FEBRUARY MUSINGS

For me, these playdates are a cherished part of belonging to Ochre and I’m honoured to be entwined with such creative, caring and captivating humans.

Creativity, I’m learning, needs tending, just as much as any garden. Sometimes my old competitive cycling brain makes an appearance. It reminds me of training: dedication, discipline, muscle memory. And yes, floristry holds muscle memory too – the familiar spiral of a bouquet, the weight of stems in the hand. But creativity asks for something gentler as well. It asks to be nourished, studied, practised.

I find myself thinking back to a beautiful day spent with Katherine English in her studio and foraging in the red zone in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her approach to taking time in contemplative thought, selecting each stem as though in quiet conversation with it. As though asking, where would you like to be placed? There was no forcing, no wrestling of materials into submission.

This kind of practice feels vital. To gather materials brimming with possibility and to simply sit down to play. It can be frustrating, disappointing, mentally exhausting, a battle of self-worth: is this good enough to share with the world? Does it matter if it isn’t? Yet within that uncertainty lies something expansive. Practice can surely have so many cognitive benefits too. It can be entrancing, meditative, sometimes simply just precious ‘me time.’ A safe space for exploration, whether the outcome feels like success or failure. There is something quite special about creating just for yourself. Feeling joy in an arrangement made without agenda, with flowers from the garden or foraged along a walk with the dog. A quiet moment carved out simply because you deserve nice things too.