Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Turn some gladiolus leaves into a pumpkin vase collar
- 27 September 2023
- click to send Christine a smile
When tidying up your gladiolus cut the foliage to design with. Cut the foliage from the bulb stem...
Wipe the gladiolus leaves clean with a wet cloth. If they are brittle you might need to soak them but if you wet the cloth with warm water it should be enough to hydrate them so that you can roll the leaves.
Design tip: Measure out the size of the foliage collar you want for your vase and then glue a template to help you roll all the blades to the exact same size. I made mine from cane but wire or anything you can secure in a circle would do the trick.
Roll the foliage in circles... for mine I left the tip sticking out. This is a style decision and you might want yours to be neater. I want my pumpkin to look more rustic. I also left the imperfections. But you might not want to.
These tiny design style decisions is exactly what makes your work (and my work) unique. It is the way we set ourselves apart. We can make the exact same design... but when we add our own "us" specific touches it looks brand new and different. This is your real "job", as a designer. learn the techniques, yes. But then also learn who you are and how you can interpret those techniques once you are comfortable with the how. If you are interested in developing your own style more have a look at my book. For more information about my book:
The Effortless Floral Craftsman
You will need an entire stack of circles and double up on the leaves.
This week in our email I show you why I crafted the leaf circles to be thicker than a single layer. I send out a weekly tip email (the moment the design is ready for you to look at) on Wednesday mornings- Vancouver time. This is a great way for us to discuss something that makes the design unique or is a conversation point. You are welcome to reply to the email with your comments or questions... or say hi. I would love to hear what is happening in your floral world. The sign up is below this post.
Gather all the gladiolus leaf circles...
So that they stack around a middle point loosely in your hand.
Thread a gladiolus leaf through the circles.
And secure the circles with a double knot.
Space out the circles to shape the pumpkin...
... To fit neatly over the opening of a bud vase.
Slip the gladiolus foliage pumpkin over the opening of the vase to fit snugly. Make sure you can fill (and refill) the vase with water without damaging the pumpkin.
Slip in a few dangling gladiolus leaf tips to break the circle pattern... again only if this suits the style of the design you are creating. You might want something neater... Or even more dramatic or more rustic. You can even rip the dangling pieces. See the How to Tutorial below.
Your pumpkin leaf collar is ready to design with.
Carefully lift up the dangling gladiolus foliage to fill the vase with water.
Place a hydrangea stem into the vase.
See how long my stem is? You might want a shorter stem if you do not want the stem to show below the foliage pumpkin when you display it. But the reason I kept my stem long... is... wellll... this design is also the ideal way to dry the hydrangeas! Cut the stem as long as the bud vase. Fill the vase with water and display. Let the water slowly evaporate. Once the vase is empty the hydrangeas will be perfectly dry in this compact shape. The grass offers just the right amount of support (see our email of this week) and airflow to preserve the flowers.
Weave the dangling gladiolus leaves between the flowers.
Drape a dramatic vine around and over the flowers to display...
Love this Love in a Puff vine... pollinated by a hummingbird... in my balcony garden! Now that is something special, right?
Add in a few dew drop crystals to finish the design.
For more information on how to place the crystals see the Tutorial below.
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Tutorials
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Tie Midelino Cane coils to make a spiral armature
Rolled leaves offer support for floral stems
Fold and then stitch a long fall leaf garland to roll into a coil
Reshape a vine wreath into smaller wreaths to combine as a pumpkin
Not only will your home smell wonderful while crafting this design you will also have a ethereal and long lasting design to enjoy.
A single stem of lilies turned into a celebration just by twirling a handful of lily grass around it.
Gently curve ripped foliage over flowers to add a cooling movement to a minimal summer design.
A cool and minimal floral design for summer.
The cage spirals to form a basket that wrap around the plump ripe berries (or you can slip in a flower) to hang as connections between the twigs.
Snip a dried twig wreath to undo the spirals to hang around a glass container
I build up the spheres by weaving willow wreaths and then use those to shape the ball
Curl and secure a few blades of flax into a bubble to frame your flowers
Loosely wrap and weave lily grass to create a planned-messy looking armature
Favourite Flowers
Hydrangea, when cultivated as a cut flower rather as a plant it is often revered to as Hortensia
Related Designs
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... a hint of a pumpkin late summer floral display to show off the elegant curve of a gladiolus flower stem.
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Designing adventurous Contemporary Floral centerpieces Article in the Canadian Florist Magazine.
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I have always been fascinated, as a designer, by the idea that there is a point when extremes or direct contrasts flip into its opposite.
Open a vine wreath to create a spiral twig armature around a glass container
