Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Use a drinking straw to push foliage horizontally deep into a Kenzan to leave space for stems to rest on top of them
- 7 August 2019
- click to send Christine a smile
Place a Kenzan in the middle of a shallow container and fill the container with water.
See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to place a Kenzan.
Gently press the foliage to catch on the teeth of the Kenzan. Be careful these teeth are quite sharp.
Gently press the leaves down into the Kenzan using a drinking straw or thin aquarium pipe.
This is a great way to re-use drinking straws instead of it becoming trash. Simply rinse out the straw after use and keep it handy.
... and now that drinking straws are becoming less readily available: remember to keep one in your design bag or buy aquarium pipe that you can reuse time after time.
Layer the leaves and continue to press it all the way down.
The foliage is speared all the way into the Kenzan keeping it neatly in place under water.
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Tutorials
Temporarily adhere a traditional Ikebana Kenzan or pincushion to a shallow container.
How to place various sizes of plant material in a Kenzan
Split (but don't cut) a few gladiolus flowers to spiral in a vase
This looks spectacular but it is the easiest composite flower to make
Orchids grow in long flower spikes. It is great to use the entire stem but sometimes you need shorter section. There is a trick to cutting the stems without leaving a visible...
Favourite Flowers
Gladiolus, Sword lily, Corn Lilies, gladioluses, glads, plural: gladioli
Related Designs
Cut stems of Gladiolus to place in a radiating summer design.
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Split and spiral a few gladiolus flowers in a way that the stems remain intact, to spiral in a water filled filled vase for a long lasting composite flower
My fourth design in my demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society meeting
