Last week, I held my first floral photography retreat in North Yorkshire. The stunning Hutton Wandesley Stables twenty minutes from York was the venue I chose to host the three days. A few days of complete floral bliss, laughter and friendship amongst the flowers.
The Floral Retreat Guests
I was joined by nine incredibly inspiring women who had travelled from all over the country as well as Ireland and the USA. They ranged from florists and photographers to garden designers and flower farmers each wanting to enjoy a few days of floral escapism. You can read the details of the retreat here and see why this group were inspired to sign up.
The Retreat Venue
Hutton Wandesley is a working farm estate with a beautiful walled garden and event venue designed by owner Sasha York. She is also garden designer who shares helpful tips and advice over on her Instagram account. I really wanted my guests to be able to cut from the garden and make their own designs completely individual so the garden was an integral part of the retreat.
Although there were buckets of flowers to choose from I loved being able to add a few fillers and gestures. Local, seasonal flowers including roses, delphiniums, stocks, linaria, larkspur and snapdragons came from local grower Willow View Farm. Infact three car loads of flowers!
What we did on the Floral Retreat
Over the long weekend we made floral bowls, bouquets, botanical ink drawings and made urns brimming with beautiful foliage, roses and foxgloves. Completely immersed in the floral loveliness, there was plenty of time to practice photography too.
All the bespoke vessels for the bowl class were from local Thirsk potter The Clay Shed
The Statement Urn
On day three Claire from Fig and Fern floral design came to create one of her signature statement urns sharing her knowledge and expertise with the group.
I love Claire’s garden inspired aesthetic and her urn was over flowing with rambling roses and sweetpea trails. Using an Emma Hilton mini urn, she showed us how to scale down the design for a smaller vessel.
Flowers make us happy
Finding time for creativity amongst the humdrum and routine of our busy lives is tricky. I wanted the retreat guests to find space amidst the garden to breathe in the atmosphere and find inspiration in this tranquil setting. Forging friendships, exchanging stories over flowers and good food is important for nourishing the soul and filling the creative cup.
Bouquet Making and Botanical Painting
It wouldn’t be a floral retreat without wafting around the garden with bouquet in hand. Choosing stems from local flower growers as well as Sasha’s cutting patch we made bouquets tied up with ribbon from Bertie and Fred.
On day two of the retreat, botanical artist Sophie Roberts joined us to teach painting with inks. Inspired by the bouquets they had made the guests chose to paint their own work. I always find studying flowers this way is invaluable and everyone created something so beautiful to take home.
Delicious planted based meals on the Floral Photography Retreat
Delicious, nourishing plant based food was prepared each day by Vicky at Eat Me Kitchen. Decorating the table each day with fresh flowers from the garden set the scene for our evenings ahead. Special thanks to Honeywell Bakes for the exquisite floral biscuits.
Three days cocooned amongst the flowers and a beautiful garden went all too quickly. Spending this time with such a wonderful group went all too quickly and I have memories and photos to treasure for ever. Thank you Alessia, Chloë, Tracey, Velda, Sophie, Diana, Whitney, Amy, and Harriet. I’m very much looking forward to hosting the floral photography retreat again next year. Do email me if you’d like ro register your interest for September 2026.
Enjoy this beautiful month of British flowers,
Janne
