The Northern Flower Garden

23/11/2025

✨ The Story Behind the Christmas Kissing Ball

The Christmas kissing ball is one of my favourite traditional decorations — and it’s full of beautiful meaning. 💚

Made using seasonal foliage and herbs, each element carries its own symbolism:
• Holly, spruce and pine are classic evergreens representing protection and hope
• Mistletoe is believed to bring fertility, good fortune and blessing to the household
• Rosemary and lavender are symbols of loyalty, remembrance and devotion

Historically, kissing balls were hung over doorways as a warm, festive welcome… and they still look absolutely stunning today, especially finished with a beautiful ribbon and some seasonal sparkle 🥰

They are a perfect blend of tradition, fragrance and seasonal magic.
Have you ever had a fresh kissing ball at home?
Is this something you would like to try in a workshop?

I would love to know your thoughts, as I cast my mind forward to Christmas 2026...😊

21/11/2025

✨ Christmas Bouquet Workshop at Crook Hall Gardens ✨
Saturday 20th December • 11am

If you love gifting flowers at Christmas, this workshop is perfect for you.

You can gift a workshop ticket so someone special can come along and make their own festive bouquet…

or join us yourself and create a beautiful Christmas bouquet to give as a handmade gift — if you can bear to part with it!

You’ll enjoy a relaxing morning in the gorgeous surroundings of Crook Hall Gardens National Trust, learn some new floristry skills, and head home with a stunning arrangement ready for the festive season. All materials included.

🎟️ Tickets are £55pp and you can book your places here 👇
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1754296390729?aff=oddtdtcreator

We would love to see you there 💚

19/11/2025

🎄 We’re in full festive prep mode, getting all our Christmas wreath decoration bags ready for 2025 — and what a job it is! ✨

Here’s a little sneak peek at part of our new Candy Cane theme… what do you think? ❤️🤍

Although our wreath workshops are now fully booked, we still have spaces on our other Christmas workshops, including fresh festive Garlands, Christmas Bouquets, and Christmas Table Flowers in a choice of white/silver or gold/red.

These make lovely Christmas gifts — and a perfect chance to spend some creative time together during what can be a very busy season.

Click the link below for more info and to book your place… 👇
https://www.thenorthernflowergarden.co.uk/christmasworkshops

13/11/2025

🎄 Christmas Garland Workshop at Gibside Stables (National Trust)

If you love a relaxed, creative workshop (and the smell of pine!), join me on Saturday 13th December at 11am for a fresh and natural Christmas garland workshop at the beautiful Gibside Stables.

We’ll be making a garland, approx 1 metre long, using fresh foliage, berries, and pinecones, totally natural and totally festive.

Everything you will need is included, along with refreshments from the Gibside National Trust Café.

This promises to be a thoughtful and calming start to the festive season - a few peaceful hours to get creative before the Christmas rush, and a gorgeous garland to take home.

🎟 Tickets are £55pp – limited spaces available (Christmas workshops are already starting to sell quickly!)

💥 Click the link to book your places 👇
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1754235097399aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=christmas_garland_2025

Gibside - National Trust

11/11/2025

✨ I absolutely love this time of year!

As the nights draw in and the heating clicks on, you’ll find me tucked away surrounded by ribbons, cinnamon sticks and (what feels like!) hundreds of pinecones — all being counted and packed, ready for my Christmas wreath workshops 🎄

Each bag is themed so you can choose your festive style — we have Traditional Reds, Country Classic and Winter Whites. And for my Luxury National Trust Workshops, there will be a few surprise themes tucked inside! 😉

If you fancy joining the festive fun, we still have spaces for our Christmas Garland, Gift Bouquet, and Table Flowers workshops — I’d love to see you there 💚

Click below

05/11/2025

✨ A big thank you to everyone who joined me on Sunday for the event at Ashwood Grange, Middleton St George!

Such a lovely village, a gorgeous show home, and a fab day all round, we created some beautiful autumn posies (just look at these pictured! 😍).

As you can see, my workshops are completely mobile - perfect for events, launches, or a creative get-together with a twist.

