The Botanica Studio

The Botanica Studio Botanica & Field offers wildcraft workshops in London and grows seasonal plants in Suffolk. We create wearable art made to enchant & inspire

We create nature-inspired pressed flower art and hand-illustrated silk prints that celebrate slow living, creativity, and the beauty of the natural world. LUXURY BRITISH ACCESSORIES, proud to say our silk scarves are designed, printed and handmade in England.

13/08/2026

🌻 HOW TO DRY SUNFLOWERS IN SILICA - SAVE THESE TIPS!

Sunflowers can be tricky to preserve because they’re thick, moisture-heavy flowers, but silica gel is one of my favourite methods when I want to retain their 3D shape, colour and detail rather than press them flat.

Here are my top tips:

🌻 1. Start with the right flower
Choose a fresh sunflower before it begins to wilt or drop petals. The better it looks going in, the better your dried result is likely to be.

✂️ 2. Trim the stem short
Removing most of the stem makes the flower much easier to completely surround with silica.

🤍 3. Create a bed of silica first
Add a layer to the bottom of your airtight container before placing the sunflower in.

🌻 4. Place it face-up
This gives you more control over the petals and helps protect the shape of the flower head. If you want a 3d flower but with a slightly flatter look you can face the front side down.

🥄 5. Add the silica VERY slowly
This is probably my biggest tip. Gently pour it around and between the petals rather than dumping it over the top. You want the silica to support the flower, not squash it.

🤍 6. Make sure every part is covered
Silica needs to surround the whole flower to draw out the moisture evenly especially that thick sunflower centre.

⏳ 7. Don’t rush the reveal
Large, dense flowers take longer than delicate blooms. Check carefully rather than pulling it out too early.

♻️ 8. Look after your silica
Keep it dry and regenerate it when needed so you can use it again and again.

For this one I’m using Wisedry silica gel. I really like it for flower preservation because it’s incredibly straightforward to use and the colour indicator lets you see when the silica has absorbed moisture and needs regenerating - particularly useful if you preserve a lot of flowers.

The reveal is always my favourite part… 🌻

SAVE this for sunflower season and follow for more flower growing, pressing & preservation tips 🌿 or come and join us in person to learn yourself at our London workshop, or for your private event 🌿 thanks for following along on our journey 🤍

What a gorgeous afternoon celebrating Louise’s hen do! 🌸🥂Last weekend we headed to Lucy Wong in London for a private pre...
12/08/2026

What a gorgeous afternoon celebrating Louise’s hen do! 🌸🥂

Last weekend we headed to Lucy Wong in London for a private pressed flower workshop and what a setting! Huge credit to Gabby for organising the day and finding such a fabulous venue. ✨

With cocktails flowing in their private space, everyone got creative with our pressed flowers and made their own completely unique botanical artwork to take home. And just LOOK at the results 😍🌿 We genuinely adore them all, it’s always amazing to see how differently everyone uses the same collection of flowers.

A big thank you to our wonderful Gina, who joined us to teach the workshop and help guide everyone through creating their pieces. 💚

Now we want to know… which artwork is your favourite, and why? 👀🌸 Tell us in the comments we’d love to hear which one you’d take home!

Planning a hen do, birthday or special celebration in London? We can bring our botanical workshops to your chosen venue. (Or our venue!) 🌿

27/07/2026

Some flowers completely surprise you when you press them…

This one transformed into delicate, paper-thin layers with lots of beautiful details. It’s one of those flowers that reminds me why I never judge a bloom by how it looks fresh.

If you’re hoping for better results when pressing flowers, here are a few things that make the biggest difference:

🌿 Pick flowers on a dry day with as little moisture as possible.
🌿 Press them as soon as you can after picking.
🌿 Avoid overcrowding your press so air can circulate.
🌿 Be patient as good pressing is worth the wait.

Save this reel for your next flower pressing session, and if you’d like to learn with me in person or book a private event, our pressed flower workshops are linked in my bio. 🌸

24/07/2026

The flower on the right was picked fresh.

The flower on the left was simply air dried - no silica gel, no special equipment, just patience.

