My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Apples and Orchids

This is a wired bridal bouquet.

Apples and Orchids

Wired Apples and green Cymbidium Orchids

As you can imagine it is a relatively weighty design and balance is incredibly important. Start by assembling the apples to create almost an armature for the orchids to nestle into.

Wire the apples to create an armature for the orchids.

Each apple is wired to craft stems that can bend and twist into place. Once the design feels comfortable to hold and the fruit is secure you can wire in the orchids.

Place the orchids in small test tubes to wire into the design.

I placed the orchids in small test tubes as a water supply and then I wire each test tube to have a stem to secure into the design

Note:
The Ethylene gas that fruit and vegetables emits cause flowers to wilt quicker. Do not store fruit and vegetables close to flowers. Dipping fruit in a thin layer of wax can help prevent this. It is also important to seal the wound made when attaching a wire to the fruit.

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Tutorials

20 May 2011 Wire apples and seal the insertion point

Adding whole apples to a hand-tied or wired design is easier if each apple is wired to craft stems that can bend and twist into place. For an arrangement I would recommend using...

8 March 2011 Cover fruit with wax

Dipping red grapes in pale wax creates a cloudy layer that is not only anti-bacterial (prevents fruit from spoiling and releasing the ethylene gas) but also gives depth and...

Favourite Flowers

Cymbidium

Cymbidium, Boat Orchid