Floral Workshops - Curlew Ridge Farm

So lovely to pick fresh flowers. Support local businesses.

Such a unique and great idea for a workshop and a really enjoyable day! I would absolutely do this again as often as it becomes available. The workshop was held in conjunction with Amanda Parker, Owner of Curlew Ridge Farms located at Stanmore (near Woodford), QLD. I first met Amanda at a one-off floral design workshop - it was actually my second workshop with Francesca. At that workshop Amanda mentioned that she and her husband had just bought 20 acres near Woodford and it was her dream to create a flower farm. Fast forward a couple of years to 2023 and I am surprised and delighted to see Amanda again - this time at one of Francesca's Floral Basics 4 Week Courses. In that short amount of time Amanda has realised her flower farm dream. During the Floral Basics 4 Week Course we were saying that we'd love to come out and visit Amanda's farm. It was from this discussion that the idea for a Francesca's Flowers workshop excursion developed. The idea morphed into an on-site pick your own flowers floral design workshop at Curlew Ridge Farms. The participants would wander through Amanda's flower beds, pick our own flowers and then Francesca would demonstrate how to arrange them. There were two choices of vases supplied by Francesca - a low bowl table setting and a straussed bouquet into a vase. I chose the straussing technique into the vase. If you don't know what strauss technique is you should sign up for one of Francesca's workshops - or you could just Google it but where's the fun in that...? We all met at Curlew Ridge Farm and were warmly welcomed by Amanda, her family and four beautiful and very friendly dogs. The workshop was held in a separate cottage. We were expecting morning tea but had no idea beforehand that a full lunch would also be offered. Amanda and Francesca's support teams provided an extensive smorgasbord of homemade biscuits, cakes, slices, lunch rolls and sandwiches together with tea, coffee, homemade elderflower cordial and lemon myrtle iced tea. All of the refreshments were plentiful, absolutely delicious and very much appreciated. Francesca's husband, Steve, arrived with a huge basket of his famous scones and honestly they are the best scones you have ever tasted (Steve's not so secret ingredient is lemonade). A highlight of Francesca's workshops is Steve's scones with fresh cream and jam. Anyone who has ever attended one of Francesca's workshops always looks forward to them and I am sure it's one of the many reasons Francesca has such high repeat participation. The day started with Francesca demonstrating both floral designs. Then we walked down to the flower beds where we were given floral snips, buckets with water and allowed free access to everything Amanda is currently growing. We could choose whichever flowers appealed to us. There were no limitations regarding the type or amount of flowers we chose. Amanda was on hand to provide assistance, expert knowledge about the flowers and the best choices for our individual designs. Francesca was also wandering the flower beds to provide expert assistance. We took our selections back to the cottage and set about creating our beautiful floral designs. As is usual with Francesca's workshops there were a number of ladies that I had attented previous classes with but there were many new participants - some of them attending a workshop for the first time. As testament to the appeal of this workshop is the number of ladies in attendance - the class was larger than other workshops I have attended but everyone received the same level of attention and assistance from Francesca. We all took home beautiful arrangements and everyone I spoke with loved the class and would definitely attend another one. If you aren't sure whether you have the creativity, dexterity or talent for floral design I can personally attest to Francesca's ability as an amazing teacher. Under her tutelage I have discovered a talent for floral design that has surprised me. Francesca's 3½ yo son, Jasper, made a really beautiful arrangement from flowers he had chosen himself. It really was a work of art especially when you consider his age. I think Francesca and Amanda have struck upon a unique concept that will develop into a much sought after workshop. The speed with which this course sold out after the date was released indicates that future bookings will be highly coveted. The opportunity to work with such fresh flowers is a rarity and one that I enjoyed very much. Amanda's flower farm dream is expanding in directions that I hope will ensure the success and longevity of her business. The collaboration will also benefit Francesca's already very successful business by offering unique experiences for anyone interested in flowers and floral design. There are many floral design courses available through many different providers, however I believe this particular workshop is very unique. I am so lucky and thrilled to have been a participant in the inaugural flower farm visit workshop and I look forward to many more opportunities to support and contribute, in my own small way, to both these remarkable and inspirational women and their future dreams. Thank you Amanda and Francesca - I look forward to spending many more happy hours exploring our mutual passion for flowers and floral design.