My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Lathyrus - Sweet pea

Lathyrus

This design was entered in the craft section of a show. I grew my bag over 12 weeks. Each day I would guide the tiny fresh growth of the Sweet Pea plants to completely cover the wire structure. Also pictured are miniature Phalaenopsis orchids and cape gooseberries

Common name

Sweet pea

Origin

Southern to Central Europe

Varieties

The annual varieties have a strong fragrance and the perennials are grown for their tendrils. New varieties improve on vase life and are very popular as a cut flower.

Colors

white, cream, red purple, lilac, pink, violet, red, orange, burgundy, salmon, apricot and bi-coloured

Vase life

Seven to ten days with proper care. Avoid bright sunlight and humidity

Scent

Very fragranced. Especially varieties from Italy

Uses

I just love sweet pea tendrils. Unfortunately the flowers grown for the floral industry do not have the wonderful tendrils- those you have to grow yourself. Luckily this is easy, fast and hugely rewarding. It also has the most magnificent seedpods. The flowers look fantastic in a rustic just picked in my garden type arrangement. Perfect choice for romantic or fairy like designs for flower girls. Very feminine

Conditioning

Do not spray the flowers with water. It disfigures the petals. Strip the stems of foliage that might be below the conditioning water line. Give the stem a fresh cut at an angle and condition in warm water with dissolved flower food for a minimum of two hours but preferably over night.

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Related Designs

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Arrange beautiful King Tut sweet pea vines to swirl around a piece of fire wood... with a bit of help from a felting technique

10 July 2024 Still wrapping my head around this one

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19 June 2024 Stand bark on pointe to display the sweetest sweet peas

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19 June 2024 Do you know what the point is?

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4 October 2023 So Into Fall

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14 June 2023 Because I am beautiful!

It deserves a bowl all of it's own... right? I am (of course!) talking about these spectacular little sweet peas called King Tut. Not much else is needed. But add a cute little...

5 October 2022 A fluffy faded leaf "tail" to display delicate autumn treasures

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5 October 2022 Tail End Of The Season

A display armature for a delicate autumn display.

21 August 2019 Attaching a lily bud corsage using a BoutStix Floral Magnet

I love these little Boutstix corsage magnets! They are strong enough to hold flowers neatly in place.

21 August 2019 Tie a half bow with ripped grass

For a natural alternative to ribbon or string... add a ripped grass bow.

21 August 2019 Magnetic Floral Corsage inside a lily pod-bud

Conceal a BoutStix Floral Magnet in a lily bud to design a woodland foraged inspired corsage.

21 August 2019 All in one pod

Fold open a lily bud to conceal a clever little BoutStix floral magnet for an unusual corsage.

17 July 2019 Twig Dome Armature

Crafted from a hand full of twigs to give you a large design... even though you add only two stems of sweet peas.

17 July 2019 … and... a bit more... effort… to make it special

Instead of just placing a handful of twigs and two stems of sweet peas in a vase... why not...?

2 July 2019 Grass Spiral Wind Spinner

Thread grass into flexi grass to create a spinner that gently turns in the wind.

3 July 2019 Taking a Breather

A relaxing summer design that spins gently in the wind

25 June 2019 Stacking grass covered pebbles

Pebbles are a great way to weigh down or keep your floral material in place. Here's a way to dress them up a bit

26 June 2019 “Ok wow”

A design so fine you can easily miss it... if it were not for the interwoven pebbles catching your eye.

22 May 2019 Gently peel leaves from the stalk to create a twisted stem end

Roll leaves to create a stopper to keep flowers in place in a bud vase

22 May 2019 Putting your own spin on it

I would definitely describe my own personal style as minimalist classic... but with an edgy twist.

12 September 2018 Off-center hole-wreath armature

Craft a slightly off center wreath from dried vines and grasses for Phalaenopsis orchids.

12 September 2018 Hole-ding it’s breath

Craft an almost Autumn armature from dried sweet pea vines

15 August 2018 Bursting with excitement

Loosely weave grass to create a decorative grid keeping flowers in place over a square container.

1 August 2018 Balancing Sweet pea stems with an Ivy Leaf Stack

This design is all about balance.

1 August 2018 Stay Cool!

Craft a free standing Sweat pea design

11 July 2018 Glued Hydrangea Float

Glue a delicate hydrangea wreath to float on water

11 July 2018 Stay-a-Float

Snip florets from a hydrangea mop head to float on water

26 April 2017 Hana-Kubari twig

Slip a twig over the side of a container to keep an elegant flower stem upright

26 April 2017 In no time at all

Hana-Kubari twig armature

26 August 2015 Bent

Weave a wreath from sweetpea stems and tendrils

19 August 2015 Growth Medium

Design a bark and moss pod for a mushroom mini farm

5 August 2015 Wear it Well

Wrap a ribbon around an up-cycled plastic ring for the most comfortable wrist corsage

15 July 2015 Floating transparent ripples to support delicate floral material

Cut circles out of transparencies to make ripples in the water

15 July 2015 So Fine

Use transparencies to create floating devices for the flower material

1 July 2015 At a Stretch

Glue a paper tube floral art structure

14 April 2011 In the Bag

My bag was woven from re-purposed wire and recycled fishing line and tiny stems of growing sweet pea plants and orchids