Guest Feature by The Italian Florist

The Italian Florist is me, Andrea Bassoli, a guy that moved to London 10 years ago from the North of Italy with an aspiration to learn from the very best florists in the city, including McQueen’s Flowers, who is an East London neighbour to Strazzanti.

My journey in floristry has fortunately taken me all over the world where I have taught flower classes, workshops, organised major events and many weddings, decorated different luxury hotels, and created several retail collections and bestselling bouquets. This is my heart and soul.

It led me today to launch my consultancy business, The Italian Florist, helping florist business become sustainable, profitable and efficient with fun projects on the side like this wonderful Mother’s Day collaboration with Strazzanti.

I was so excited to be part of this, working with the sisters to create an authentic, exclusive bouquet that was inspired by the iconic land of Sicily but with a modern feeling reflective of their characters, whilst being thoughtful to keeping the design sustainable, using seasonally available stems and recyclable packaging.

I named this Mother’s Day bouquet “Ciuri Ciuri” like the song, which in Sicilian means “Flowers Flowers”. I wanted to create an eclectic and colourful mix inspired by the native blooms and plants of Sicily, with a special ode to Narcissi, one of the most precious of these. They are bound together with camomile and eucalyptus to recreate the feeling of the Mediterranean wildness directly into your home.

Although tulips are not necessarily found in Sicily, they represent spring and mean “deep love” and Narcissi means “respect” so together it’s the perfect combo for this special celebration.

Tips

I often get asked about how to help your floral arrangement last longer. Quite simply change the water every second day, and recut the stems a couple of centimeters to extend the life of the flowers. It’s not necessary to apply a slanting cut, it could be straight cut and the flowers will last the same time!