Victorian Posies: A Hands-On Mother’s Day Workshop
with Christopher Barrett Sheridan

In this special Mother’s Day edition of Tussie-Mussies, we’ll review flowers with historical associations to motherhood and traditional May celebrations, such as May Day, which has origins in ancient Rome. Our class palette will focus on seasonal gems and ephemeral design ingredients. Please join us for this celebration of folklore and our most floriferous month!

HPS member Christopher Sheridan will be our guide for this delightful exploration of the fashioning and floral poetry of 19th Century posies, also known as Tussie-Mussies. After an introductory presentation about the history of these small bouquets and their timeless qualities, Chris will demonstrate a design from start to finish. We’ll create our first bouquets together to ensure everyone is comfortable with the process and materials, and participants will then make a second bouquet at their own pace. In addition to having more fun with flowers, we make two bouquets so everyone can work in two color palettes, fashion a naturalistic and a formal posy, become comfortable with the mechanics, and create a bouquet to give and one to keep.

Christopher Barrett Sheridan, The Flower Sommelier, is a horticulturist, floral design instructor, and aspiring historian, specializing in scented plants, heirloom flowers, romantic garden design, and Victorian floral traditions. Chris has been published in American Gardener, regularly offers immersive design workshops at Longwood Gardens, and lectures at national events, including the Philadelphia Flower Show and the International Master Gardener Conference. A Harrison Fellow of the Historic Landscape Institute, he is developing Early American Garden Design programming to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. For more information, see www.flowersommelier.com.

Workshop Details & Registration