Flora in Italia
A Summer Workshop in the Salento, Puglia
9 to 14 June 2025
A dreamy five days of flowers, good company, food and wine in the sun-baked Salento… cobbled lanes, old stone walls, olive groves
We are joined by LUCY THE FLOWER HUNTER to create with blooms from a local small flower farm, visit Italian gardens and explore local villages and elegant Baroque towns - among other botanical and artisanal treats!
9 to 14 June 2025
We are BOOKED OUT for June 2025! Please ask to join our WAITING LIST using the button below
Or email VICKI@THEWILDFLOWERSCHOOL.CO.NZ to ask to join the WAITING LIST.
Watch LUCY HUNTER Create One Of Her Beautiful URN Arrangements
We are so happy that the lovely Lucy- landscape gardener, floral artist, photographer- and author of two beautiful books- will be joining us again!
Floral abundance, food and wine in the sun-drenched Salento region of Puglia in southern Italy…
STAY in a hidden palazzo in an off the beaten track medieval village
CREATE natural garden-inspired arrangements with blooms picked from slow flower farms
EXPLORE the village of Muro Leccese through our front door, and the beautiful nearby Baroque towns like Otranto and our favourite, Lecce
Create naturally arranged FLORALS: a summer garden bouquet tied with silk ribbons we will colour ourselves with dyes made from natural botanicals; an overflowing table arrangement in a pottery vase handcrafted by Jane Burn from Waiheke Island; an opulent urn arrangement inspired by Lucy Hunter and a flower meadow installation to adorn our Final feast.
Create a small watercolour painting of your favourite bloom or of a Salento landscape as a memento of your stay.
Venture with us on a road trip to explore the elegant Baroque towns nearby like our favourite, Lecce, and to visit a botanical garden where we can pick a bucket of flowers each from their cutting garden.
Take part in a cooking lesson with a local Italian chef- after teaching us how to make a pasta variety particular to the region he will then create a special dinner for us to share at our villa.
After the morning workshops each day enjoy lovely long al fresco lunches by the pool.
And each afternoon take time out to wander through the front door and explore our local village- or just stay and relax in the shade in the garden or take a dip to cool off…
STAY…
at a palazzo in the centre of an ancient Puglian village
walk through an assuming street front door into a hidden oasis- a lovingly renovated 16th century stone building that had been the home of local aristocracy for hundreds of years. Its crumbling stone walls and white washed beautifully styled interiors are a haven from the heat of southern Italian summers. Venture in to the lush secret garden and take a dip in the inviting pool… or head out the door and right into the centre of the charming yet largely undiscovered village of Muro Leccese.
Il Palazzo has the elegance, space and peace of a country villa mixed with the charms of being able to wander along cobbled village lanes and pick up a pastry and an espresso- the best of both worlds!!
We can’t wait to be there- and to create beautiful florals al fresco in that lovely courtyard… with an aperol spritz as we lie by the pool as a reward for all our creative toil!!
CREATE…
On the first morning we will create a naturally arranged hand-tied summer garden bouquet and tie it with the silk ribbons we have dipped in dye baths made from natural botanical ingredients… then we will have a photo shoot of our bouquets being modelled around the gardens of the villa
The next morning sit back and enjoy watching the talented and lovely Lucy Hunter’s demonstration of a stunning urn arrangement. Then be inspired by her and work in pairs to create your own larger scale arrangements in vessels.
On the following day we will embark on a little Puglian road trip through the Salento and up to the Valle d’Itria. We will visit the stunning Baroque town of Lecce, the lovely Otranto and Ostuni, and the incredible trulli at Alberobello. We will visit the botanical gardens at Giardini Pistola- and pick a basket of flowers each from their cutting garden. And we might even squeeze in a dip in the azure sea at Baia dei Turchi.
