Spring Fling – Floral Design

About this Event

Create beautiful arrangements and bouquets for your mantel and other spaces in your home. Work with a variety of plant material, including vines and locally-sourced, organic, high-end flowers. Vases will be provided. Handmade, white birch candle holders are available for purchase. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. A sustainable gardening talk will be given by Westmoreland Sanctuary's Director of Conservation, Steve Ricker. More information below.

Ages

Adults only.

About the Workshop Coordinator

Nadia Ghannam holds a BFA from Cornell University with a focus on Art History and Print Making and an MA in Painting Conservation from Queen’s University in Ontario Canada. When not working on the conservation of historic and modern paintings, Nadia is an avid gardener, and crafter with a keen interest in floral arts and arranging using seasonal, locally foraged plants and flowers to incorporate into her designs. She has been working to expand her local elementary school garden to foster and nurture young children’s love and appreciation.

“It’s been great leading floral design and wreath-making programs at Westmoreland Sanctuary for so many years. I consider myself lucky that I can share the art of floral arranging with others, create foraged arrangements that are both beautiful and helpful to the environment by removing invasive species from nature, and support a local green space in the process.”

About the Speaker

Steve is Westmoreland's Director of Conservation and Wildlife Management. A former member of the Mount Kisco Tree Preservation Board and a current member of the Board of Directors of the Bedford Audubon Society, Steve uses his 30+ years of experience to help the community. Steve regularly offers environmental consultations to homeowners who want to attract birds, butterflies, and other wildlife to their property.

About the Plants

Invasive plant species are species introduced from elsewhere that spread prolifically and have harmful effects on the environment. Many invasive plants are allelopathic, which means that they release chemicals into soil which inhibit the growth of native plants. Many of the plants used in our Workshops are invasive. This allows us remove them from our environment (and help protect it) while teaching our attendees how to identify these plants, so they can remove them from their own property. Some native plants are used in our Workshops as well. All native plants are harvested sustainably and none are endangered.