I’ve enjoyed another wonderful summer working with the Kids’ Club, and also providing one-on-one tuition for adults.

I introduced the children to Hapa Zome – a Japanese printing technique that involves placing fresh flowers or leaves on paper or fabric, then using a mallet or hammer to pound them, transferring the plants’ pigments and creating colourful imprints that capture the colours and shapes of the plants used.

We experimented with a selection of dye plants from our garden and achieved amazing results pounding on paper, silk and cotton.

Fresh coreopsis flower from my dye garden.

Below, pounded coreopsis petals on paper look beautiful in a hanging frame.

Below, pounded cosmos on paper, also look beautiful in a hanging frame.

My granddaughter Isla is modelling a cotton T-shirt pounded using cosmos petals.

Below bookmark showing front and back, pounded coreopsis petals.

We also pounded violas, cosmos, asparagus fern, ferns, yellow cosmos and yarrow leaves, making greeting cards and gift tags. Each bookmark has a small description on the back stating what the flower symbolizes.

Hapa Zome has its roots in Japan, but is now done all over the world. It is a wonderful way to use flowers and leaves from your garden or local area, allowing you to work in a very sustainable way. It is a celebration of nature’s beauty and an enjoyable and creative way to connect with nature for adults and children alike.

If you would like to book a one-on-one or two-on-one session in the spring/summer of 2026. Gathering flowers from my dye garden. Approximately 2.5 hours £40 individual session or £35.00 for 2 people. Includes tea/coffee cake.

Gift vouchers available. email: [email protected]