ON our final day of workshops we will create summer meadow vibe table centres in the morning in rustic pottery vessels hand made by Waiheke Island potter Jane Burn. In the afternoon we will whip up a floral installation on the terrace …. and all these floral creations will decorate our farewell feast that night…
EXPLORE…
the dusty roads, ancient white washed and golden Baroque towns and azure coastline of Puglia- Otranto, Ostuni, Alberobello, Lecce and the Baia dei Turchi
SLOW FLOWERS…
these will be grown for us by the lovely Silvia from Giardino di Mafalda in Lazio- she will fill her car with buckets of her lovely blooms and bring them to us in Puglia
Then we will pick more from the cutting garden at local Puglian botanical garden Giardini Pistola
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Each Day Linger Over A Long AL FRESCO Italian Lunch. Relax By The Pool. Explore The Surrounding Countryside And Villages. End The Day With A Beautiful Dinner At Our Villa Or In A Local Restaurant…
All the lovely details…
Day One: Arrival Cocktails And Welcome Dinner
Arrive in the afternoon and settle in to your room…. Meet your fellow guests- enjoy a cocktail or two- while we chat about all the lovely workshops we have planned for the next few days… And then relax and enjoy classic Italian dishes and wines at our Welcome Dinner
Day Two: Morning WORKSHOP - Garden Blooms Hand Tied With Natural Dyed Silk Ribbons
Vicki and Lucy will chat to you about how to colour silk ribbons in dye baths made from natural pigments… and they will both demonstrate how to put together a lovely hand tied bouquet
Vicki from The Wildflower School will talk about her floral philosophy and demonstrate how she likes to create bouquets in an “undone” and painterly way, building layer upon layer… And Lucy will describe how the garden inspires her creations and how her process echoes is reminiscent of an operatic performance. Then we will each create a beautiful hand tied bouquet with flora sourced from a local tiny flower farm. Our creations will be evocative of the abundance of the season of Summer and the romance of the sun drenched Puglian countryside. The bouquets will be particularly inspired by the earthy tones of the silk ribbons we earlier coloured in dye baths concocted with natural ingredients - and by the way blooms grow in a tangled secret garden- in organic clusters, naturally- “unarranged”- wild and free!
Day Two: Afternoon
Following a photo shoot of your lovely bouquets, relax by the pool or venture our front door into the ancient streets of through our lovely small undiscovered town of Muro Lecesse
Day Three: SUMMER GARDEN URNS
The morning will begin with Lucy the Flower Hunter creating a beautiful urn arrangement- she will take us through her garden- inspired creative process and wow us with the her artistry and her ability to build an arrangement that looks like a small garden has grown naturally from the vessel. You will be transported by her lyrical description of how she creates a story with every arrangement.
Then, taking inspiration from Lucy, we will work in small groups to create larger scale arrangements in vessels- that will adorn our terrace…
In the afternoon, you may choose to join in on a little al fresco watercolour session where you can create a tiny memento of the workshop…. a small painting of a single boom, or arrangement, or perhaps a landscape.
Then relax, swim, explore…
Day Three: Late afternoon
A local Italian chef is coming to the palazzo to give us a cooking lesson! And after we have learnt how to make a pasta variety typical to the region, he will then prepare a beautiful Italian dinner for us…
Day Four: PUGLIA ROAD TRIP and Visit To A Local Flower Farm
We will head out into the Puglian countryside to visit some beautiful medieval and Baroque towns like Lecce, Otranto, Ostuni- and the village full of TRULLI- cone shaped buildings made of stone and typical of this area.
We will also see a bit of the stunning coastline at the beautiful Baia dei Turchi and maybe take a dip!
And we will visit Giardini Pistola…. a local Botanical Garden, where we can also pick a basket of flowers each from their cutting garden- and then take them back to the villa to create table centres for our final feast the next day….
Day 5: Summer Meadows Floral Installations WORKSHOP
MORNING - Overflowing Table Vessels
On the final day of workshops we will design and create floral adornments for our final feast….
Lucy and Vicki will demonstrate how to construct natural garden inspired spilling over table arrangements in pottery vessels made in Puglia.
Then , with the flowers you picked the day before at Giardini Pistola, you will each create your own table arrangement to be placed on our final feast table that evening….
AFTERNOON: Tablescape and SUMMER MEADOW inspired Floral Installation
Later in the day we will works as a group to decorate the outside terraza and the FINAL FEAST TABLE- our vases of summer blooms will be dotted along the table
And then we will work as a group to forage for foliage and wildflowers and create a wild floral installation “growing” up the gazebo pillars … our final farewell feast will be festooned with florals…
The FLORA IN ITALIA Workshop Is Suitable For All Skill Levels- From Those Who Have Merely Dabbled At Arranging Flowers At Home To Professional Botanical Stylists….. You Just Need To Love Flowers …. And Eating And Drinking And Soaking Up The Sunshine In Lovely Puglia!
BEGINNERS and FLORISTS…all welcome!
Explore…
On the Road trip day we will head for the Val d’Itrea in the north of Puglia to visit the trulli of Alberobello and a botanical garden, as well as the town of Ostuni for lunch…. and we may have time to call into some Salento highlights like Otranto and Lecce on the way there and back….
On the other days, after the workshops, you may wish to just relax in the gardens of the villa- or laze by the beautiful pool! Or you may want to wander in to the enticing streets of the lovely village right outside our door…. or if you have a rental car then the Salento region is full of lovely villages, Baroque towns and stunning coastline for you to explore…. here are a few suggestions…..
