To really see a place, you have to slow down. Walk its edges, notice what grows unprompted, what is tended, what’s unique to the land. For sisters Ally Nutting and Jess Lister of AESME Studio, flowers have become a way of doing exactly that – reading landscapes through the plants that inhabit them.
Over the course of a year, their work took them from quietly weathered English gardens to sun-warmed European terrains and further afield, each setting offering its own rhythm, challenges and materials. Gathering what was growing nearby and responding instinctively to each environment, they documented these moments season by season, using flowers as a way to understand place, time and mood.
In this conversation, the sisters reflect on the making of their new book, Naturalistic Flowers, which takes the reader on a journey across the UK, Europe and beyond as the sisters gather and create seasonal floral arrangements with a sense of place. Here, they discuss working on location, the dynamics of creative collaboration as sisters, and how tuning into the smallest details of plant life led to a more intuitive, open-ended way of designing with flowers.
© 2026 AESME STUDIO
Did anything unexpected or particularly revealing emerge during the making of the book?
Ally (A): The book really unravelled before us as we were writing it. We touch on this in the first chapter, but it was only once we actually made a start on location in Suffolk that the concept came to life. We knew we were writing a book about floral design in different settings but it became very clear very quickly that in order to capture arrangements that felt in context, it came down to the materials to conjure that spirit of place and not the other way around. So in each location we looked at what was growing right there, in the immediate surroundings, and we used these plants, wild or cultivated, to explore the places and people behind them.
It became very clear very quickly that in order to capture arrangements that felt in context, it came down to the materials to conjure that spirit of place and not the other way around. Ally Nutting
As sisters and co-founders of AESME Studio, how did your creative partnership shape the development and realisation of the book?
A: This book was a true collaboration in its purest form. I wrote, Jess edited, I made the arrangements, Jess photographed them. I think what was so special about the process of creating the book was that we got to take a year to really get back to our ‘roots’. For the last decade we have been doing flowers for events where there is a huge amount of planning and logistics involved, but for the book we really were turning up and looking at what was there and creating in a very spontaneous, joyful way. We learned so much about the plants, places and people we were lucky enough to come across on this journey. I hope our readers will feel inspired to create, to get outside, to plant some seeds, to dust off their favourite vase and enjoy the meditative handling of plants and the sheer joy these materials bring into our lives and homes – a reminder of the seasons and the natural world we’re lucky to be a part of.
This book was a true collaboration in its purest form... we hope our readers will feel inspired to create, to get outside, to plant some seeds, to dust off their favourite vase and enjoy the meditative handling of plants and the sheer joy these materials bring into our lives and homes. Ally Nutting
© 2026 AESME STUDIO
How did your transition from experiencing ‘plant blindness’ in your early urban life to making films about flowers shape the way you approached the creation of this book, particularly in capturing those small, cinematic details of plant life?
Jess (J): Before starting this business and learning about flowers and plants I think I walked through the world very differently. There’s always more to see – and ultimately the opportunity to have a richer experience of the world – when you choose to take the time to look closer. I think as a photographer or videographer you are always looking very closely at the details – evaluating the light, framing the shot. And the same goes for being a gardener – can you identify the plants, how are they growing etc. I’m lucky to have experience in both, and that makes for a unique perspective. I think in the photographs for the book I was really trying to capture how Ally and I explored each place through the lens of arranging flowers – searching for a repetition in colours, or unusual ingredients, and to convey the beauty in small ‘real’ moments that may otherwise by overlooked – flower debris on the floor, blurred motion and arrangements in process.
Before starting this business and learning about flowers and plants I think I walked through the world very differently. There’s always more to see – and ultimately the opportunity to have a richer experience of the world – when you choose to take the time to look closer. Jess Lister
© 2026 AESME STUDIO
Each chapter reflects a period of immersion in a specific place. How did these moments shape the narrative and visual rhythm of the book?
A: The choice of locations in the book is quite random, but each place has meaning for us in that it is somewhere or the place of someone that has inspired our work. It’s actually quite difficult to immerse yourself in a place when you are only there for a few hours or days! But I think that flowers and plants enable us to really slow down and appreciate being utterly in the moment and I hope that when you read the book and look at the photographs you’ll be able to tap into this feeling of concentrated calm and tranquillity.
While creating the book, you describe a more spontaneous, immersive approach – gathering materials, responding to each environment, and weaving together stories, plants and people. How did this way of working shape both the creative process and the final feel of the book?
A: When I look at the physical book I really feel that it is a true representation of the experience of making it. In each chapter we visit a different place. We’d arrive, dump our bags and camera kit and immediately go for a walk to feel the lie of the land. We’d take time to really look at what plants were growing there and how they behaved, whether they had been intentionally planted, in the case of a garden, or whether it was their natural habitat and they were growing wild. Often, tired from the journey, we’d sleep on it, allowing the ideas to percolate, and then get up at dawn to photograph the scenery and setting. While Jess was snapping away I’d start work on my ‘recipes’ – deciding what to use, how to combine the materials to create arrangements that looked and felt ‘of the place’ – and then either later that day or the next I’d gather the materials and we’d find places to shoot. It was all very ‘on the hoof’, very spontaneous and my favourite arrangements are like that – true to the ingredients, made instinctively and not overly contrived.
It was all very ‘on the hoof’, very spontaneous and my favourite arrangements are like that – true to the ingredients, made instinctively and not overly contrived. Ally Nutting
© 2026 AESME STUDIO
How do you approach the physical rhythm of arranging flowers, and how does repetition and experimentation with different shapes and vases influence the uniqueness of each creation?
A: Flower arranging is a craft and an art form. We are making something with our hands and as with any skill, it improves exponentially with practice. When you arrange flowers in a naturalistic way you must handle the plant material with care and a sense of reverence – there’s no shoving or cramming involved! It helps not to be in a rush, to take the time to calmly and methodically prepare the materials, your mechanics, your tools and then maintain this measured approach while you are arranging the materials. Studying the design elements is incredibly helpful and gives you certain formulas to fall back on that work, but equally experimenting and throwing the rulebook out is essential – we learn so much through trial and error. With naturalistic design no arrangement will ever be the same, because the materials are unique – every stem, every flower, every blade and leaf, will have slight variations in shape, form, colour, texture. This is what makes using plant material as an artistic medium such an exciting adventure and most importantly, every arrangement is an opportunity to learn.
With naturalistic design no arrangement will ever be the same, because the materials are unique – every stem, every flower, every blade and leaf, will have slight variations in shape, form, colour, texture. Ally Nutting
Was there one location or project that particularly stayed with you or left the strongest impression?
A: We found Dyffryn Fernant a very moving place and I think that last arrangement was one of my favourites of the book; Christina Shand has created such a haven there. Kenya was extraordinary – it is somewhere we spent a lot of time when we were younger before we really knew anything about flowers and plants but returning and looking through this very specific lens was a complete delight. I found Great Dixter the most challenging because, I mean, where do you begin?! I knew I wanted to use this amazing place to push myself beyond the boundaries of what is usually comfortable for me. The arrangement on page 123 with the yellow daylilies and pink mallow was definitely out of my comfort zone. But I loved making it!
Words by Ally Nutting and Jess Lister.
Naturalistic Flowers is available now.