If you’d like to chat about hosting a floristry workshop for your business or community event, I’d love to hear from you and you can contact me here 👇
https://www.thenorthernflowergarden.co.uk/get-in-touch

04/11/2025

🍁 A huge thank you to everyone who joined me on Sunday for our Autumn Bouquet Workshop at Crook Hall Gardens National Trust

That beautiful garden is glowing with autumn colour right now — the perfect inspiration for our forward-facing bouquets. The arrangements were absolutely stunning (just look at them! 😍), and it was such a lovely day to spend surrounded by flowers and foliage.

If this sounds like your kind of creative escape, why not sign up to my email list to be first to hear about upcoming workshops, flower ideas and seasonal inspiration?
👉 https://www.thenorthernflowergarden.co.uk/subscribe

03/11/2025

🎃 A big thank you to everyone who joined me for our Pumpkin Flowers Workshops last weekend at Souter Lighthouse and the Leas

The lighthouse made the perfect coastal backdrop for those rich autumn tones — so many beautiful arrangements and plenty of smiles all round. ☺️

If you fancy having a go at flower arranging yourself, we’ve got something special coming up…

🌾 Dried Flower Seascape Workshop
📅 Saturday 15th November, 11am start
📍 Souter Lighthouse

Dried flowers are everlasting, make beautiful gifts, and this workshop promises to be a real treat!

Click here for more information and to book your places 👇
https://www.thenorthernflowergarden.co.uk/workshops?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dried_seascape_2025

30/10/2025

Love these workshops 💚

Don't forget to book your Festive Events online! Ember Inns

Bauble Painting
Sunday 23rd November 🎅 https://shorturl.at/v4iVl

Wreath Making
Sunday 30th November 🎄https://shorturl.at/jWTLQ
Sunday 7th December 🎄https://shorturl.at/BF138

29/10/2025

🎄✨ Christmas Workshops Update! ✨🎄

Well, that was quick! 😅

Our Christmas Wreath Workshops have nearly sold out — thank you so much to everyone who’s booked already! 💚

We now have just two spaces left at Gibside on Sunday 30th November at 11am, one space left at The Duke of Wellington on Sunday 30th November and two spaces on Saturday 7th December at 7pm.

If one of these dates works for you, I’d recommend booking sooner rather than later — they won’t hang around long! 👀

But don’t worry if you miss out — we have plenty more festive workshops for you: there's a Christmas Garland Workshop, a Gift Bouquet Workshop, and Christmas Table Flowers Workshops (in both rich reds and winter whites ❄️) so you can get your table Christmas ready!

Head over to my website to see what takes your fancy: https://www.thenorthernflowergarden.co.uk/christmasworkshops

28/10/2025

🍂 Last Call to Book! 🍂

Join us this Sunday 2nd November, 11am at Crook Hall Gardens, Durham for our Autumn Bouquet Workshop!

We’ll be creating a forward-facing bouquet — perfect for displaying at home, gifting, or as a thoughtful seasonal arrangement.

✨ £50 per person
☕ All materials + refreshments included
📍 Crook Hall Gardens, National Trust

The booking deadline is Thursday 30th October, so don’t miss your chance for a relaxed, creative morning surrounded by autumn beauty.

💥 Click the link in bio to book your places...

23/10/2025

💐 What’s a Forward-Facing Bouquet?

We’ve had a few questions about our upcoming Forward-Facing Bouquet Workshop — so here’s the scoop!

🌼 Unlike a traditional hand-tied bouquet that’s round and full from every angle, a forward-facing bouquet is designed to face one direction, perfect for presentations, gifts, or displaying beautifully at home on a mantel, sideboard, or windowsill. They also make a beautiful choice for sympathy flowers, a gentle way to lay flowers in remembrance at a loved one’s grave.

Think of it as the bouquet that knows its best angle, and proudly shows it off! 😉

🌼 You’ll still be using the familiar spiral technique, crossing the stems, but this time we’ll be constructing our designs horizontally on the bench rather than in-hand. It’s a creative twist on a classic skill, and a lovely chance to play with texture, depth and shape.

Join us at Crook Hall Gardens, Durham, for this relaxed, hands-on workshop 🌿

📅 Sunday 2nd November, 11am start
🎟️ £50 per person (includes all materials + refreshments)
👉 Book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1692776101889?aff=oddtdtcreator