Festive Flowers - West Bridgford Library - Adult Learning

Learn the art of basic flower arranging using seasonal flowers and foliage to create beautiful gifts or decorations for your home over the festive season. This friendly and practical course is suitable for beginners and will give you an introduction to floral design, along with useful techniques for preparing and conditioning cut flowers and selecting suitable foliage.

You will have the opportunity to create a range of seasonal floral designs and learn how to cost your arrangements. By the end of the course, you could even create designs to sell at a craft fair or to friends and family.

During the course, you will learn how to:

• Identify and name the flowers and foliage used in each session

• Understand the basic principles of floral design

• Create a range of simple floral arrangements, including:

  • Floral table arrangements

  • Advent wreaths

  • Christmas floral displays

• Cost a floral arrangement accurately

• Prepare and condition flowers correctly before use

• Select suitable foliage for different designs

• Soak and secure oasis safely and effectively

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Create several basic floral designs with confidence

• Identify suitable foliage for floral arrangements

• Understand how to soak and secure oasis correctly

• Condition and prepare flowers appropriately for use in a design

• Apply basic floral design principles to your own creations

Some previous experience of flower arranging would be helpful, but it is not essential. Step-by-step guidance and support will be provided throughout the course.

You should be able to move your hands and finger joints comfortably, as the activities involve handling flowers, foliage and floral materials.

For the first session, please bring:

• Ribbon

• Sharp scissors 

• Oasis

• 5 roses

• 2 long stems of foliage, plus short filler foliage from the garden

• Small saucer for container

• Florist Anchor tape

Funding and Fees

If you receive certain benefits, you may be able to take the course for free.
If money is stopping you from enrolling, please visit our funding page to see what help is available.

Living in England

To book and join one of our courses, you must live in England permanently and either:

• Live inside the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) area (Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire)

or

• Live outside the devolved areas listed below

You cannot enrol if you live in these devolved areas:

• Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)

• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

• North East Combined Authority

• South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

• Tees Valley Combined Authority

• West Midlands Combined Authority

• West of England Combined Authority

• West Yorkshire Combined Authority

• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority

• York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

• Hull and East Yorkshire

• Greater Lincolnshire

• Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority

• Cornwall Council

• Lancashire Combined County Authority

• Buckinghamshire Council

Residency Requirements (Additional Information)

If you live in the UK on a visa, we’ll need evidence of your visa to confirm funding. You can upload this when applying, and you’ll need to complete a short questionnaire.

Some exceptions include:

• Your visa must last until after your course ends.

• Asylum seekers must have lived in the UK for at least 6 months while their claim is being processed.

• You are supported by your local authority under Section 23C or 23CA of the Children Act 1989, or under the Care Act 2014.

Anyone who does not meet the funding criteria would need to pay full course fees.