Flower Arranging Workshop in De Beauvoir: £90 Evening Class

The Flower Appreciation Society runs its flower arranging workshop programme from a studio at 72A Southgate Road, London N1 3JF, set back down a short driveway between numbers 70 and 72 behind big grey gates. The cheapest way in is the 90-minute Low Vase Arranging class at £90, next held on 12 November 2026 from 7pm to 8.30pm. Every class uses foam-free techniques, and the flowers, materials and light refreshments are included in the price.

The business started behind a bar. The founders met pouring pints, and many late-night chats about flowers led them to begin making weekly arrangements for the pub where they worked. They credit their backgrounds in illustration and textiles for the strong visual identity of the studio, and they have now been making flower lovers happy, in their own words, for over a decade, through weddings, events and these public classes.

There is no shop here, which is part of the appeal. Without a counter to stock, the team buys from the market for each week's work, and in summer they use as many British flowers as they can from their own cutting garden in Hackney. That shapes the classes: you work with whatever is in season and good that week, not a fixed kit shipped in for every student.

Low Vase Arranging Using the Grid Technique is the class most beginners should take first. In 90 minutes you learn to build a tape grid across the mouth of a shallow bowl, then use it to hold stems at the angles you want without any foam. It is a technique you can repeat at home with a kitchen bowl, and at £90 it is the cheapest regular session on the timetable.

Season Appreciation costs £150 for three hours and covers both a vase arrangement and a hand-tied bouquet. The 14 November 2026 morning, from 10am to 1pm, had four places left when the timetable was last updated. The day-long Introduction to Floristry at £395, from 10am to 4pm on 13 November, is already sold out, and its next date is 29 January 2027. Unless you are weighing up floristry as a career, the £395 day is more than a beginner needs.

Festive Wreath Making costs £90 for 90 minutes, with three December 2026 sessions: Thursday 3 December from 7pm, Saturday 5 December from 10.30am to midday, and Tuesday 8 December from 7pm. The first two had only five places left each, so the Tuesday evening is the easiest date to get. The Hand Tied Bouquet Workshop at £85 returns in 2027, starting on 11 February, with a British Flowers Week special on 17 June.

For people who want to do this professionally, the studio runs a Floristry Skills Refresher Day at £325, a three-day Floristry Career Starter Course at £1,150, and a two-week career course at £1,950 for one week or £3,750 for both. There is also Flowers in the Field at £350, a full day with lunch held at the London Flower Farmer in Walthamstow rather than the Southgate Road studio, with dates in June and September 2027.

The studio is by appointment only, so there is no wandering in to see the space. The terms are firm on money: workshops are not refunded, but you can transfer to a future class with at least two weeks' notice. If the studio cancels a session itself, you get the cost of the class back. Gift vouchers last 12 months from purchase, which suits a birthday present for someone whose diary is hard to pin down.

Hen parties and private groups are welcome, with a minimum of eight people. When you arrive, walk down the driveway and press the buzzer at the big grey gates to be let in. The studio is tucked behind the houses, so the gates are the only sign you are in the right place. Evening classes start at 7pm sharp, so leave enough time for the walk from the Overground, especially in the dark when the gates are easy to miss.

The nearest stations are Haggerston and Essex Road on the Overground. From the Tube, Angel or Highbury and Islington are a good 25-minute walk or a 10-minute bus ride away. The simplest option is often the bus: routes 141 and 76 stop just outside the studio.

Southgate Road marks the line between Islington and Hackney, and De Beauvoir Town on its east side is a grid of quiet Victorian streets. That matters at night: the area is residential and calm, with few shopfronts to light the way, so it helps to have the house numbers in mind as you walk. Number 72A is not a shopfront, just the gates.

Arrive early for a Saturday class and walk through De Beauvoir Square, a garden square with a formal layout a few minutes east of the studio. From there, the Regent's Canal towpath along the southern edge of De Beauvoir Town takes you towards Haggerston or west to Islington, a good place to stroll after a morning session with a finished bouquet that will last longer than the walk.

If your chosen date is full, McQueens Flower School by Waterloo runs a £150, 90-minute bouquet class on 24 November 2026, though it is stricter about age and takes no payments on the day. The Flower Appreciation Society is the better choice if you want small evening sessions, a foam-free method and seasonal flowers bought for that week rather than a standard kit.

Address: The Flower Appreciation Society, 72A Southgate Road, London N1 3JF, behind the grey gates between numbers 70 and 72. Stations: Haggerston or Essex Road on the Overground. Buses: 141 and 76. Low Vase Arranging: £90. Season Appreciation: £150. Festive Wreath Making: £90. Introduction to Floristry: £395. No refunds, transfers with two weeks' notice. Groups of eight or more.