Explore… Local Places Nearby You May Wish To Visit:
MURO LECCESE: ( the village just outside our door) a charming and undiscovered ancient village in the heart of the Salento
OTRANTO: (15 minutes drive) a lovely town which sits right above the Atlantic, with a castle and stone wall and towers
BAIA DEI TURCHI: (20 minutes drive) a beautiful turquoise water bay just north of Otranto
LECCE: (20 minutes drive) is a beautiful city- with cool cafes and boutiques, elegant piazzas and beautiful Baroque buildings
GROTTA DELLE POESIA: (20 minutes drive) is a natural swimming pool between Otranto and Lecce and close by to the Faraglioni di Sant’ Andrea- limestone stacks in the azure sea
EAT… In
A simple breakfast will be laid out for you each day. Then after the morning workshops we will serve a lovely relaxed long lunch in the lovely palazzo dining room or al fresco on the terrazza in the shade of the gazebo. Three of the dinners will also be at our villa- The Welcome Dinner, the dinner cooked for us after our cooking lesson by a local Italian chef, and the Final Farewell Feast.
Our chef (my partner Mark- and trust me- he is a great cook!) will use local produce and create simple classic Italian dishes…all washed down with copious quantities of local wine- and Aperol Spritzes!
EAT…Out
On two evenings you will be free to choose where you would like to dine…. Muro Leccese has some lovely restaurants to choose from, so we may all just agree to meet at one of those…. or you can choose to do your own thing
INVESTMENT…
7300 NZD per person (or 6300 NZD per person for a shared room)
(NOTE: As at August 2024 7300 NZD is approximately equivalent to 6500 AUD/ 3400 GBP / 4000 Euros/ 4400 USD )
A deposit of 3000 NZD is due on booking to secure your place. A second payment of 2000.00 will be due by 1 December 2024. The final balance is due before 1 April 2025.
EARLY PAYMENT DISCOUNT option:
if you pay the full amount before 1 December 2024 you will receive a 300NZD discount. You may prefer to pay the FULL amount (less the discount) immediately- this maybe be beneficial especially to those making international transfers
OR please pay the 3000NZD deposit immediately to secure your place- and the balance (after discount) before 1 December this year in order to receive the discount
“WILDFLOWER SHOOL FAMILY” Discount: if you have attended a Wildflower School course or workshop in the past please enquire about this discount
ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS:
QUEEN rooms: 7300NZD for one occupant. If you are sharing with a partner or friend who is also participating in the workshop then the per person cost is reduced to 6300 NZD each
( NOTE: if your partner or friend is NOT planning to participate in the floral workshops then the reduced rate for them for room and board only will be 4000NZD)
SHARING a ROOM (rooms with twin beds): the per person cost will be reduced to 6300NZD per person. ( NOTE: if the person sharing your room is a friend who is NOT planning to participate in the floral workshops then the reduced rate for them for room and board only will be 4000NZD)
NOTE: Rooms are booking fast! At this stage we still have the options of you choosing either a Private Room or a Shared Twin Room- however all the rooms that are still available have a SHARED bathroom (but shared with only one other room/person). Renovated 16th century buildings don’t allow for ensuites in every room!
Please note: we have already reached our minimum required number of bookings- so FLORA IN ITALIA is definitely confirmed- we are off to Puglia- and cant wait!! If you don’t want to miss out contact us ASAP
Payments are NOT refundable now that we have confirmed the trip is fully booked and going ahead. This is because we, and other attendees, have already committed to large expenditure for accommodation and airfares etc, so we are unfortunately not able to offer refunds as that would jeopardise the viability of running the workshop. However if due to unforeseen circumstances you are unable to attend, you can arrange for your place to be transferred to another person whom you have found to take your place- and please let Wildflower know.
Please keep this in mind when booking flights- and we highly recommend you take out travel insurance IMMEDIATELY on payment of your deposit to us!
Included
accommodation for 5 nights - Arrival after 4pm please on the 9th of June and Departure before 11am on the 14th of June
and a welcome dinner on the first evening- so we can all get to know each other!
5 simple breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners, wines and other beverages for all meals at the palazzo
a tote bag with linen apron and other gifts
a pottery vessel made in Puglia
use of watercolour paints, brushes
all flowers, foliage and use of florist tools, materials and equipment
silk and natural dyes to hand make ribbons
an Italian cookery lesson
a road trip to Alberobello and other Puglian towns and a flower picking experience at Giardini Pistola (we may do this in convoy in all our rental cars)
Not Included
travel to Italy
travel insurance
transfers to the accommodation- though once you have booked we will send information on the closest train stations etc- and if you don’t have a rental car we will try and pick you up if at all possible
car hire- NOTE: we highly recommend you hire a car if you want the freedom to take off and explore in the afternoons
Register interest below or email me on vicki@thewildflowerschool.co.nz to make a booking
or phone for a chat on 0274420787
We can’t wait to see you in Italy!
CIAO
Vicki xxx
Register interest in joining our WAITING LIST using the button below
Or email VICKI@THEWILDFLOWERSCHOOL.CO.NZ to ask to join our MAILING LIST