Fit for a Queen

Vendela roses are my favorite of the white roses.  It is actually not a pure white, but rather an ivory.  It is a large rose with a high petal count, that opens as a cup-shaped bloom with slightly curled edges.  It is grown in Ecuador, where roses are world-renowned for their huge bloom size, long vase life, superb quality, and rich color.   Ecuador is ideally suited for rose growing due to its rich volcanic soil and ideal climactic conditions for growing not only the finest roses, but other types of cut flowers as well.  The region's long, sunny days and warm temperatures enable the plants to thrive and produce impressive flowers. 

This table centerpiece consists of 65 Vendela roses, in a compact oval design with variegated pittosporum and ivy--grown locally right at my studio. 

Unusual Requests

Sometimes I get an unusual request from a family to design a casket spray for their loved one using a flower that normally isn't used in oasis.  At least I have never seen one made from Red Geraniums! 

The problem arises that the blossoms are short-lived.  Should they be treated as other flowers are prepared for use in arrangements, i.e. cutting underwater, keeping in cool, humid storage in preservative? 

I also faced the dilemma that when the order was placed, the deceased had not yet died, and the fact that by this time, most nurseries are disposing of their annuals. 

I kept these geraniums in pots in the sunshine (and lots of rain this last week!) and babied them with plenty of TLC until I got the call that they were needed.  At that point, I had originally decided to bag the roots of each plant with some soil and insert each cluster with wooden picks.  Unsatisfied with this method, I ended up using a combination of water tubes, and either wooden picks or tying the short-stemmed blossoms to the greens.  All in all, it turned out fine.

I always like to honor the requests of the family mourning a death.  But sometimes I wonder when  I should politely say no and steer them another direction.  This could have turned out to be a disaster, but fortunately, all was fine. 

a plaque

A plaque is defined as a three-dimensional traditional design or assemblage of plant material and components with radial stem placement.  It is mounted on a framed or unframed background for decorating a door or wall. 

One difference between a swag and a plaque is that the swag has one pivot spot and hence one focal area, and plaques have more than one center of interest and pivot spot.

In this design, there are two separate units, two pivot spots, and two focal areas.  The largest unit is the bottom design, and the top one diminishes in size and quantity of materials.  Each unit is mounted on the top and bottom of a large copper coil.  The coil leads the eye from the top unit to the bottom unit.

This copper coil was a straight measure of copper tubing available in a hardware store.  Its curves were established using metal bending tools that are used by plumbers to make uniform bends in pipe.  The sunflowers and poppy pods make up the focal interest in each unit, with the aspidistra leaves repeating the curvature of the wreath.  Flax, pine, and ruscus serve to create a horizontal connecting line between the units.  This composition was designed for a man's funeral service, and the price starts at $100.