If you’d like to dry your own dahlias, here are a few tips:

🌿 Pick flowers on a dry day after the morning dew has evaporated.
🌸 Choose blooms that have just fully opened - they’ll hold their shape much better than older flowers.
✂️ Remove most of the leaves from the stem.
🪢 Hang them upside down in small bunches somewhere dark, dry and well ventilated.
⏳ Leave them for 2–4 weeks until they feel papery to the touch.
☀️ Keep them out of direct sunlight to help preserve as much colour as possible.

Not every variety dries beautifully, but when they do, they’re a lovely way to enjoy your garden long after summer has faded.

💚 Save this post for dahlia season and let me know do you prefer them fresh or dried? 🌸

24/07/2026

How do dahlias get this big? 🌸

It’s not just luck.

A few things make a huge difference:

🌱 Plant in rich, well-fed soil.
💧 Water deeply rather than little and often.
☀️ Give them as much sun as possible.
🌼 Remove side buds if you’re growing for giant blooms (this lets the plant put all its energy into one flower). - we didn’t even do this bit!!
🍅 Feed regularly once buds begin to form.
✂️ Keep cutting flowers it encourages the plant to keep producing. - this step is gold!

Seeing blooms like this never gets old.

🌸 Save this post for next year’s dahlia season and tell me… what’s the biggest dahlia you’ve ever grown?

24/07/2026

How do dahlias get this big? 🌸

It’s not just luck.

A few things make a huge difference:

🌱 Plant in rich, well-fed soil.
💧 Water deeply rather than little and often.
☀️ Give them as much sun as possible.
🌼 Remove side buds if you’re growing for giant blooms (this lets the plant put all its energy into one flower). - we didn’t even do this step for this one but we did pick out blooms early on!
🍅 Feed regularly once buds begin to form.
✂️ Keep cutting flowers it encourages the plant to keep producing - this feels wrong but trust me you’ll get more and more blooms it’s amazing!
Seeing blooms like this never gets old!

🌸 Save this post for next year’s dahlia season and tell me… what’s the biggest dahlia you’ve ever grown?

A beautiful evening by the Thames ✨Last week’s Pressed Flower Sunsets by the Thames workshop at The Oystercatcher was su...
22/07/2026

A beautiful evening by the Thames ✨

Last week’s Pressed Flower Sunsets by the Thames workshop at The Oystercatcher was such a lovely evening. It was wonderful to see everyone creating their own botanical sunset inspired by the river and Canary Wharf, all whilst overlooking the Thames itself. 🌿🌅

👉 Swipe to see some of the beautiful artwork everyone created! Each piece is completely unique, despite everyone using the same techniques and botanical materials.

We’re excited to share that this workshop is now available to book for private events at The Oystercatcher!

Perfect for:
🌿 Team building & corporate wellbeing
🥂 Birthdays & celebrations
💍 Hen parties
🎉 Private groups & client events

As an added bonus, The Oystercatcher are generously offering an exclusive 20% discount on food for midweek private bookings, making it the perfect opportunity to enjoy a meal together before or after your workshop.

If you’re looking for a relaxed, creative experience in a beautiful riverside setting, we’d love to welcome you.

✨ Enquire via the link in our bio to book your private event.

20/07/2026

Nature is the artist. 🌿✨

One of my favourite workshops because every print is completely unique. Simply place a leaf or flower onto paper or fabric and gently hammer to reveal the beautiful natural pigments hidden inside.

💚 Top tip: Fresh, colourful leaves with plenty of moisture usually give the strongest prints. Don’t be afraid to experiment every leaf and flower creates a different print, and sometimes the unexpected ones are the most beautiful. Not all flowers will print and some are better than others but it’s all part of the fun! For the natural pigment to stay we use a tannin and mordant to enhance the colours and make them stick ✨

🌿 We run this botanical hammer printing workshop every month, or gather your friends, family or colleagues and book a private group workshop perfect for hen parties, birthdays, team-building events and other celebrations.

💾 Save this post for your next nature walk, and if you’d like to try it with us, you’ll find all our upcoming workshops and private booking information via the link in our bio.

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London
SE185NR

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

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