Come along to a hands-on creative workshop, and learn from a local florist how to make beautiful, natural bouquets using flowers from your own garden.

Bring along a bucket of flowers and foliage from your garden — whatever is looking good and ready to pick. We’ll supplement these with our own locally grown blooms from Maytrees Garden and show you how to combine everything into a beautiful, seasonal bouquet, ready to gift.

We’ll cover practical tips and design basics and how to put it all together without overcomplicating things.

No previous experience of flower arranging is necessary, just a creative mindset, a can-do attitude and the ability to bring a bucket of locally grown garden flowers and a sharp pair of snips.

Flowers that bloom in Dunedin gardens in October that are suitable for picking might include but are definitely not limited to; Smaller flowered Rhododendron in coloured bud, blossoming branches, helbores with seed set, Aquilegia, Cerinthe, lupins, lilac, flowering viburnums and berries, Peiris, angelica leaves and flowers, Diosma, Eriostemon, sweet rocket, Erica, Leucodendron, snap dragons, Centranthus, Narcissus (keep separate in water overnight for sap to drain), Ranunculus, Anemone, tulips, stock etc.

Ideally pick flowers in the cool of the day prior and hold in deep cold water in a cool place overnight to rehydrate and condition them. Flowers snagged at the last minute from a friend's garden will also work! If in doubt bring it along and we can discuss suitability for picking and vase lives!

Contact the host of Gifts from your Garden