Flower power

Gayle undertakes some stem sell research when she meets celebrity florist Nikki Tibbles for a masterclass on building beautiful bouquets

We learn how to make the queen of bouquets, from a famous florist to the stars.

She’s one of the UK’s top florists, loved by royals and A-listers alike.

The fabulously named Nikki Tibbles is renowned for her commissions from some of the world’s most luxurious brands and venues such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Claridge’s, Kensington Palace and The V&A.

With three stores in London, she’s also worked with the British Fashion Council and Scottish designer Christopher Kane.

I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in Nikki’s first workshop in Scotland, and jumped at the chance. Held at the swanky G&V Royal Mile Hotel in Edinburgh, the session focused on designing and making your own bouquet using seasonal flowers.

Fourteen of us had signed up for the afternoon masterclass, all of us women. A few ladies were really into floral artistry but I’d never tried anything like this. First up, Nikki – who founded her company, Wild at Heart, in 1993 – announces we’ll making her hand-tied bouquet, Red Skies, inspired by the colours, textures and emotions of autumn. “Opulent hydrangeas symbolising heartfelt emotions take centre stage in this design,” she tells us, a twinkle in her eye.

“It’s our favourite autumn design, with delicate berries, dark, romantic leaves and roses.”

We each get a huge vase of flowers to play with (red robin, burgundy hydrangea, burgundy chrysanthemum, red hypericum, blueberry rose, roma astrantia and nerine) and must separate them into piles and get rid of any foliage which might end up in the water, causing them to rot quickly.

“Take a focal flower, maybe a rose, use it as the central flower and arrange the other flowers around it,” says Nikki.

“If you’re right-handed, hold the bouquet in your left land, and place individual flowers with your right.”

It’s not as simple as that, though, and I need to create a “spiral” effect, which I screw up slightly. As I add more flowers in a bid to form the perfect dome, I realise there’s a hydrangea bulging out in an ungainly fashion. Luckily, there are a few buckets of “spares” so I’m able to add more flowers to bulk it out.

Nikki is more than happy to help, plucking off leaves which are hindering my creation, pulling a few flowers into shape and twisting the spiral to form a nicer dome. I’m delighted with the end result – and eight days on, it’s still as gorgeous – but if it hadn’t been for Nikki, it might not have turned out so well.

After a few hints and tips on how to condition my flowers so they last as long as possible – Nikki estimates around nine days – I ask her what makes a good florist.

“You can’t really teach anyone about scale, colour or proportion – it all has to come from within,” she says.

“An interest in anything visual is more important than the skill of being able to make a buttonhole.”

Nikki first tried floristry 24 years ago, when she did the flowers for a friend’s wedding. She was working in advertising at the time and looking for a change in career.

“I’m creative but I can’t paint, I can’t draw and I can’t write,” she says. “I realised flowers were the perfect medium to express myself through.”

The team at Wild at Heart work on events worldwide, ranging from weddings to gala dinners for 800 people. They’ve done ceiling and wall installations and created a “magical forest of sparkling trees” for a 21st birthday.

“It’s about having a complete assault on the senses,” says Nikki. “Scent, sight and atmosphere is key, and we use a lot of candlelight.”

Despite her passion for flowers, Nikki never has them at home.

“It’s like taking work home with you,” she laughs. “I’d rather have dogs in the house!” And dogs she has – six rescue dogs, in fact. She founded the Wild at Heart Foundation, an animal welfare charity that encourages people to “adopt rather than shop”.

“I have two great passions: flowers and dogs,” she smiles.