As he prepares to join us at Wealden Festival, Graeme Corbett reflects on a more relaxed way of arranging, shaped by seasonality and a willingness to experiment. Find out more about the event and book tickets here.
Your arrangements have a really wild, natural feel to them and often move away from more traditional floristry styles. What first inspired your approach to flowers?
Around five years ago, I shifted from using imported flowers to locally grown stems and I think that’s what has really helped to set my style. Locally grown ingredients have been shaped by the weather so they have more natural movement which makes them easier to arrange. As a designer I don’t have to work so hard. Each stem almost tells you where it wants to go in the arrangement and helps to create a wilder, looser style.
In ‘Life in Bloom’, you encourage people to experiment and find their own style rather than aiming for perfection. What’s one floristry ‘rule’ you think people should ignore?
I think people should ignore them all, if you are arranging flowers at home just make whatever is beautiful to you and works with your space. I want people to see floristry as a creative outlet much in the same way you would use painting or drawing, whatever it is that gives you a moment in your day where you get to be creative. The book gives you all of the mechanics, the foundations that you need to make solid arrangements that are going to be long lasting and provide enough of a water source to sustain your design. From there you can use my tips and tricks but layer in your own flower and colour combinations to start setting your own design style. I just want to encourage people to try things, the great thing about creating with flowers is that nothing has to be permanent. Don’t like the placement of a stem, move it, trim it shorter or get rid of it altogether. You can enjoy an arrangement for a day and then transform into something else entirely.
Is there an underrated flower you think deserves a bit more attention?
What I tried to do in the book was highlight a few flowers that people may overlook. There’s a whole chapter on buttercups because to me, they are really beautiful and with the right conditioning they are super robust stems for arranging. They give you a bold shot of colour and generally you can get them for free so they lend themselves to larger projects. Some projects in the book may feel lavish and over the top – for those I’ve tried to use ingredients that are more readily available or cut and come again varieties. Like the hanging flower design which uses dahlias as they give you so many flowers over the season. I tried to be really thoughtful about each project from small things for the kitchen table to larger designs that could be used for parties or DIY weddings.
And finally, what are you most looking forward to about appearing at the festival?
What I love about events like Wealden Festival is getting to talk to people. My session isn’t a traditional author chat where I’m sitting answering questions. I’ll be making something at the same time and that keeps the conversation flowing not just between the person interviewing me but also with the audience. I like that they feel included the whole way through. Working with flowers has allowed me to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds. My goal has always been to create a space that feels accessible and I think I’ve achieved that with Life in Bloom. I know that in any audience there will be people with much more growing knowledge than me or with more experience in arranging than I have so it’s just about giving a different perspective.
