April Guest Gardener

Pressed Flowers

Sit down chat with the fabulous Fi McDougall from Wilder Frame

Tell us a bit about Wilder Frame and how you started it

Wilder Frame is my creative floral project. It started when my second child was a few months old. We were still in lockdown and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and lost: we’d left our flat and moved in with my parents and everything felt a bit out of control. I started gardening and I found my childhood flower press and spent the days pressing flowers with my daughter.

It is such a gentle, mindful activity and it reignited all the dormant creative impulses. I set up an Instagram account expecting nothing from it but I found some fellow flower fans and with encouragement from family and friends I slowly started offering a few cards for sale. Pressed flower artworks, workshops, painted frames and metalwork all followed!

I’m also really lucky to have had some wonderful local supporters early on who stocked cards and artworks and I’ve loved being able to meet fellow makers and flower enthusiasts at markets, flower pressing workshops and exhibitions. I’m constantly astounded by our local tapestry of creative, entrepreneurial people who are so supportive and generous with their time and wisdom.

What do you love most about what you do?

Flowers are an absurdly beautiful thing to work with, and opening a press is incredibly exciting. (Or incredibly disappointing when all the flowers have moulded!).

I’ve really enjoyed helping some lovely brides to preserve their bouquets. It is a huge honour to be trusted with creating a special memory.

But mostly I thrive on the variety; gardening (all the flowers I use- unless for a bride- are from my garden), painting and making frames, creating the artworks… and it all fits in nicely with family life.

You’ve experimented with a few different mediums using flowers, is there one you prefer and why?

I think one of my problems is that I love trying new things and can get bored quite quickly so I’m not very good at sticking to one medium!

What are the best flowers to press in Spring?

Spring is a lovely time to start pressing wild flowers. Primroses, violets, bluebells and wood anemones are some of my favourites. It’s a really lovely way to capture everything waking up and to celebrate colour creeping back into the garden.

But my absolute favourite is the snake’s head fritillary with its distinctive checkerboard pattern. They seem to be growing happily in the dappled shade of their clay-heavy patch at home, and their arrival each year brings me so much joy! They have started flowing in earnest this week so I’m looking forward to getting some in the presses!

Spring is also the time I start getting annual seeds ready and I always include some of my favourites for pressing. Sweet peas, cosmos and nasturtiums are always reliable.

We also sow a small wild meadow patch for the bees and for the press! They are easy to grow but so rewarding and cornflowers and poppies are pressing stars. Wildflower have some great options.

What do you have coming up exhibition wise?

I currently have a selection of work on display at Hangar Framing in East Lothian, including my first collection of brass pot plants. I’m also very excited to be installing a new collection at Restoration Yard with Katy Eccles of Imprint Casts. We are also hosting a weekend of pressing and casting workshops on 20th and 21st April. We are both former teachers as well as flower enthusiasts and really relish the opportunity to connect with people and share whatever knowledge we can.

I have some other exciting exhibitions and launches locally and further afield over the summer so do follow @wilderframe on Instagram for more information!

Any tips for people trying to press flowers at home?

Just get going! Simple flower presses are readily available, but big heavy books in warm dry places can work just as well. Look for flowers with leaves that are relatively two dimensional and not too waxy or juicy. Always make sure they are sandwiched between absorbent sheets of paper and leave them for at least two weeks.

The Natural History Museum have some great introductory tips!

If you’re gathering wildflowers away from home, just make sure you have permission and are mindful of local foraging laws!