Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design
Common name
Phalaenopsis, Moth orchid
Origin
Varieties
In the last few years breeding has led to orchids becoming easier to care for. Though the large clusters of 10 flowers on a stem is still popular a small Phalaenopsis hybrid was also released. This Mini-Phalaenopsis have tiny blossoms. Another new breed is the Harlequin-hybrid. These flowers have small patches of burgundy or red.
Colors
Many variations of white, green, gold, orange, pink, purple and lilac.
Vase life
Three weeks.
Scent
None
Uses
Great as a cut flower, great roots to drape and weave with, great as a pot plant. By far my first choice to design with!
Conditioning
Give the stem a fresh cut preferably keeping a section of the main stem attached to the flower stem and condition in deep water. Flowers can be revived by bathing them in lukewarm water. As flowering plant: up to three months. After flowers fade give the spike a clean cut just above the second or third node to encourage re-flowering. The entire plant can also be conditioned to use in an arrangement by removing the growth medium and submerging in warm water overnight.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.
Related Designs
Sharp thorns can be used to keep your floral details in place
Craft a keepsake heart on top of a vase to display special flowers.
Glue glass chips into a half moon to help keep the floral details in place.
A no waste... but still decorative way to keep your flower in place and hydrated in the warm days of summer.
My summer design strategy: the warmer the weather the deeper the water. A vine frog is just the thing!
Weave a web of jasmine vine to support orchid stems
Pick away the petals from a few Phalaenopsis orchids to display in a summer grass tunnel design.
A bottom to the top... top to the bottom support to help keep your summer flowers hydrated.
My Floral Hurricane design entry for the BC Floral Art Society mini show competition
An armature to display a lovely surprise orchid that developed on the long spike just after the other flowers started to fade.
This orchid developed at the very end of a long stem... right as the rest of the flowers started to die back so I made a special armature to display the cut stem.
Carefully stack dried physalis berry husks to craft a long lasting pumpkin that you can refresh with fresh flowers and vines.
A physalis husk pumpkin to celebrate the last bright rays of Autumn.
Create a display branch for ever changing fresh flowers and foliage... or vines.
Managed to find an utterly gorgeous branch... perfect contrast to the minimal orchids.
A radiating design that has the freedom of movement to add a bit of a cooling effect on the warmer days of summer.
Securing the most delicate of design details successfully has a lot to do with what glue you use. But what glue is even more complicated than just brand.
Craft two snippet half moons to connect... and... then add a second layer of grass snippets here and there to shade the flowers.
Glue snippets of grass into a double layer sphere to create a sheltered floral globe.
Easter basket filled with (almost... almost chocolate) anthuriums.
Adding design details to create tiny gaps for more design details.
Give a minimal design a few grass "whiskers" to feel that Spring breeze.
If you know just a bit more about the "why" we do the things we do it is easy to discover new "how's". This week I show you why it is possible to design with blossoming twigs in a...
An "it's only 10 days to Spring" design to display some blossom buds.
Piece together a floral basket that looks delicate AND overgrown.
The hardest part of this is actually making the tendrils. From there it's a few twists... and we are done!
A wire and twig permanent display basket with tiny water sources for a few fresh flowers that can be replaced as needed.
Wire twigs and wire around a shallow container to keep your floral details suspended in water in a shallow container.
oh yes, a light an airy design showing off those very first autumn leaves.
Using the disk floret of a sunflower to support your floral details.
Create a shallow puddle in a larger container to keep your flowers in place.
Position foliage to create a smaller, shallow pond for your floral details to shelter in.
Using branches pruned from a fruit tree... with a few dried flowers and just a few orchids to make a fresh Spring design.
Whipped up to be light in the Spring breeze wreath design.
Zero waste, all natural Easter craft design.
Hide an egg inside a interwoven nest for a dainty Easter decoration design.
Take all the usual ingredients for a budvase design- a flower, a leafy green something and roll it into something unusual to display.
