The Select Networking Lunch

Last year I had the pleasure of working with Mo Mohsenin, London based expert in Luxury Brand Marketing. I was thrilled when he invited me to make floral centrepieces for the launch of his networking club, The Select. The lunch was to be held at the sleek Japanese restaurant, Clap, in the heart of Knightsbridge.

As I planned my designs for the day I knew I wanted to keep it dainty, so the flowers didn't have a massive foot print on the dining tables. I built reusable bases from tiny plastic dishes, moss and chicken wire. After an early morning flower market run I adorned the bowls with orchids, chrysanthemums, hellebores and lisianthus. I snipped the very last of the season's dahlias from my own garden and added them. I eventually found myself very low on foliage and was pleased with how my conservatory begonias lent themselves to this project. Inspired by Japanese moss gardens, I wrapped sheets of moss around the bases to hide my mechanics.

I love moss. About two years ago I became obsessed with the idea of covering the roof of my son's outdoor playhouse with moss. Our garden is shady and damp ( this is England) so I figured my vision would require the 35 minutes I had to myself while my son napped one afternoon. At the instruction of my soon to be septuagenarian/ make believe boyfriend Monty Don, (https://www.montydon.com/ - my husband knows, it's fine) I collected chunks of moss from around the garden, filled up a blender a few times, added yogurt (or was it buttermilk?) some beer, and let it "cure." I think it started bubbling at some point, which my reading indicated was a gross good sign. Time to take out a large step stool, clamber up it and pour this nightmare smoothie over my little boy's darling Wendy House. From there I waited for a fluffy sea of green to envelope the roof, providing the illusion that this little structure had been tucked behind our home since Victorian times, forgotten until this moment and our son's giggles would warm it for the first time in decades, prompting ferns and lichens to sprout from the gables leading neighbors to peer over the fence and with wonder in their eyes presuming a family of American Gnomes had moved in.

That's the end of the story. I didn't work. I tried it at least four times. I kept it damp. Nothing happened.

Anyway, my more recent moss adventures have been more successful, as shown in the photos from the lunch. Mo had assembled such an incredible group of talented and creative people from the world of fashion, beauty, horticulture, photography, interiors.....To be honest, when I heard about some of the names on the guest list I was a little bit intimidated! But, leave it to Mo, everyone was incredibly warm and kind.

Not to worry, the blender used in my aforementioned botanical failure is collecting dust in the shed and won't be mixing up margaritas anytime soon. photos by https://www.colindackphotography.com/

....The playhouse is still adorable.