My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Lily grass spiral in a vase

22 June 2016
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and more

Place a bundle of lily grass in a vase

Add a second bundle...

Keep adding bundles of grass to almost fill the vase. For my design I used nine bunches of lily grass

Gather the bundle of grass...

And gently twist the blades

When you release the grass it naturally falls into a spiral.

Move the blades of grass so that you have a puddle of water in the middle for the orchids

Add the orchids to nestle in the grass, using the blades to help the slippers stand upright. To add visual interest I added a few curled lily grass blades. See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to curl grass

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Tutorials

15 April 2015

Stretching leaves and foliage into a ringlet curl

Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl.

1 May 2012

Cinderella Spiral Pumpkin from Midelino Cane Coils

Tie Midelino Cane coils to make a spiral armature

7 May 2014

Rethinking the traditional Komiwara technique

Komiwara is a classic and traditional Ikebana technique used in a Rikka design. Designers would usually bundle straw to keep the flowers in place.

4 June 2025

Tiny wreath to balance a water tube… with a twist

Weave small wreath as a support for water tubes.

12 March 2025

Clip a neat design strip right through 38.46 g (or a thousand!) sprouting wheatgrass for a ethereal Spring display

Mow a gap through growing wheatgrass to display Spring treasures.

20 September 2023

Quick and Easy… Add just enough design to a tuft of bunny tail grass to hint at the autumn fun to come

Stand a tuft of bunny tail grass in a small amount of water to dry... and then add a little something that turns it into a little something more.

26 April 2023

New growth Spring frog

Willow cutting left in water will root and sprout... perfect for a all natural flower frog to admire as is or to keep long stem flowers upright.

22 March 2023

Easy twist to a tulip spiral to nestle a “we are still building this” bird’s nest in

The easiest unfinished nest idea... simply shaped from roots discovered while Spring cleaning and preparing to plant.

16 November 2022

Magnolia Rose Bowl with the brightest Holly berries and Kalanchoe flowers

Long lasting berries, magnolia leaves and succulent (kalanchoe) flowers that can remain without any water or maintenance for... well... all the way to Christmas!

20 July 2022

Breezy lily grass ripple

A radiating design that has the freedom of movement to add a bit of a cooling effect on the warmer days of summer.

19 May 2021

A flower, flower frog to keep your design details perfectly put

Use the firm petals of a flower to keep your design details upright

17 February 2021

Controlled breaking a thin reed to create a grass spiral armature

Carefully break... but don't snap a reed to create a curved base for a fanned out grass armature.

8 July 2020

Adding tendrils to an already fluffy papyrus puff ambel

There's no need for a quick and easy summer design to be boring... look closer!

28 August 2019

Hula skirt for a glass vase

Hawaiian Hula skirt for a Luau inspired flower arrangement.

30 January 2019

A round, around a round foliage… spiral in a vase

Stack foliage to create a rose spiral in a container.

21 February 2018

Stem line-up

Line up stems to create a base for the heavy Hanging Heliconia stems

2 August 2017

Two vase, two level Phormium snippets

Design in two levels by using two vases, the smaller slipped into a bigger one.

19 July 2017

Interweave a messy grass tumble

Loosely wrap and weave lily grass to create a planned-messy looking armature

Related Designs

24 April 2012

Words Matter.

Braiding and plaiting and knotting hair is a huge trend in hairdressing at the moment. Intricate little plaits are draped over long flowing hair to add complexity and quirk. It’s a lovely design trend to add to floral art.