Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Rose shaped tuberous root spiral floral frog
- 28 May 2025
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Dip the foxtail fern roots in luke warm water to soak away most of the dirt.
Simply swish it about in the water to remove the potting soil.
This week in our email I tell you a bit more about the roots to make sure they are clean and ready to design with. I send out an email every Wednesday morning to give subscribers advance access to the latest design... but also with a few design notes that will help them make the most of each week's design inspiration. You can sign up below this post to join in.
Lift out the bundle of roots and place it on your lined design surface.
Instead of simply dumping the bundle into the container I am spiraling the roots into a rose shape.
Place the roots so that it creates a spherical or globe-like shape.
Build up the root pattern to arrange in a curving, circular pattern spiralling outwards.
Adding more roots as you go to mimic the look of petals more tightly packed around the outside, creating a fuller, more compact appearance.
So that you have a rose spiralled armature with deeper and shallower pools for placing your flowers at different levels.
Pour water over the roots so that you can rest flowers into the spiral.
I love the idea of a jewel in the roots so I am adding a large crystal just off to one side nestled between to roots.
I am also adding a few dew drop crystals to rosary vines...
Next I am spiralling the rosary vines around the roots to follow the rose shape of the armature...
And snipping a few nemesia flower heads from the spike...
... so that the flowers are supported and the short stems comfortably below the water between the roots.
Making sure the flowers are supported and upright in the root armature.
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