Welcome

Takes about ten minutes. After that, it's mostly down to time and weather.

Step 1 — Pick your moment

Wildflowers are creatures of habit. For the best chance of a full bloom, plant between March and May, or from late August into October - avoiding hard winter frost or the height of summer heat. 

Not planting right away? That's fine. Keep your tier somewhere cool and dry until you're ready. Fondant and sugarpaste designs will hold their structure at room temperate for months and makes for a great display piece.

We recommend scraping off buttercream designs, and placing the tier in a bag, or wrapped in paper until it's ready for planting.

Step 2 — Choose your spot

Find a spot with plenty of sun (most wildflowers want at least half a day of it), and ideally  soil that drains well. Rockeries and clay make for an uncomfortable bed. A garden bed, a large pot, even a window box all work too. 

Clear any large plants or organic matter from the area. It doesn't need to be pristine - the walls of the BLOOMbase are designed to suppress weeds and protect your sleeping wildflowers.

Step 3 — Give it a soak

Submerge the tier fully in a bucket of water until it's completely soft and saturated. As a general guide, this means at least overnight but not for more than 24 hours.

You'll know it's ready when you are able to easily tear it apart with your hands. 

Step 4 — Return to the earth

After a long soak, you'll be able to see the seed-embedded lining start to change colour. Place the exterior wall pieces of your flowering cake tier directly onto the soil, and the soft lining on top of these, facing the sky. Then lightly cover with two centimetres of compost. 

Delightful fact: While it's down there, it's doing more than you'd think. The base layers of the base block light to any grass or weeds beneath it (a trick professional no-dig gardeners have used for years). At the same time, it slowly breaks down into the soil itself, feeding earthworms and improving the ground as it goes. No digging, no chemicals, no fuss.

Step 5 — Water it in, then wait

Give it a really good water straight after planting, then keep the soil lightly moist while it establishes. Shoots typically appear within three weeks depending on weather, with flowers usually appearing over the following 12 weeks.

Step 6 (Optional) — Give it a BLOOMboost

A slow start is normal - most of the interesting things are happening underground before you see anything above it. But if you're not seeing any shoots within 3 weeks, or perhaps you've missed a watering or two - give the ground a bit of encouragement by sprinkling a pinch of the BLOOMboost sachet on top and watering in again. (You only need a light pinch - save more for later and see flowers blooming all summer!

Don't forget to tag @madewithflowerco and your cake professional as it grows - we love nothing more than watching these bloom!