The Art of Floristry with
Borrowed Light Florals

This five-day luxury retreat features a two-day intensive course on the art and craft of floristry led by Sarah Purchase and Claudia van Rensburg, whose London floral studio provides breathtaking classical and contemporary displays for weddings, corporate and royal events.

Sarah and Claudia will show you how to handle, condition and care for your flowers and plants. Sharing professional techniques and knowledge of colour balance, shape, texture, movement and flow, they’ll guide you to create your own individual floral design and work with the group on a large-scale display.

About Sarah and Claudia

Claudia and Sarah share more than 30 years’ experience in the floral industry. They are passionate about good design, constantly looking for sources of inspiration, stretching from art to the great outdoors.

Claudia (right) trained in Germany and has worked in central London for 5-star hotels, creating designs for large-scale events, celebrities and royal families.

Sarah (left) has a background in the art industry, having trained as a curator and worked on large scale installations for galleries. Inspired by her great grandmother, who was a botanist at Kew, Sarah re-trained as a florist and has been working with plants and flowers ever since.

Their workshop at L’Orangerie is designed to provide you with the skills to identify, source and forage for your own flowers and plants for various occasions, and how to create a large-scale piece working with a group – of adults or children!

Nutrition by Sara Sycamore

During your stay at L’Orangerie, Sara Sycamore’s carefully curated meals will energise and inspire you throughout every day of your retreat.

Using the freshest seasonal ingredients to create a range of international dishes to cater for every palate, .

Optional extras throughout the retreat include:-

A Sample Menu

BREAKFAST

Muesli
Selection of yoghurts
Fresh fruit salad or fruit platter
Hardboiled eggs
Selection of breads and pastries
Teas, coffee and fruit juices

LUNCH

Spicy chicken salad with cashews and cucumber
Warm roast carrot and goat’s cheese salad with crispy pitta bread (v)

*
Summer fruit salad

DINNER

Crispy mackerel with apple, beetroot and horseradish cream

Sweetcorn fritters with a spicy tomato and avocado salsa (v)

Catalan bean and chorizo ragu with sour cream and gremolata

Chargrilled aubergine with tahini, crispy onions
and Persian rice (vegan)

*
Yoghurt and pistachio cake with a berry compote

Retreat Schedule

Sunday 09 May

17:00	Arrivals: Check-in/welcome
18:00	Evening stroll around Duras/orientation
19:00	Drinks & introductions
20:00	A welcome dinner freshly prepared by Sara Sycamore

Monday 10 May

Tuesday 11 May

08:30	Breakfast by the pool
10:00	Floristry Day One: Learn how to make a hand tie bouquet Introductions: Claudia & Sarah discuss the course outline and goals with the group and answer preliminary questions
10:30	Care and conditioning the flowers and foliage that’s been delivered. We’ll be looking at how to condition them in the right way and how to store them to keep them fresh and long-lasting, Foraging: We’ll take a walk through the grounds of the chateaux to collect more greenery, which we’ll condition and prepare for use. We will talk about the different types of foliage you can grow yourself and forage and which types work best as cut material and in arrangements.
13:00	Lunch
14:30	Floral styling We will talk about different styles (traditional, contemporary, symmetrical/asymmetrical), colour balance, shape, texture, movement, flow, and the role of numbers. A step by step demonstration of how to make a hand tie using the spiral technique. Participants will select flowers and foliage for their own design, and practise with Claudia and Sarah’s guidance Recap, Q&A and discussion, take photographs and notes for reference.
19:30	Sundowner
20:00	Dinner freshly prepared by Sara Sycamore

Wednesday 12 May

08:30	Breakfast by the pool
10:00	Floristry Day Two: Create a floral hanging installation Group discussion: structure, look, style of the installation. Claudia and Sarah will give practical advice on what works best in terms of using different materials, base structures (chicken wire base, moss) all with sustainability in mind. Preparing framework, flowers and foliage.
13:00	Lunch
14:30	Complete the floral installation together Group discussion, Q&A, photographs and summary of what we learned and enjoyed. Evening meals will then be enjoyed under the hanging installation for the rest of the week.
19:30	Sundowner
20:00	Dinner freshly prepared by Sara Sycamore

Thursday 13 May

Friday 14 May

At A Glance

Included: five nights full board at l’Orangerie Duras, a two-day floristry course with Sarah and Claudia, and a delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.

When: Sunday 9 May – Friday 14 May 2021

Number of people: Minimum 8 participants | Maximum 12 participants

Not included: Airfares & Transfers

We’re happy to arrange airport transfers at extra cost. We recommend arriving a day early and enjoying Bordeaux on Saturday and then hiring a car and having a leisurely drive to L’Orangerie on Sunday.

Further information: Non participants and terms and conditions:

Non-participants are welcome to use all the facilities and join all meals. The course and group outings are restricted to participants only

Please read our terms and conditions

COVID19 – to ensure peace of mind we will refund you in full if you are unable to travel due to Covid restrictions or if for any reason we need to cancel the retreat.

Pricing

Deluxe double room

Room of your own: £1500
Two participants: £1000 per person

Participant + guest: £1000 + 750

Twin room

Two participants: £1250 per person

Premium double room

Room of your own: £1750
Two participants: £1250 per person
Participant + guest: £1250 + £750

With plenty of extra space for you to practice privately in your own time and armchairs/chaise for chilling out.

All six ensuite rooms offer spectacular views and feature crisp white bedlinen and deep-pile Egyptian cotton towels by the White Company, L’Occitane toiletries and Toni & Guy hairdryers.