Grower News

New book from Appassionata founder Ruth Monahan features floral displays in diverse locations sround the country Wild flowers foraged in the west and photographed in Glendalough The language of flowers may be eloquent, but making floral short stories pushes the craft of floristry in imaginative new directions. “A florist is someone who is addicted to flowers – it’s a vocation,” says Ruth Monahan, founder of Appassionata Flowers in Dublin and the author of a visually exciting new book called Blathanna: Irish Spaces in Flower. She describes it as a “playful work with flowers … and the magic that can be conveyed when artistic vision meets a deep knowledge of flora and understanding of space.” The book features spectacular displays of seasonal blooms in diverse locations all over Ireland – the cover shot of a currach laden with native Irish flora foraged in the west, anchored in the middle of Glendalough Lake, is one of the more striking. Monahan exchanged a career in television production for one in floristry, training at the McQueen school in London before setting up Appassionata in Dublin in a small kitchen with her partner Ultan Devaney, who is now her husband and chief financial officer of the company. Well known for her artistry, Monahan was responsible for outstanding displays for the visits of US president Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth. Ruth Monaghan, Ultan Devaney and Kasia Skopinska Appassionata caters for both public and private clients from a studio in Cumberland Street, with shops in Clarendon Street and Cornelscourt employing more than 25 people, including three French florists. In France, Monahan points out, you cannot practise as a florist without a horticultural degree. The book is a natural outcome of 15 years in business and is a collaboration between her, Devaney, and her creative director Kasia Skopinska, who she has worked with for more than a decade. Photography is by her sister Yvette and her husband Sean Breithhaupt. Skopinsk,a who grew up on a third-generation flower farm in her native Poland, has an MSc in horticulture, plant protection and dendrology, and her background as a flower […]

Source: www.irishtimes.com