I chose a hat as a theme with all the flowers coming from the garden.

Equipment: posy oasis with extra central section for the brim. Feather, bamboo skewer as a hat pin.

Flowers and Foliage: white hydrangeas, pink scented pelargoniums, white chrysanthemums, daisies.

Step 1: Wet the oasis. Lay out the posy oasis and chamfer the edge to create a smooth curved line (shape of the brim). Add an extra shaped section to the centre to be used as a crown. Secure it to the posy with a bamboo skewer.

Step 2: Crown: use the hydrangeas to cover the brim. Keep the flowers as close to the oasis as possible.

Step 3: Brim: use the daisies and chrysanthemums to make the brim, again keeping the flowers close to the oasis. The wider and flatter this section is the better the effect will be (my brim was not wide enough).

Step 4: Hat band: use the scented geraniums to create a hat band around the base of the crown. Include foliage to give a more jaunty effect.

Step 5: Flower details: Add a couple of larger, brightly coloured flowers to the base of the hat pin to create a flower detail on the brim.. I used roses and pink gerberas, but they could have been something bigger. Adding a feather to this would work well too.

This wasn’t the success I was hoping it would be. The brim could have been wider to make the shape clearer. The flowers are perhaps too dense. I would make the crown a more interesting shape the next time round. All good lessons to learn.

There were some good themes from the rest of the class. Worth remembering for next year.