Flower Crowns: A Celebration of Nature, Ritual and Seasonal Joy
- Elizabeth
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Flower crowns have been made for as long as people have gathered plants to mark the turning of the seasons. Made from living plants, gathered by hand and woven together slowly, they feel both joyful and meaningful, a quiet celebration of the season we are in.
Long before flower crowns became part of modern festivals, weddings or summer gatherings, they were deeply rooted in pagan and pre‑Christian traditions. They were created not just to be worn, but to mark moments in the year when nature was changing, abundance was rising, and people came together to honour the land.
As we launch our first Flower Crown Workshop of 2026 at Birch Farm, it feels like a natural moment to explore where this tradition comes from, and why it continues to resonate so strongly today.
Roots in Pagan and Pre‑Christian Traditions
In many ancient cultures, flowers and foliage were never simply decorative. They were seen as vessels of energy, protection and intention. Across Europe, long before Christianity, people marked the turning of the seasons with rituals that celebrated fertility, growth, abundance and the cyclical nature of life.
Flower crowns were often worn during festivals that welcomed summer, particularly around Beltane (1st May) and Midsummer. These moments in the year celebrated light, warmth and the peak of nature’s vitality.
To wear flowers at these times was to place oneself inside the season rather than apart from it.
Crowns made from hawthorn, daisies, roses, herbs and wildflowers were believed to:
Honour the land and its spirits
Invite fertility and abundance
Offer protection and good fortune
Symbolise renewal, youth and possibility
The circular shape itself was significant. A crown has no beginning or end, echoing ideas of continuity, cycles and eternal return — themes that sit at the heart of pagan belief systems.
Flowers as Symbols, Not Ornaments
Each flower carried its own meaning. This wasn’t about aesthetics alone, it was a quiet language, understood through tradition and observation.
Hawthorn was linked with May Day and the threshold between worlds
Daisies symbolised innocence and new beginnings
Roses spoke of love, devotion and desire
Herbs such as rosemary, thyme and lavender were used for clarity, protection and remembrance
Wearing a crown made from these plants was a way of carrying their symbolism with you — a form of embodied ritual rather than something observed from a distance.
Community, Celebration and Making Together
Historically, flower crowns were rarely made alone. They were created in groups, by women, children, families and villages, often accompanied by song, food and shared labour. The act of gathering flowers, weaving them together and placing them on one another’s heads was as important as the finished crown itself.
This communal making fostered connection:
To the land
To one another
To the moment in the seasonal calendar
It’s something that feels increasingly relevant today, when many of us are craving slower, more tactile experiences that bring us back into rhythm with nature.
Why Flower Crowns Still Matter
In a modern context, making a flower crown can feel like a small act, but it carries echoes of something much older. It asks us to pause, notice what is growing, and work with materials that are impermanent and alive.
There is no pressure for perfection. Flowers wilt, stems snap, crowns loosen and shift. And that is part of the point. The beauty lies in the process and the presence it invites.
When you wear a flower crown, even briefly, you step into a lineage of seasonal celebration that stretches back thousands of years. It is playful, yes, but also meaningful, rooted, and quietly radical in its refusal to rush.
Our Flower Crown Workshop at Birch Farm
At Birch Farm, our Flower Crown Workshop draws inspiration from these traditions while offering a relaxed, welcoming space to create something beautiful.
You’ll wander the flower beds, cut your own blooms, and be guided through the process of making your crown by hand. There will be time to sit, talk, make, and simply enjoy being here, with refreshments, homemade cake, and a glass of something cold and celebratory if you wish.
No prior experience is needed. Just curiosity, and a willingness to spend a few hours immersed in flowers, stories and the season we are in.
A flower crown is, by its nature, temporary, shaped by the season, the weather and the plants themselves. But the feeling it leaves often lingers far longer.
If you’d like to join us, you can find full details and booking information on the website. We’d love to welcome you.
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