The story behind our Birkenstock floral installation at Chelsea in Bloom Flower Week

The Botanique Workshop team were thrilled to partner with Birkenstock to bring their Kings Road store to life during the iconic ‘Chelsea in Bloom’. From moodboards to midnight installs, our head florist Emily (wearing her Birkenstocks, obviously!) led the way, designing a fully foam-free, immersive floral installation that flowed throughout the store, inside and out.

This was our first time designing for Chelsea in Bloom, and it was such an exciting challenge. Our head florist Emily led the project from concept to delivery, working closely with Birkenstock and their creative team to bring something beautiful, eco-conscious, immersive and totally unique to life.

Let’s take a look at behind the scenes – the design, the process and of course, the final florals.

Inspiration drawn from nature

Birkenstock’s brief was thoughtful and open - they wanted flowers that reflected the brand’s core values: nature, comfort, simplicity, and individuality. The store itself has a neon sign inside that reads “Walking as nature intended”, and this became the creative anchor for Emily’s vision.

“From the beginning, I knew I wanted the installation to feel immersive. The idea of a wildflower meadow growing through the store really inspired us. We proposed a seating bench under the window to invite people in, to pause, to really engage with the flowers - and the screen playing Birkenstock’s campaign.”

What started as a conversation around three key previous campaign flowers - spray chrysanthemums, barista roses and carnations - quickly evolved into something wilder, looser, and more garden-inspired. We layered in grasses, moss, seasonal British blooms and textured foliage to bring the space to life.

Creative process: From moodboard to meadow

The process started long before install day. From pre-production to final petals, every stage was collaborative, detailed and built on trust. We began with initial calls and creative consultations to get a feel for the vision and explore how Botanique could bring it to life. Site visits followed — to measure up, review the space in real life, check council guidelines and secure the right permits. From there, we moved into the visual phase, creating moodboards, sketches and digital mock-ups to help shape the concept and start bringing the Birkenstock meadow to life.

Here is a snapshot into the creative process...

Flower Installation: Built from the ground up

The immersive floral installation went around both the front of the Kings Road store and inside the shop itself. A special request from the client, and one we always try to adhere to as much as possible, was making it as sustainable as possible. We did this by ensuring the entire installation was completely foam-free. We used mechanics like chicken wire, buckets, and re-usable structures - designed and fabricated in our studio.

Now you can see our creative ideas coming to life…

Building the foam-free structure in progress - using chicken wire and water-filled containers to create the skeleton of the installation.

Our team was on-site until midnight the night before launch, installing everything by hand and adjusting details stem by stem.

It was one of those days where you just go into full focus. We were covered in rock dust, my watering can became my constant companion - but seeing it come to life was so worth it.

Of course, Emily wore her Birkenstocks - how could she not?!

More is more…

Over the course of the week, Emily returned to the store multiple times swap flowers, make sure everything was fresh and water levels were topped up. Imagine our joy when the flowers managed to do even better than we expected, so instead of swapping flowers, we just added more!

This watering can came with Emily everywhere that week - a true sidekick.

A bloomin' success

The Birkenstock store was admired and photographed hundreds of times. Their Instagram featured the installation extensively, including a video of Emily on-screen that looped throughout the week.

“It was such an amazing experience. It challenged me professionally and personally as I’d never worked on Chelsea Flower Week before. To be leading the project and the team was scary but it was so rewarding. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Emily.

And to end...free flowers for all

Have you ever been to Chelsea in bloom on that final Sunday afternoon? It’s a wonderful mayhem filled floral free for all event. We arrived and pretty much every single flower from the display had already been taken by passers-by! So, because we use sustainable reusable materials, we dismantled all our buckets and mechanisms and packed them up ready to safely ready for our next installation.

Thinking about a floral installation for your event?

Whether you’re a brand, retailer or event planner - floral installations can completely transform a space and add that extra pop to your launch or brand activation. At Botanique, we design, build and manage everything from first sketches to final stem - working with natural materials, sustainable methods, and a whole lot of love.

So, if you want to know more about how a Botanique Workshop floral install can transform your event, get in touch with Emily our head event florist. We’d love to bring your vision to life.