Turning the dusty image of dried flowers into creative beauties |30 April 2021
With a deep love for nature, Rochelle Buisson, who has a special connection to the Seychelles, shares with us her unique story about she how she uses flowers for mental, physical and emotional wellbeing – a passion which she hopes to one day develop by collaborating with other creative individuals in Seychelles.
Seychelles NATION: Tell us about your connection to Seychelles and what inspired your love for flowers.
Rochelle Buisson: My love of dried flowers comes from a more general love of flowers, nature and the outside world – a gift passed down from my late grandmother and my father – both Seychellois, and both extremely keen gardeners and plant admirers.
My Seychellois grandparents moved to the United Kingdom (UK) when my father was a young boy. Here he met and married my British mother. The UK is where I live and was brought up, although I have always felt that my heart and soul belongs in the Seychelles, and I dream of one day returning and creating my own roots in this special part of the world. I am a sun seeker, an ocean lover, a nature worshipper, and the islands have a deep calling within me.
Several years ago I suffered with poor mental health, and part of my healing journey was creating an outdoor bathing area in my garden! I longed to be submerged in warm waters surrounded by the love of nature – this is my ultimate sacred space. To me there is nothing else like it.
It's become the place I can fully surrender, let go, relax, feel the love and spend time alone away from the busy world. I surrounded myself with plants and flowers in the garden, and began playing with putting different flowers, herbs and salts in the water, creating different rituals using crystals, mantras and meditations.
I have always adored flowers, their vast array of colours, shapes, patterns and scents; each one so uniquely beautiful – a miracle, a kiss from mother earth. I find them mesmerizing, so grounding, so much love and beauty within them.
Given my passion for the natural world and how much it shares and gives, together with feeling such a strong connection with my Seychellois heritage and wanting to protect such precious beauty, I plan to donate 5% from everything I sell to The Ocean Project Seychelles. Donating to charity and working to protect our precious planet have always been something I wanted to do through sharing my own creations.
Seychelles NATION: How did you start experimenting with dried flowers? What is it that you love about them?
Rochelle Buisson: I love growing flowers, buying them, receiving them, giving them, and having them in my home, but feel a heavy heart when they start to wilt. So I started to experiment with keeping some, removing them from the water before they go over, and letting them dry out to see what they evolve into next.
To me, being part of the life cycle of a flower is a beautiful ritual in itself. I love the longevity and sustainability of dried flowers. I love seeing their beauty evolve into something new and unpredicted, and I love continuing the magical essence of flowers beyond their freshness; this enables having blooms like roses beyond their growing season and into the depths of winter!
Last year I began keeping flowers, foraging wild flowers and collecting fallen petals. There was no purpose other than seeing what happened, perhaps keeping them in a vase in the house, sprinkling them in the bath if suitable, or using them to adorn my altar.
At Christmas time I received a kit to make a wreath using fresh and dried flowers. I had such joy making and displaying this, adding extra bits that I’d collected over the year. After Christmas, as the flowers had become weathered, it had evolved into something new, but I didn’t want to take it down!
It brought me so much joy, especially during the darker, colder winter months during lockdown; going for a walk and returning home to some uplifting flowers always put a smile on my face. So I decided to refresh it and add in some lighter spring tones. To my surprise it got so many compliments and people making requests.
So I then decided to buy some dried flowers and experiment some more! Dried flowers are easy to source in the UK, and for me being able to work with one of my favourite materials, in a way that I wasn’t pressured by a short shelf life like fresh flowers, was appealing. I could take my time, finding freedom to get creative, and make something that would last beyond a few days/a week.
To my delight, I created little bunches that were quite wild and rustic, a chakra flower range, cards and some spring wreaths, all with an accompanying positive affirmation or uplifting message – and others loved them as much as me! I just love the magic of following something you love, not knowing where it will take you, and seeing it evolve into something you could never have imagined.
Seychelles NATION: For our readers who might be interested in starting to dry their own flowers, can you share some of your knowledge and advice?
Rochelle Buisson: When it comes to drying and arranging flowers, I am no expert! But that to me is the beauty, the wonder, the curiosity, the experimentation – watching something so beautiful come to life and then evolve into something else.
Some blooms dry well, others don't – it’s all a bit of a playful experiment! Some things I've discovered so far along the way:
- Being mindful and checking any particular plants used with relevant experts to ensure they are safe to use
- Keeping flowers that are drying in the dark
- Hanging them upside down with space around them to help keep their shape
- Allowing plenty of air to circulate
- Keeping them dry
- Keeping them out of direct sunlight to avoid fading
- They are very delicate once dry
- Different dried flowers will behave in different ways; while they last much longer than fresh, some will last longer than others, and they won’t last forever
- Not all flowers will dry well
- Some of my favourites that I’ve found dry well for me are roses (or rose petals), eucalyptus, hydrangea, lavender, calendula and grasses
- The whole process is very creative, exploratory and subjective – to one person a dried Bird of Paradise may look nice, and to someone else, not!
My advice for anyone wanting to get into dried flowers is to experiment, play, and see what happens. Fall in love with the process of admiring and watching flowers and how they change! Fall in love with the simplicity and beauty of it all. Find acceptance and surrender that these beautiful items are such gifts however they choose to be. If we can enjoy them growing, cut or dried, it’s all a bonus.
Also play around with what you want to create. I sometimes loosely use the hand-tied flower technique, but sometimes I prefer to start putting flowers in vases and seeing how they turn out, adding bits here and there.
I've watched videos and been to classes about putting together bunches of flowers, but it never really clicked until I let myself find the freedom to play and see what worked for me. I wasn't very good at following demos or ‘how to's’ - sometimes we need to find our own rhythm and let go of a pressure for something to be a certain way, and in that freedom we can find so much bliss.
Seychelles NATION: With such a great passion for flowers, what are your hopes for the future?
Rochelle Buisson: Flowers will always be so close to my heart because of all they represent and how they make me feel. As I'm in the first stages of sharing my new venture – Rituals by Rochelle – wellness inspired by the earth and the moon, I'm excited to see where my passion for flowers takes me.
I'm already planning to share a dried flower bath ritual, and I’m thinking about flower themed yoga, bath ritual circles, pop-up outdoor bathing, and sharing guides and videos on creating rituals and sacred spaces to make you feel great!
I’ve met some wonderful people in the Seychelles online, doing beautiful, creative and soul-nurturing things, and I’d love to come and experience them for myself, and perhaps bring and share my work to collaborate with these inspiring individuals one day.
In the meantime, I would love to hear from people and chat all things Seychelles, flowers and wellness with anyone who would like to get in touch.
For more information, contact Rochelle Buisson on Instagram: @RitualsbyRochelle and @RochelleBuisson
F. P.
Photo sources: Rochelle Buisson
