Blooming on Instagram ... why Gen Z has taken to flower arranging

Once upon a time flower arranging was the preserve of the 1950s housewife accessorising the kitchen table, perhaps with help from doughty members of the Women’s Institute. Now, floristry is attracting a younger, cooler crowd out to impress their Instagram followers.

The owners of Sage, a flower shop in Peckham, south London, that hosts monthly bouquet and vase arranging classes, have seen a huge increase in interest from young people since they opened. “It’s young people in their mid-20s to mid-30s that are coming. It’s super popular and they’re fully booked,” says the 25-year-old co-founder, Iona Mathieson.

Others agree. “It’s definitely becoming more popular, especially with younger people,” says Helena Willcocks, 31, founder of The Allotment Florist, whose flower arranging workshops in West Yorkshire and London, cost about £60 for an hour and a half. “In the last year we have seen a 30% increase in the number of people coming. It’s a trendy thing to do. It’s obvious by who is booking them.”

What’s behind the surge in popularity? Some say it’s an extension of the recent trend for house plants, the sense of pride in being a “plant parent” and the homemade movement. Others, less idealistically, attribute it to Instagram. “Flower arranging is so colourful and immediate and that’s how we’re seeing life these days, in these bright coloured squares,” says Emma Weaver, 30, founder of Palais in Shoreditch, east London.

Willcocks agrees. “Is Instagram a factor? Oh yeah, 100%, depressingly. People want to photograph their work, in fact they want to photograph the whole way through,” she says. “I try to encourage them to not be on their phones but be surrounded by flowers.”

Heston Blumenthal, who last week took a potshot at diners who spend more time snapping their food for social media than eating it, would sympathise.

The new wave of floristry has become more artistic. Mathieson says people are bored with traditional bouquets. “This is art through the medium of flowers, as opposed to the old grandma thing,” she said.

Many are incorporating different materials. “It’s very sculptural. We use anything from melted plastics to bespoke metal frames and do a lot of carpentry alongside more traditional flower arranging,” says Weaver. “We are putting the two together and making it more of an art form.”

George Plumptre, chief executive of the National Garden Scheme, thinks young people appreciate the benefits of connecting with the natural world. “Flower arranging can be hugely therapeutic and creative. It provides a wonderful sense of wellbeing,” he says.

Amy Montague, 33 from Nottingham, who has attended flower arranging workshops, agrees. “It’s a creative outlet from my work in online consultancy and it’s relaxing,” she says.