Local Spotlight on The Foraged Flower: Floral workshops with nature, creativity and mindfulness at their heart

Tucked away down a pretty country lane in the heart of the Kent countryside, The Foraged Flower is a world away from the hustle and bustle of every day life.

A retired teacher with a lifelong passion for flowers and the natural world, Rachel Heron runs imaginative floristry workshops from her serene and tranquil studio in Hothfield, near Ashford.

From floral pumpkin displays and dried flower panels to seasonal wreaths and meadow boxes, The Foraged Flower offers a friendly and welcoming space to connect with nature and embrace the joy of creativity - whatever your skill level.

We chatted to Rachel to find out more about her journey into floristry and how she designs her wonderful workshops...

What can you tell us about The Foraged Flower? 

The Foraged Flower is a small floristry workshop business where seasonal classes take place. My ethos is simple - to enable customers to showcase the richness of nature and create the most beautiful floral creations from what is already growing locally and on their doorstep. 

What inspired you to set it up? 

The idea of connecting people with nature has been rumbling away for years. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, walking and gardening, bringing the outside in is how I describe it.

The kitchen table always has something seasonal in a vase, and I love to decorate the house at Christmas with greenery I’ve picked. So, after thirty years of primary school teaching and encouragement from my husband, I packed away my marking pen and decided to start sharing my passion for blooms by way of floristry workshops. 

Has floristry always been a passion of yours, or was it something you discovered later in life? 

Growing up rurally in Worcestershire and a daughter of two keen gardeners meant that much of my childhood was spent outside, either helping in the garden by picking fruit and flowers, planting seeds and bulbs or weeding. From that grew a knowledge of the seasons and how to enjoy what nature has to offer.

This love of the garden has permeated my adult life, setting up an outdoor classroom where I taught, putting together a learning curriculum to help understand the natural world, as well as growing my own food and flowers. So, whilst teaching floristry is relatively new, I have been enjoying flowers and the natural world since childhood. 

How would you describe your style of floristry?  

I love to use British blooms, what’s seasonal and better still, what’s growing locally. Once you start foraging on a walk, you realise how much passes us by without really noticing the abundance nature has on offer. Herbs, grasses, and seed heads are a great example of this.

I don’t think people realise imported flowers are frequently treated with heavy pesticides and fungicides to survive long journeys and because they are bred for durability and appearance rather than scent, they lack the natural fragrance found in fresh British blooms. So, my style of floristry is most definitely as natural and as seasonal as can be. 

Before becoming a florist, you were a teacher - what has this background brought to your business and work as a florist?

Teaching incorporates so many skills. It’s not just about how you deliver your lesson.

It’s about time management, lesson preparation, modelling examples, and gentle encouragement, clear step by step instruction and feedback, gathering resources, getting to know your audience, enabling others to achieve their best as well as organising your space and setting. These have all been an integral part of the workshops and I hope one of the reasons people return. Knowing when to step in and help, and when to let the experimenting and learning flow is an important skill. 

Your workshops really encourage embracing the joy in creation and provide a sense of mindfulness, whatever your skill level. Why is this something you feel so strongly about?

Working with natural ingredients is so forgiving. It’s not about perfection or creating one perfect prototype outcome. Think of how many varieties of flowers there are exampled by Nature herself. It's about the joy of creation, giving ourselves some time away from our busy lives to slow down and enjoy the tactile pleasure of working with natural ingredients, known to lower cortisol and the sense of accomplishment that comes from curating something truly your own. 

Helping people along this journey is such a privilege, to witness confidence and skill growing during the workshop and allowing space for that to happen. The most important outcome from each workshop should surely be that everyone would like to work with flowers again, whether that be with me, someone else or in their own garden. 

You run seasonal workshops creating wreaths, floral displays, and even needle felting. Where do you find the inspiration for your designs? 

I’m open to trying anything that showcases our beautiful outdoors. This means attending courses, reading books, listening to podcasts, and trying out ideas. There are many online courses available, the Create Academy host special guests whilst artists like Layla Robinson and Sarah Breese Design run their own online courses.

