Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Grow a floral craft pantry
- 22 March 2023
- click to send Christine a smile
If you have been following along for a while you probably remember me mentioning that I am still struggling to find quality cut flowers to design with. And I have been hearing that some of you have been struggling too. We just can't find flowers... and those that we find are so ordinary.
It's really frustrating.
It is now at the point that I have decided to see it as an adventure... and do something about it.
I am launching something new this month. I am teaming up with
Plant Something BC
, and will be writing articles for them to explore creative ways we can grow our own little "floral craft pantry" to design with.
Now most of us will not be able to grow everything we need to design with. But the aim is to explore where there are gaps... and grow that, regardless of how much space we have. For me this will mean growing in pots on our balcony so it is really going to be quite an adventure.
Let's go beyond what we normally would think of as a "cut flower garden" to see growing plant material as a natural part of exploring and developing our own effortless design style- see what I did there?
Yes, this is a natural extension of what I explore in my book... but this time from the roots up.
I hope this will inspire you to grow along. Please let me know what you think. And huge please let me know if you have growing tips and thoughts about growing your own "floral craft pantry".
The link to the Design and Tutorial is below this post.
You can read the introduction announcement for my monthly flower arranging inspiration articles on the
Plant Something BC blog
. Follow
@PlantsomethingBC
on Instagram and use the hashtag #growafloralfcraftpantry to show us what you are growing to design with. We would love to hear your hints and tips to grow a floral craft pantry as well.
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Tutorials
The easiest unfinished nest idea... simply shaped from roots discovered while Spring cleaning and preparing to plant.
Tulips continue to grow after being cut. Sometimes when you make a very small design or for competition or bridal work you want to minimize growth. The best way to do this is to...
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Twist lily grass slightly to create a spiral for the orchids to nestle in
A radiating design that has the freedom of movement to add a bit of a cooling effect on the warmer days of summer.
Build up a design in a shallow container by stacking it by threading the plant material into the teeth of a pin cushion in three levels.
Tie Midelino Cane coils to make a spiral armature
so many techniques rolled into one rather pretty tulip nest. Perfect to celebrate new beginnings: Spring and my book birthday... and my online workshop!
Multiple tiny twigs create a flower frog to keep the delicate buds and leaves in the exact spot you want.
Craft an everything is still growing spring design to celebrate... what we love!
Design in two levels by using two vases, the smaller slipped into a bigger one.
Favourite Flowers
Tulip
Related Designs
A spring spiral design... with a hint of a root nest. Easy to do
The first of my new monthly articles about growing the material you need to design with. This month we are taking stock of what we need... and growing wheatgrass.
Cut stems of Gladiolus to place in a radiating summer design.
Designing adventurous Contemporary Floral centerpieces Article in the Canadian Florist Magazine.
Luxuriously filled design... filled with flowers... filled with grass. But most fun, for us as designers filled with hidden techniques
