Christchurch is the largest, most populous city on New Zealand’s South Island, and has been continuously inhabited by human beings for at least the past thousand years. Although back then, Christchurch’s occupants lived in temporary dwellings and hunted the moa, a massive, now-extinct flightless bird, today’s Christchurch is a massive, bustling metropolis that epitomises everything that’s great about New Zealand and its culture. The clean, crisp mountain air, laid-back people and agriculture-based economy entice millions of tourists from around the world to come to Christchurch every year—but that’s not all the beautiful city has to offer. Thanks to New Zealand’s wet climate and lack of airborne pollutants, the same soil that nourishes much of the South Island’s agricultural industry nurtures beautiful flowers as well. Christchurch’s public spaces feature many elaborate flower gardens, such as the central, thriving City Mall, which displays garden boxes and painstakingly maintained flower beds among a variety of trees. New Zealand’s plant life is vivacious and beautiful to behold, and you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy a florist in Christchurch, such as Charmed Flowers.
Types of Floral Arrangements
Floristry, the profession of cultivating, arranging and selling flowers for their aesthetic and aromatic qualities, has a long, storied history that predates the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand. There are a few schools of floral design, none of which is superior to any other, and it’s worth familiarising yourself with them before you go on your next flower shopping trip.
English Garden
The English Garden school of floral design emphasises the use of seasonal flowers and linear arrangements, with stems placed in a radial fashion. Generally, the English Garden style of floristry features low, tufted mounds of flowers or taller vase-based arrangements, with heavy use of garden-variety flowers like roses and gardenias. This is the floral style most often used in the Anglosphere and in the British Commonwealth, so if you go to a florist in Christchurch like Charmed Flowers it’s likely that they’ll be using the English Garden style for a few of their arrangements.
Ikebana
Thanks to Christchurch’s sizeable Asian population, some of the features of Asian floristry have made an appearance in Christchurch in recent years, and have been extremely well received as a result. The Ikebana style, which originated in Japan, is simplistic in design, embracing basic lines and forms for the flower arrangements. Prior to the commercialisation of floristry, it was primarily practiced by individuals for their own relaxation and personal enjoyment.
European Style
Another style of floral arrangement popular in New Zealand embraces the modernism of twentieth-century European fashion and applies it to the world of floral arrangement. A florist in Christchurch who practices the European style will use asymmetrical arrangements to highlight the unique features of individual flowers or flower species and experiment with colour and texture. Many of these designs incorporate exotic flowers and dramatic, bold spaces between them, and this avant-garde style is absolutely perfect for unorthodox occasions like non-traditional weddings or as a visual complement to a bohemian household.
