Highcroft Nurseries for the stunning British blooms and to my Aunty Lydia for allowing me to raid her garden.

This bowl arrangement is in water with chicken wire and completely foam and plastic free. Funeral tributes don't have to use nasty floral foam and be full of artifical unnecessary accessories.

08/07/2022

Gorgeous delivery from my gorgeous local flower farmer, thanks Emma The Fellside Flower Company
Using way less carbon than European flowers, these beauts were picked from Long Marton, were put together in Penrith and delivered to Pooley Bridge.

25/05/2022

This display is absolutely stunning from RHS - Royal Horticultural Society RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Hospital Grounds, Chelsea and features all my favourite British blooms - leucanthemum, nigella, chamomile, allium, cornflowers.

Gold for Jane Belcher at Chelsea Flower Show today with her Floral Window in the Pollination category; "The Taste of Nature".

Using plants and flowers that give distinct flavours to honey, this design highlights the decline of honey bees. All colours in the design, yellow, purple and orange, attract bees and the whole plant life cycle is represented from seed to pollination.

17/05/2022

Massive congratulations to Penrith Netball Club who turned 20 at the weekend!

Caroline, Cara and Harriet you all do a wonderful job of keeping us under control and entertained - THANK YOU!

Hope you liked the flowers 💐

12/05/2022

These wingly wangly locally grown tulips just get better and better. Never mind using them, I'm keeping them 🤫