Lise-Lotte’s Petal Potluck

Steps for Hosting your Petal Potluck:

1) Send out your invitation

For example:

I hope you can join me on (date and time) at (place) for a Petal Potluck. Please bring some flowers, branches, seed pods, or greenery to share. As well, please bring a vase that you don’t want anymore, you will not be getting it back. We will make a beautiful flower arrangement and then you will be giving it to someone at the party and receiving one from someone to take home. I will have extra vases if you don’t have one to bring as well as snips and clippers for the stems. If you have favourite snips or extras, please bring them! RSVP to (you) by (date). I look forward to having fun with flowers, my friends!

2) Collect

• Clean vases
• Snips
• Clippers
• A roll of clear tape (if using)
• Possibly a table cloth
• Print out or write your discussion questions and cut them up and put them in something (pouch, tea cosy, hat, bowl)
• A little first aid kit (I needed a bandaid for someone who was reminded about how sharp a thorn on a rose is)

3) Plan whatever you are providing for drinks and eats, buy, make, etc

4) Make the envelopes to give out after you and your friends are finished their arranging. Write each friend’s name on a slip of paper, place inside a blank envelope. Then label the envelopes with another friend’s name. Each envelope will have a different name on the outside than the name on the slip on the inside.

Before the party:

1) Organize a table with extra vases and water jugs to fill the vases your friends bring.

2) Set up table with table cloth, some snips, clippers or garden shears, and tape for your friends to use.

3) Have a bucket for all the clippings to go to the compost.

4) Have a place where you have put out some empty buckets and jars filled with clean water — ready to receive the flowers and greenery your friends bring.

5) Here is the list of questions I have used at my party — use these or perhaps it prompts some questions of your own:

The Party

• Guests Arrive. Invite your guests to place their flowers in the buckets of fresh water you have prepared.
• Guests choose the vase and place at the table where they are going to work.
• Offer guests drinks and appetizers.
• When everyone is ready they can move to the table. Welcome your guests and introduce the activity.
• Provide the instructions (included in the video below).
• Remind your guests that the arrangement they make will go home with someone else.
• When everyone is finished making their arrangement, pass out the envelopes.
• Everyone gives and receives their arrangements.
• As you move to the dinner table, you can place all the arrangements down the centre of the table. Tuck the name under the vase so that everyone can remember which one is theirs to take home.
• Dinner is served.
• Introduce the discussion topics and have your first guest pick their topic from the bag. They then answer the question (there are no right or wrong answers). Once they are done, they will pass the bag along to the next person (this is described in the first video above).
• Enjoy the rest of the evening and being in the presence of your friends.

Steps for Success

In the video below you will learn what you need to know about flower arranging and the overall process so you can host a successful party.

These are flowers, you can’t go wrong. Let people know that there will be no judgement. This is NOT a contest — it’s a safe place where you can arrange flowers with the fun challenges that you are using a new-to-you vase and possibly flowers you are unfamiliar with — everyone has those same challenges. Be present to your friend’s experience ~ have fun yourself!