A tiny budvase design that rearranges basic ingredients, such as a single leaf and an orchid to create a new design concept.
Keep an orchid and a blade of grass on an upturned bowl... with the weight of a tiny pebble.
Carefully break... but don't snap a reed to create a curved base for a fanned out grass armature.
Use the unique qualities of each stem to create a submerged design in a water filled glass vase.
When you figure out the "how to" tricks of manipulating plant material it is possible to respectfully set them into seemingly impossible new directions.
Create a tiny visual tunnel to focus attention.
An enclosed design that invites the onlooker to lean in closer to explore the pretty orchid.
Wrap wire around a cardboard star for a quick three dimensional decoration.
Craft a small pouch into a half-and-half wreath so that you can leave... and receive tiny gifts and cards in true Christmas 2020 style .
...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. A cardboard box gift bag wreath… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes...
A quick solution for a minimal horizontal autumn display -on top of bud vases.
A tumbling fall leaf design making use of the autumn leaves that are already falling to the ground.
Pick away the ray floret so that the disk floret of a sunflower can be used as a flat surface to display your design on.
Use the heart of a sunflower as a platform to place your autumn floral details on.
Using the design elements as mechanics to secure the design elements.
All natural design using the design elements as mechanics.
It all started with my twig being just too small to wedge into the glass vase tight enough to keep my orchid stem in place...
Add design elements that serves a purpose for a minimal summer inspired floral design.
Utilizing those not so obvious characteristics of your design details to make a minimal clear glass summer floral design.
Deceptively simple. A design that relies on you working with not against what is already there.
Create a sturdy platform from bark to design an entire forest floor on a single foxtail fern frond
Add the design details to the wood... and not to the orchid plant so that it can easily be removed to soak for a long lasting still growing display.
Paint bamboo husks with strong tea to create a pretty orchid.
A cascade of orchids growing over a slice of wood. Easy to design... and even easier to maintain!
Connect six wreaths to build up a hanging panel to display your flowers on.
Connect small wreaths to create a pretty summer armature to arrange your flowers on.
A three in one Tutorial to show you how to weave a clutch purse, how to add a magnetic closure AND how to incorporate a ribbon into a weaved design.
Some floral fashion inspiration: weave a pretty clutch purse
A bit of a wrong way round pretty Easter design. Put the basket weave inside the egg instead of putting the eggs in a basket.
A great do-in-advance and reusable design solution for a winter, early spring floral display.
A creative design that has some height to it without blocking the view. This can easily be scaled up or down to match the environment you want to display it in.
This design can be hanged from anywhere... a case filled with twigs or a branch.
A small design detail for contemporary floral arrangements.
Armatures are great (budget friendly) spacers for creating large floral designs without using an enormous amount of your resources.
Weave a small panel that fits snugly in a container for a minimal, foam free design that is quick to make but looks spectacular.
This armature is actually made of four times as many leaves as what it looks like to create a hinge to fan the entire leaf-tube open yet keep it's shape.
Fold and thread an autumn leaf armature for a thankful Thanksgiving design
Adding tension to a design with a grass frame and collar.
Thread grass into flexi grass to create a spinner that gently turns in the wind.
This week I am so excited to share my article and design that was published in the recent issue of the Floral Art Society of New Zealand's Academy Magazine for NZ qualified...
I would definitely describe my own personal style as minimalist classic... but with an edgy twist.
A bit of a planned-messy woven basket that is sturdy enough to carry small items.
My article and grass wedding basket design.
Craft a delicate bridal basket from twigs and tulle.
My article and winter white Tulle bridal basket design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine.
A Merry Christmas Twig Snowflake
Secure two lichen covered branched to rest around the neck of a curvy vase.
The third design I did for my book launch demonstration looking at aspects that influences my effortless style of designing.
Craft a slightly off center wreath from dried vines and grasses for Phalaenopsis orchids.
Tie a bundle of lily grass in a bundle to offer support for your flowers.