I love to visit exhibitions, museums and gardens too when I can. Godinton house is a few miles away and their gardens are exquisite, with so much of interest . RHS and National Trust gardens are worth a trip, with Sissinghurst, Sarah Ravens garden, half an hour away. 

You work a lot with dried flowers particularly - what do you like about working with them? 

Putting sustainability aside (if we must) dried flowers are no longer dusty stalks found on your grandmother's shelf but vibrant blooms full of texture and surprise. Some look very different from their fresh selves; many I think are more striking and of course they last. You can have a lot of fun with them, from panels displaying a meadow picture to garlands around the Christmas tree, don’t be fooled into thinking they are just for vases. 

You’re based in the village of Hothfield near Ashford and run your workshops from your lovely home studio. What do you love about living in this area and running your floristry from home?

Living rurally and having such special places like Hothfield Common managed by The Kent Wildlife Trust and Kings Wood famous for its bluebells, means there is so much around me for inspiration. I am lucky enough to grow much of what I use in my workshops and forage the rest. This way the flowers are as fresh as can be for the classes. I have also grown to know local flower farmers through Flowers from the Farm and The Kent Flower Hub so when I need something specific, I reach out to the local flower community. You would be amazed how many small flower farms there are, some specialising in one variety, some dabbling in a mixture. 

The studio is such a tranquil, welcoming space. How did you design it and was it always a dream of yours? 

I had so many ideas of what I wanted it to feel like, and it went from there. A few sessions with local life coach Denise Dodds and advice from Meganhopedesign really helped me to prioritise what I wanted to achieve first.

I decided to keep my classes small, up to 12 people so that I could get around to everyone and give them the support and encouragement they might need. This meant that I didn’t need much in the way of furniture. Much of it is second hand except the workshop tables which were made by Drew at Brewhouse Salvage in Lydd. He’s very good at sourcing bits and bobs for me and creating something from nothing.  The most important thing was that it felt safe, welcoming and a special place to be. 

I understand you grow many of your own flowers too, which is incredible. What do you enjoy about seeing the process from seed to arrangement?

Other than the fact that I love gardening, growing your own makes you appreciate the flower so much more in the same way growing your own food always seems to taste better. The time, expense, love and patience than goes into every stem means that nothing is wasted. If it can’t be used as a fresh or dried flower, it will be pressed or made into confetti. 

It also means that I can access more varieties of flowers, choose the colours I want to provide for each workshop. I have some wonderful shades of cosmos and sweet peas coming this year and the dahlias are a surprise and delight every season as I’m hopeless labelling them. 

You’ve worked with charities such as The Dementia Experience to provide specialist workshops. How did this come about and what does it mean to you to work with charities and volunteers like this?

Sadly, it came from firsthand experience of seeing how devastating dementia is. My father-in-law was such a gentleman in every way and always bought flowers for my mother-in-law, and one day he simply forgot. I remember wishing there was more support for my mother-in-law and with this in mind, I got in touch with Clara who runs The Dementia Experience in Woodchurch.

I have since started working with Age UK at The Joe Fagg Centre as well. The feedback I get from people who have attended these workshops and lost themselves in flowers for a while is priceless. I would encourage anyone who needs support to reach out to these charities, they do such an amazing job. A little kindness and help go a long way and I believe we all have a place to play in helping our local communities.

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope" - Lady Bird Johnson 

What workshops do you have coming up this Spring?

Grandma, Mum and baby hand tied bouquet workshops are popular especially with Mother’s day coming up, Spring fresh flower wreathes, rectangular and heart shaped dried flower panels post Valentine’s day, dried flower wreathes and a planter workshop for a private group attending a work jolly! 

In June, there will be a woman’s wellness day which I’m so excited about and is in the process of being planned with Fox and Bloom Skincare. Beyond that, a collaboration with Nine Oaks Vineyard and separately The Granary Spa, so there’s much to look forward to. 

Find out more about The Foraged Flower and stay up-to-date on Rachel's upcoming workshops by following her on Instagram (@the.foraged.flower) and via her website - https://theforagedflower.co.uk/