I’ve got a bit of a love affair going on with flowers, and it’s growing stronger by the day. I’ve always been an admirer of all things floral, but I think it was around the time that I had Oscar, and I started using Instagram regularly, that I really fell head over heels. When Osc was tiny, like so many other parents I used to go for daily long, long walks with the pram, as for a while it was the only place he’d settle in the daytime. Our walk usually took us past one of the two street flower stalls in York, and treating myself to a bunch of blooms became a bit of a tradition that has stayed with me since then. Rather than buying a pretty mixed posy, I tended to go for one or two different types of stem, usually inexpensive types, and often a bunch of foliage such as ruscus or eucalyptus too. I loved taking them home, unwrapping them and having five quiet minutes to myself to trim each stem and arrange them, appreciating each bloom. It was my little bit of mindfulness in the midst of a chaotic day.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I love a floral wreath or crown, and with the summer solstice coming up soon I thought it would be nice to share with you how to make your own floral crown to wear. It’s so simple to do, I promise! In Sweden, the summer solstice is widely celebrated and it’s a tradition for women to make and wear floral crowns. That’s a good enough reason for me to as well! I actually took these photos quite a while back, but I never made use of them. I’m going to be making another floral crown this year though, and I will share the finished result on my Instagram – I’m thinking bigger and blousier than the ones I’ve made before!

| How to make your own floral crown

What you’ll need:

• A selection of blooms and foliage of varying sizes and complementary colours. I used garden roses, stocks, sweet william, astilbe and jasmine, which are all available at this time of year. Try foraging in your own garden for supplies – you only need a couple of sprigs of each variety.
• A short section of stiff florists wire (or any covered wire), cut to length to fit over your head from ear to ear, like an alice band.
• Florists tape
• Scissors or secateurs
• A length of ribbon, around 1m long
• Some thin florists wire to secure and larger flower buds (optional)

Florists tape and wire can be found in craft stores or online – I bought mine from Hobbycraft.

| Step 1

Cut your blooms to length. Aim for a 1-2 inch stem. Shorter stems will make a neat, compact crown (but make sure they are still long enough to tape down!) while longer stems, or those of varying length will make a more wild-looking crown.

| Step 2

If you have any larger blooms it can hep to anchor them with thin wire, although you don’t have to do this. Cut around 4 inches or wire and bend in half, like a hair grip. Insert into the centre of the flower, from front to back, and pull so that the wire is concealed. Twist the wire ends. You now have a flower head on a wire stem, which is easier to build into your crown and bend into position.

| Step 3

Take your stiff wire, which is now shaped like an alice band. Wrap the ribbon around the wire, starting from the centre outwards, and tape into place. You should have enough free ribbon on each end to tie around the back of your head.

| Step 4

Start to build your flower crown!

And there you have it! One flower crown, perfect for wearing for summer solstice celebrations, music festivals, photo shoots or just to do the washing up! I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this and feel inspired to give it a go; if you do make your own floral crown I would absolutely love to see it! You can share it with me by tagging me in your photo on Instagram – I’m @hannah.straughan. I’m thinking of doing a similar post to show you how to make your own winter wreath; it’s using a different method to this, it’s super simple and looks amazing. Let me know if that’s something you’d like to see!

Hannah x