From Winter's Woven Robe to Forest Queen

How a visit to a historic mill, walks through the Formby pinewoods and a floral art competition inspired a botanical gown featured in The Flower Arranger.

Where the Story Began

When a floral competition schedule arrives, choosing a class is about much more than finding a title that catches your imagination. There's also the question of what you can create, which materials you'll use, how you'll transport everything and, of course, the space available.

But Winter's Woven Robe, a class at the 2025 NAFAS National Show at Gloucester Cathedral, immediately appealed to me.

I've always enjoyed exploring floral fashion, having created everything from floral shoes to handbags, and I loved the idea of a flowing robe made from natural materials.

Inspiration came from two very different places.

During a visit to the National Trust's Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire, I was fascinated by the old textile machinery. I remember the rows of bobbins and hundreds of perfectly spaced threads stretching towards the machinery, all converging at a point. There was something quite beautiful about those precise lines, and I took a photograph.

Then there were my walks through the Formby pinewoods, where I've always been drawn to the wonderful shapes of twisting branches and the way nature seems to weave itself together.

Gradually, those two ideas began to meet.

Weaving Nature Together

My original vision was of a long, flowing woodland robe with a dramatic collar. The beautiful cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral provided a wonderfully atmospheric setting, but competition exhibits have specific dimensions, so I adapted my idea to fit the space.

I decided to suggest the robe as though it were being viewed from behind, with a contorted willow framework flowing downwards.

I built the structure at home around a slender metal pole, binding the willow with waxed hemp twine. Some of the stronger branches were drilled and secured with wooden pins made from skewers.

Then came the weaving bobbins.

Using pieces of contorted hazel, natural wool packaging material and twine, I created my own interpretation of the bobbins I'd seen at Quarry Bank Mill.

To recreate those beautifully spaced threads, I drilled evenly positioned holes into smaller twigs, threading the strands through them so they could taper towards another point. I experimented with different angles until I achieved the effect I wanted.

Of course, creating a design at home is one thing. Reassembling it at a national competition is quite another!

The main framework travelled flat in a long box, while the woven sections were carefully dismantled. Every bobbin and attachment point was numbered, with little colour-coded markers showing me exactly where everything belonged.

Not particularly glamorous, perhaps, but absolutely invaluable when it came to putting everything together at Gloucester!

A Little Whoosh of Winter

For the plant materials, I wanted to capture that moment when a woodland receives its first delicate dusting of frost.

I chose evergreens, pinecones, white hypericum berries and eryngium, which I find such a wonderfully characterful material. I also used Phlebodium fern leaves, allowing some to dry and curl into lovely twisting shapes.

Some of the foliage received what I call a little 'whoosh of white' — just a light spray to suggest frost without disguising the natural textures.

But one of my favourite discoveries was how to make my own snow.

I didn't want to use artificial spray snow in the cathedral, so I experimented with a mixture of ModRoc, bicarbonate of soda and acrylic paint. It created a wonderfully textured finish that I could apply to selected branches and foliage, allowing it to dry firm.

I must admit, I was rather excited when it came to adding those final snowy touches!

The finished Winter's Woven Robe received a Commended award at the National Show, but the idea of that larger, sweeping woodland gown stayed with me.

A Forest Queen Takes Shape

Some creative ideas never quite leave you.

When members of Flowers North West were invited to put forward designs for a winter-themed photoshoot for The Flower Arranger magazine, I immediately thought back to my robe.

The photoshoot was to take place at the beautiful Samlesbury Hall near Preston, and we had considerable freedom to develop our ideas.

This was my opportunity to explore the flowing gown and dramatic collar I'd originally imagined.

I even reused some of the contorted willow framework from Gloucester, extending the branches to create a much larger, more expressive collar.

For the body of the new robe, I constructed a wire framework and began threading and overlapping layers of Leylandii foliage, almost as though I were laying strips of fabric. Gradually, the foliage formed a beautifully textured coat, complete with sleeves.

The sweeping collar and the muff at the front, rather like an old-fashioned hand warmer, were created from contorted willow.

And, of course, I couldn't resist bringing back my homemade snow, adding frosty highlights to the finished design.

Forest Queen had finally emerged.

Behind the Scenes at Samlesbury Hall

The next challenge was getting her to the photoshoot!

Fortunately, Forest Queen fitted upright behind the seats of my car, carefully protected with a few loosely wrapped sheets.

I'd originally imagined photographing her outside, perhaps against the trees, but Doug, the photographer, quite rightly pointed out that all those woodland textures would be difficult to distinguish against a busy natural background.

Instead, we settled on a table in one of Samlesbury Hall's beautiful historic rooms, where she could really stand out.

Louise couldn't join us that day, but she'd prepared a wonderful festive vegetable wreath, which I brought along for her.

While exploring the hall, I discovered the old kitchen, with its beautiful black range, and thought it would make the perfect setting. Chloe, the magazine's editor, agreed, and that's where Louise's wreath was photographed.

Once my own photographs were finished, I joined Sara Barrow, Patti Dawson and Ken Hough, who were creating a magnificent Christmas staircase decoration.

I became an extra pair of hands, carrying greenery up and down the stairs and holding it in position while everyone decided exactly where it should go.

There was plenty of 'a little to the left, a bit higher, yes, that's it!' before everything was secured. It was great fun and a lovely example of everyone working together.

Seeing It All in Print

When the winter edition of The Flower Arranger arrived, it was wonderful to see the beautiful work created by so many members of Flowers North West.

We hadn't known for certain which designs would be included, so I was especially pleased to see Forest Queen, Louise's festive wreath and the Christmas staircase decoration all featured.

For me, Forest Queen was the fulfilment of an idea that had been developing for quite some time.

From the perfectly spaced threads at Quarry Bank Mill to the twisting branches of the Formby pinewoods, and from the original Winter's Woven Robe at Gloucester Cathedral to the finished woodland gown, it had been a wonderful creative journey.

And perhaps that's one of the things I love most about floral art. An idea doesn't always end with the first design. Sometimes it stays with you, waiting for the right opportunity to grow into something new.

Inspired by floral art?

We love sharing our passion for creative floral design, whether through demonstrations, workshops or bespoke floral creations.

If you'd like to discover more of what we do, we'd love you to explore our floral workshops and experiences.