Season 2: Episode 2 - When Psychology Meets Floristry: Mindfulness, Flowers and a Different Kind of Workshop
We often talk about how relaxing it can be to work with flowers. But what happens when you look at that feeling from the perspective of a psychologist?
That is exactly what happened to Carla Anderson.
Carla had already spent around 20 years working in private practice as a psychologist when she decided she needed something completely separate from work. Something creative that was just for her.
She signed up for a Christmas floristry workshop, her daughter joined her and before long they had both enrolled to study floristry.
What Carla hadn’t expected was where that decision would lead.
As she learnt to condition flowers, arrange stems and work creatively with different botanical materials, she began noticing how easily she became absorbed in what she was doing.
From a psychology perspective, something clicked.
Discovering mindfulness through floristry
Carla describes working with flowers as a form of what she calls “mindfulness in action”.
Rather than sitting quietly and attempting traditional meditation, you are doing something with your hands.
You might notice the scent of a flower, the feel of a stem, the shape of a leaf or the movement of a botanical material as you work with it.
Your attention comes back to what is happening right in front of you.
For people who find more traditional forms of meditation difficult, Carla believes that kind of active experience can make mindfulness feel much more accessible.
It was this connection that led her to discover therapeutic horticulture and begin exploring how psychology, plants and flowers could work together.
What is therapeutic horticulture?
Therapeutic horticulture uses plants and nature-based activities in ways that can support wellbeing and therapeutic goals.
It can be used in many different environments, including clinical settings, aged care, community programs, vocational programs and other wellbeing-focused spaces.
For Carla, flowers became the medium.
Today she creates workshops that combine floristry with elements of psychology, mindfulness and therapeutic horticulture.
Participants still get to create something beautiful, but the process of creating becomes just as important as the finished floral design.
More than making an arrangement
One of the things I found most interesting about chatting with Carla was how deliberately she designs her workshops.
She may begin with something as simple as processing flowers, but instead of rushing through that step purely as preparation, participants are encouraged to engage with the flowers through their senses.
What can you smell?
What does the material feel like?
What are you noticing while you work?
The aim is to bring attention back to the present moment.
Carla also incorporates the traditional meanings of flowers and plants into some workshops.
Therapeutic horticulture often uses metaphor, so a seed, a flower opening or even the care required to keep flowers alive can become a prompt for reflection.
In one workshop for healthcare clinicians, Carla used a takeaway cup carrier as part of the floral design.
The familiar coffee cup became a starting point for a bigger question. What else sustains you?
The flowers she selected also connected to the theme, including botanicals traditionally associated with ideas such as healing or soothing.
Suddenly the arrangement was not only something participants had made. It also became a visual reminder of the conversation behind it.
Can florists bring mindfulness into their own workshops?
This was one of the questions I was particularly interested in asking Carla.
Many florists, myself included, already run flower workshops. So do we need to completely redesign them to introduce a more mindful element?
Thankfully, no.
Carla’s suggestion is much simpler.
Start by making people more aware of what they are already experiencing.
When participants are processing stems, talk about slowing down and noticing the materials. Encourage them to feel the textures, notice the fragrances and spend a little more time looking at the flowers rather than immediately concentrating on the finished arrangement.
You could also research the meanings behind a few key flowers or botanical materials you are using and share those stories during the workshop.
The important distinction is that this is not about a florist trying to become a therapist.
It is simply about recognising that working creatively with natural materials already gives us an opportunity to slow down and focus on what we are doing.
And sometimes making that intention explicit can completely change the experience.
From psychology to floristry and flower growing
As if combining psychology and floristry wasn’t enough, Carla has also ventured into growing her own cut flowers.
What started with her existing love of gardening has developed into experimenting with Australian natives and seasonal cut flowers including flannel flowers, snapdragons and poppies.
Like most flower growers, she has also discovered the less glamorous side of the process, including rain, pests, bandicoots and figuring out why something will happily grow in one part of the garden and refuse to cooperate a few metres away.
But perhaps that is also part of what makes Carla’s story interesting.
Floristry started as something she decided to do for herself.
It didn’t need a business plan. It didn’t need to become productive. And she certainly wasn’t planning to combine it with her professional life.
But by following something she enjoyed, she discovered an entirely new way to bring together her existing knowledge and a new creative passion.
Listen to the full conversation
In this episode of The Flowery Folk Podcast, Carla and I chat about psychology, therapeutic horticulture, mindful flower workshops, flower meanings, growing cut flowers and the simple ways florists can encourage people to slow down and enjoy the process of working with flowers.
If you teach floristry, run flower arranging workshops or are interested in the connection between flowers, creativity and wellbeing, I think you’ll find plenty to take away from this conversation.
Listen to the full episode of The Flowery Folk Podcast here:
https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/YuwGlAx0u6b
Find Carla Anderson:
@carlaandersoncliniciantraining
@Florimour
For more conversations, floristry education and practical resources for people working with flowers, visit www.thefloweryfolk.com.