Whitefriars Makes Mother's Day Blooming Marvellous

Mums shopping in Canterbury at the weekend were given an extra special treat for Mother’s Day as Whitefriars gave away over a thousand mini bouquets.

The bouquets were made up of brightly coloured Gerberas and were professionally prepared, packed and distributed by students and staff from the Canterbury College Floristry Department.

Canterbury College Floristry team led by Fiona Roberts collected three van loads of flowers from the College in the early hours and staffed the stand in Whitefriars from 11am-3pm. Over the four hours the staff team and two of her students, Sophie Perrins and Sophie Kimber, gave out 2,500 flowers to surprised and very grateful mums.

Mum of two Debbie Weatherall from Chartham seemed to sum up the collective mood and response of all the mums on the day and said: “It was such a wonderful surprise to be given something so lovely for free. It was such a nice gesture and it really helped make Mother’s Day special.”

Fiona Roberts said: “It was a great day, the students worked really hard wrapping all the bouquets and it was so nice to see the smiles on the mums' faces when they were given the flowers. It was also a valuable experience for the students. We have a florist at the College which is popular with the local community but it’s always good to spend the day working in a busy city centre shopping centre.”

Canterbury College offers a range of courses in flower arranging and floristry and also operates a ‘live’ working florist.