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Botanical Casting Workshop
Key details
When:
Date:
Time:
4th Jul
10:00 - 14:30
Where:
The Meadow Room, behind Blackthorpe Barn
Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
SatNav: IP30 9HZ
Pricing:
Price
Per Person All tickets sold out
Each person attending requires a ticket
Learn to make a beautiful botanical casting to take home
Come to Rougham Estate later this summer and spend a relaxing few hours with Becky who will guide you through the fascinating process of making a cast of plants or flowers.
The fascinating art of bas-relief enables a plant’s very fine details to be celebrated and its structures and forms explored. A clay base is laid and the plants are pressed into the clay and then removed. A frame is then pressed into the clay around the design and plaster is poured over to set into all the tiny details. This process captures the plant frozen in time like a fossil and lasts long after the flower has faded.
Becky Rix-Meo trained as a water-colourist , completing a four year HND in scientific illustration and later a level 4 botanical illustration qualification. After life and children taking up her time, she finally got herself a studio and dedicates her time to her art now.
You can find out more about Becky and see her beautiful artworks here: hopecottagebotanicalarts.co.uk
What Will I do?
- Learn how to select the best plants and flowers for casting
- Carefully make the impressions in clay
- Cast the impressions in plaster and paint these to create a ‘time capsule’ of nature
- Enjoy a relaxing and creative day exploring textures and forms of plants
Who is this workshop suitable for?
- People aged 14 and over
- People who don’t see themselves as particularly “arty”
- Beginners; no experience necessary
Book Your Place
This workshop is run by Becky Rix-Meo.
➡️ Bookings need to be made directly with Becky, through this Eventbrite page.
All tickets are sold out
Important information
What to Bring
- Wear comfortable clothing and comfortable shoes; you will be on your feet a lot of the time
- If you have a special flower/plant you’d like to try to cast, please bring this with you
- Your reading glasses, if you need them
- A packed lunch, if you wish
What is provided
- All materials including plants, clay and plaster
- Aprons are provided
- Tea, coffee and biscuits
Please Note
This workshop is run by Rebecca Rix-Meo; bookings are made through her Eventbrite booking page. Your contract is with Becky and not with Rougham Estate.
Cancellations for refunds can be made up to 10 days in advance of the event – please contact Becky through Eventbrite in this case.
Rougham Estate is not responsible for the booking process nor for the running of this workshop.
Where to find us
Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham,
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
SatNav: IP30 9HZ
There is plenty of free parking available.
Accessible parking is available near the entrance to the Café/Shop area.
Please Note: The car park closes when the Roots Café closes and the entrance gates are locked after this time.
Blackthorpe Barn is situated just south of Junction 45 of the A14, three miles east of Bury St Edmunds, in the village of Rougham.
Look out for the entrance gates to a long tree-lined avenue at the White House junction, with the Barn on the right of the avenue.
Blackthorpe Barn’s black and white signs direct visitors from local roads.
The Meadow Room can be found behind the old thatched Barn and behind Roots Café.
What3Words for the Meadow Room: hands.dunk.drums
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Two new specials this week not to miss out on!
Our brunch special is a breakfast bap of brioche bun with sausage meat pattie, bacon, emmental cheese, sun-dried tomato mayo, fried egg with salsa verde.
Or…
Salad of the week - strawberry, rocket, feta, cucumber, sunflower seeds with balsamic glaze.
Only available this week so don’t miss out.
#roughamestate #specialoftheweek
A look back at the last days of Rougham Sunflowers 2026🌻
It’s been a week since the sunflower field closed its gates for this season, and what a great year it was! The flowers were glorious this year, with the early rain and then the long, warm, sunny days. Thank you for coming to see them and spend time at the field. We’ve really enjoyed seeing you here!
The sunflowers ended in style with the Sundowner evening on Saturday, which was everything we hoped it would be: good food, great music, drinks in the golden hour and the most wonderful atmosphere as the sun went down over the flowers.
On the final Sunday afternoon, the Canvas Club workshop group painted their sunflowers at the field and some truly beautiful paintings went home with some very happy painters.
