There’s a reason so many people started baking, painting and gardening in lockdown. Learning new skills and working with your hands in a creative way has been shown to improve mood and reduce stress. As Melburnians begin to reconnecting with their friends, family, colleagues and city, our love for getting creative and socialising has never been stronger. That’s why when my plus one and I were invited by ClassBento to a Christmas flower wreath workshop at Bloomin’ Marvellous Flower School in Malvern East, we jumped at the opportunity to experience something new.
Arriving at Bloomin’ Marvellous, we were greeted warmly by the flower school’s founded, Jemina. With a glass of fancy bubbly, and a delicious little cake we were ready to learn! This was our first time working with flowers to make a wreath and we couldn’t have been in better hands. With career spanning over 30 years, Jemina has collaborate with some of the best in the business and worked on many of Melbourne’s most prestigious events including the Melbourne Grand Prix Spring Racing Carnival and the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Her passion for flowers and teaching shines through.
Jemina was quick to point out that our wreaths could be personalised to our individual style and taste and would teach our beginners class the basics to get started. Supplying fresh flowers, dehydrated orange, cinnamon sticks and other festive decorations like baubles and bird ornaments, we had a huge variety of curated ingredients to make something spectacular.
First we learnt the correct way to cut a stem (always on an angle, as it’s easier to insert into our foam and the flower will be able to drink water easier). From there we began constructing the foundation of our wreaths before adding more decorative elements, heights and textures. I had a lot of fun working with the angles of each stem to form a sweeping wave of colours, where as other people in the class loved to colour block elements.
After another glass of bubbles and a bite of cake, I was done. Our living wreaths should last around three weeks with the after-care prescribed in the class (it involves giving our wreaths a bath!).
We loved taking our Christmas wreaths home, and the new skills we learnt in the workshop. If you are looking for a unique activity for a Christmas present, or for something fun to do as a team, we’d defiantly recommend giving this or one of the 5000+ other unique experiences by local creatives a try. You just might find your new favourite hobby.
– The Plus Ones
Christmas Wreath Making is one of 5000+ unique experiences you can book with ClassBento. Book Bloomin Marvellous Flower School’s next class on their website.
The venue is fully accessible.