Just like the weather is only hinting at spring, so is this design only hinting at being a basket
Sometimes the best way to hide something in your design is right in the open
Use a cardboard shape to craft a simple wire Christmas star
A wire Christmas star with a secret plan to hide the twinkle
Glue thin tissue paper layers to a pumpkin to create a shape to design with
For a softer autumn leaf pod turn the leaves so that the bright side faces in when making the pod.
Inspired by Hath panjas or Indian hand jewelry an easy and comfortable alternative to a corsage
My article and body flowers design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
Glue the twigs in a container to easily follow the round shape
Glue a bunch of twigs inside a container to create a round stack
Criss-cross corset style connect the gaps in a Monstera deliciosa leaf
My article and Bamboo Lantern design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
Create a grid to rest some plant material so that it floats and some with their stems to rest in the water below
Looking at how we emulate nature’s best biological ideas to solve our modern day design problems.
A design demonstration and workshop at the Floral Trends Design group in South Africa exploring how we emulate nature’s best biological ideas to solve our modern day design...
To celebrate the 6th year anniversary of My Creative Workbook I am looking at the most popular Tutorial I have done to date:
A fragile looking heart made from twigs that can hold a lot of orchids
Glue reeds on a wire frame to create a dimensional armature to suspend orchids in
Glue a fantasy forest from Popsicle sticks, grape vine tendrils and willow tips
Petroleum jelly is both waterproof and not water soluble it creates a waterproof barrier to keep the water from leaking out of the vials when you hang it upside down. In fact,...
A closer look at my design at the 20th anniversary of Canada Blooms and The Toronto Flower Show
My article and a floral parasol design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
My article and a floral panel design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
Split bamboo stems to create a water source for dancing orchids
My article and twig boutonniere design featured in the Winter issue of DIY Weddings Magazine
My Twig Bridal Basket design and Tutorial featured in the Extraordinary Wedding Flowers issue of the New Zealand Floral Design Magazine
My article and lace fine wreath design featured in the Autumn issue of DIY Weddings Magazine
My article and woven ring basket design featured in the summer issue of DIY Weddings Magazine
A tiny orchid stem ladder keeps the orchid suspended just above the water line
My article looking at contrasts and 6 winter lantern designs featured in the DIY Wedding Magazine
My first design in my demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society meeting
My demonstration looked at ways to use mud to enhance floral art.
To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Government House Gardens Society a Horticultural event was hosted in the gardens and...
Flowers naturally float in water. They just don’t always naturally float on water. For that they sometimes need a bit of help.
I used wire, fishing line (mono-filament) and Phalaenopsis orchid roots to make a messy lace Christmas stocking and dressed the stocking with frost green Cymbidium orchids
Cut the Phalaenopsis orchid with a bit of green stem attached. This will make them last longer.
Flowers naturally float and you will need some kind of sinker to keep them suspended under water.
Freely translated it means Each Moment, Only Once. It is a saying associated with Japanese tea ceremonies.
A Touchstone is something or even someone that you can rely on to evaluate the strength or worth of an idea or concept.
Pleats are accordion like folds of equal width in alternating opposite directions in any kind of fabric. I absolutely love the tight buds of Allium and they represent the...
After our second Canada visit in 2009 I did a demonstration entitled "Canada" at the Durbanville Flower Club in South Africa
A look at the Old and New of Floral art
My bag was woven from re-purposed wire and recycled fishing line and tiny stems of growing sweet pea plants and orchids
So much goes into one stage design that I thought it would be worthwhile to break up the design elements and explore each in more detail.
When I demonstrate I focus on sharing the art of contemporary floral design, as I see it.
How to condition Orchids to use as plants in an arrangement without placing the roots in a growth medium
I wanted my design to feature mostly growing plants- creating a natural display on the supernatural wreath.
Flax leaves are ripped with a kenzan and wrapped with copper wire and small blue beads to create a rope to weave into a delicate spider web.