A new florist is in town called Blossoms and having walked past a few times I just loved the window designs that kept popping up. I guess the Visual Merchandiser never leaves you, in fact, I am constantly looking at window designs when out and about shopping. So to get a chance to chat to the new owner and also make an autumn wreath seemed like the best plan ever for a mid-week morning.

Ava is 34 and a mum of two, who has worked creatively with flowers for many years. Having lived in Warsaw a busy city for a long time, Ava decided to take the leap and move with her hubby and family over to England and fell in love with Southsea. Ava wanted a more relaxed way of life by the sea and has been here for 5 years now. You can see in the design of the shop and hours that Ava puts in how much drive and passion she has for flowers. The flowers themselves all look so beautiful that it’s hard not to want to walk out without a bouquet of fresh blooms.

The shop itself has been transformed from what used to be a pop up cinema. Ava the owner has totally refurbished the whole premises and it now has a light airy feeling when you walk through the door. The walls are white, with a white washed effect wooden floor that lifts the whole effect trying to be achieved. There is a fireplace along the wall and that gives a homely feel as though you could be in someone’s room. This also gives scope to show how a fireplace can be dressed with flowers throughout the seasons. The back wall has been cladded with bricks that are over 100 years old and came from Poland to finish the overall look and feel of the new shop. As my regular readers will know I love old exposed brick and so to me it just finishes the whole appearance of the design.

Having never done a wreath before myself I was eager to find out if I would be any good at it, if my tired old fingers would be able to create anything so pretty. As I now live in a Georgian house, my front door can really carry off a glamorous wreath so I was excited to get started.

First we had the base which we added olive foliage to with wire to have as a starting point. Then we added crab apples and cinnamon sticks in various places around. Next we added dried oranges and limes. Because this was an Autumn wreath we added rasberries, blackberries and apples. Holly berries were added and finally some pine cones. Vintage lace in cream was placed in a bow and and this wreath was finished!

What was so lovely was after the photo shoot, Ava let me bring the wreath home which was a really kind thing to do and it has taken pride and place in my dining room ever since.

Although it took time like many creative activities, the time passed so quickly and I really enjoyed doing it. What I love about making wreaths is that you can add your own style and you can adapt so you can make it an autumn one or a Christmas style. I really do love eucalyptus so I would love to make another one incorporating that in to my scheme.

Having spent the morning with Ava I got to realise just how hard she works. Only getting Sundays as a day off and having such a young family, you can really see that Ava puts her all in to her business and is really dedicated to producing the most beautiful displays of flowers to customers. Even though Ava only opened her shop in late September she already has loyal customers that love her displays and if you haven’t ventured down Osbourne Road yet then please do just to admire the window designs that have been put on show. I loved the Halloween displays and can’t wait for the Christmas one to go up.

If you fancy doing a Christmas Wreath workshop at Blossoms on Osbourne Road Southsea with Ava, then these are the dates available. Prices are £40 and you can pay a deposit and keep popping in to pay the remainder of the workshop or pay the balance on the day.

25th November 4.30pm and 615pm

2nd December 4.30pm and 6.15pm

3rd December 12pm and 2pm

9th December 4.30pm and 6.15pm

10th December 3.30pm

16th December 5pm

There will be hot drinks and cake for the workshop attendees and lots of lovely Christmas atmosphere all round.

I am going to book myself in to do a nice wreath my neighbours will be proud of seeing on my front door. The good thing is there are lots of Christmas markets and events on around these dates to get in the festive mood for the big day.

Photos were taken by Anna Mazur of Catching Dreams Photography. You can see more of Anna’s work at www.catchingdreamsphotography.co.uk