AN INTERACTIVE floristry masterclass was a blooming success at Waterside Court care home in Wallingford.

Staff and residents were treated to the virtual floristry masterclass courtesy of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski, from Blooming Haus.

Blooming Haus started with a small pop-up shop in Chelsea. The company has since blossomed spectacularly on to the floristry scene as ‘floral engineers’, carving themselves an outstanding reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative floral design studios.

The company is the vision of Master Florist, Mr Kowalski and his business partner, Michael Dariane.

The pair bring a completely fresh approach to floristry and their ambition to push the boundaries of traditional floristry has laid the foundations of Blooming Haus’ success to date.

Residents and staff were invited to gather flowers and foliage and follow Mr Kowalski’s demonstration to create their own displays.

Residents’ arrangements will be entered into a Facebook competition judged by the ‘floral engineers’ to win Love2Shop vouchers.

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Mr Kowalski, Master Florist from Blooming Haus said: “The care sector has endured such a tough time of late, residents unable to see their loved ones, and carers working extremely hard. So we leapt at the chance when Barchester approached us to stage a zoom flower arranging class.

“It’s a great opportunity for Blooming Haus to give something back, and we hope we provided some light recreational relief to the residents and care workers. Besides shop bought flowers, we encouraged participants to use materials and foliage from the garden.

“We take a lot of our inspiration from nature and like nothing more than foraging around woodlands on a Sunday afternoon, we believe it assists us with the floral artistry we create.”

Lucy Tomlinson, resident experience manager for Barchester Healthcare, said: “We have been using technology to keep our residents and patients connected with their loved ones as well as offer virtual events, entertainment and activities throughout the pandemic. We are excited to work with our amazing partners like Blooming Haus to bring a wide range of fantastic experiences into our homes for all to enjoy. It was brilliant to see the residents all enjoying themselves creating beautiful arrangements, the demonstration was so well received.

“Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active and socially connected, providing a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities,”

General Manager, Roxana Moldovan, said: “This was a virtual flower arranging demonstration with a difference, it was wonderful that our residents were able to follow along and create their own floral displays using flowers from our own garden and flowers from the local Waitrose in Wallingford, who kindly offered us a discount. It was a really enjoyable afternoon, we’re so grateful to Michal and Michael from Blooming Haus for this experience.”

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