None of it would be possible, however, without our brilliant team, who worked so hard throughout the season to make the sunflower experience what it was. The team encompasses so many people who all contribute to the end result - from drilling the seed earlier in the year, to setting up everything in the field for visitors including making games and props, to those manning and servicing the field and the Roots kiosk each day, who open up early and close and clean up each evening, and those in the background who pull the event together in many other ways - it’s a HUGE team effort. Thank you to each of you!! You have been amazing and we are very grateful to every one.
🎃Now it’s time to look ahead to the autumn festival of pumpkins in October. They will be in the same field as the sunflowers this year and will be open every weekend in October and daily for the final week, from 24th-31st.
There’s a great line-up of food trucks and two evening Pumpkins by Torchlight events being planned. Keep your eyes open for more details, here on socials and on our website.
✨And while the pumpkins are in full swing, on 19th October, the Christmas Festival will begin with the opening of the Christmas Shop at Blackthorpe Barn just half a mile down the road.
There’s so much to look forward to! We look forward to seeing you again soon!👋
#roughamestate #burystedmunds #suffolkdaysout
We’re hiring at Rougham Estate!
We have a number of seasonal vacancies available across the Estate, with roles to suit people looking for weekend work, seasonal hours or the chance to join our team during some of our busiest times of year.
We’re currently recruiting for a range of roles, including opportunities around our Pumpkin season and in Roots Café as we head towards Christmas.
If you enjoy working with people, being part of a busy team and working in a unique setting, we’d love to hear from you.
You can find our current vacancies and full details, including how to apply, on Indeed - or the link in our bio.
#RoughamEstate #JobsSuffolk #SuffolkJobs
OPEN AS USUAL
After a short closure we are open as usual from today: Roots Café 9-4pm and the Lifestyle and Garden shop 10-4pm.
Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you!
#roughamestate
A quick update for our visitors…
Roots Café and the Shop will be closed this Thursday 20th August due to an unexpected interruption to our water supply.
We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and hope to welcome you back as soon as possible.
Thank you for your understanding.
#temporaryclosure
Ever wondered how to make food last a little longer while creating something delicious at the same time?
Join us at Rougham Estate for our Fermentation Workshop on Saturday 5 September, led by chef Rowen Halstead of Waste Not Rowen. @wastenotrowen
This hands-on workshop will introduce you to the simple art of fermentation, from the science behind it to practical ways of reducing food waste at home.
You’ll learn how to make your own curried root vegetable kraut and spiced pickled pears, with everything provided for you to get stuck in.
No previous experience is needed, just come along, learn something new and take your own ferments home to enjoy.
When & where: Saturday 5 September | 11am–12.30pm | £38 per person | The Meadow Room, Rougham Estate.
Places are limited and booking is essential.
Find out more and book via the link in our bio.
#fermentationworkshop #roughamestate
🌻 Today is the last day of Rougham Sunflowers 2026.
It’s been a wonderful season, and what a way to end it. Yesterday’s sundowner was fabulous - thank you to everyone who came along.
Today, Sunday 16th, the field is open for one final day, 9am-5pm and this afternoon we close with the Canvas Club: Paint Your Own Sunflower - a fitting farewell to the sunflowers if ever there was one.
If you haven’t made it to the field yet this year, today is your last chance.
Come and wander and enjoy these days of summer.
It’s still free to enter, no booking needed.
There won’t be any face painting today.
The field closes for good at 5pm.
Thank you to everyone who has visited this summer. Here are some of the pictures you have shared with us and footage from the past few weeks. Can you spot yourself?
Goodbye sunflowers, you’ve been great … and you know what’s coming next… who’s already getting excited about the 🎃, coming soon in October? 🙋
#roughamestate #roughamsunflowers #burystedmunds #suffolksummer @noelleescreative
It’s been a long hot summer, but despite this, the harvest is now safely in.
A HUGE thank you to this line up… our harvest team, for all their work in completing the combinable crop harvest across the Estate.
It’s a busy time of year and their dedication, often working long days in some of the warmest conditions we’ve known, is hugely appreciated.
And, of course, no harvest would be complete without the obligatory annual harvest photo!
Another season done. Well done team RE 🙌
Tag us @RoughamEstate
