Floristry

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The Victory Bouquet for London 2012 Olympics

3 August 2012 | 1 comment

victory-bouquet-london-2012-olympics

The Olympics are in full swing now, if you’ve been watching the TV coverage you’ve probably spotted the Victory Bouquets.  They were designed by Susan Lapworth, creative director at Jane Packer.  The design reflects the vibrancy and energy of the Olympic Games.

As Roses are quintessentially British they were chosen for the main flower, all the materials used in the bouquets are British grown.  The design is split into quadrants of roses, separated by a British food ingredient. The bouquet contains Illios roses (yellow), Marie Claire roses (orange), Wimbledon roses (green) and Aqua roses (pink).  The herbs will provide a wonderful fragrance; they include rosemary, apple mint, and English lavender. British grown wheat also features in the design.

students-creating-olympic-bouquets

Honoured and excited students from several colleges have been helping to make the required 4,800 bouquets for medal winners.  Students from Writtle College, Bexley Adult Education and Kingston Maurward  have participated in creating the designs.

The photo above shows students working with a make-up guide to help them create the bouquets to the exact specifications.  The bouquets were made to a strict brief, they had to be 20 x 25cm, reflect the energy of London 2012, withstand temperature changes and handling by non-experts.

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Images:

Top image – Jane Packer

Middle image – thisistotalessex.co.uk

Bottom image – Jane Packer

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Floral couture at Kildare Village

16 July 2012 | Permalink

kildare-village-floral-design

This fabulous living catwalk has been designed by four-time Chelsea Young Florist of the Year, Joe Massie.  The catwalk is the highlight of Kildare Village’s Chic Summer Festival event.  There is a programme of events throughout July which include musical performances, artisan food and floral inspired cocktails.

floral-couture

Joe’s installation features three floral dresses surrounded by a carpet of flowers and plants.  The designs reflect aspects of an Irish Summer, one dress is inspired by cornflowers, one by butterflies and one by daisies.  Daisies are particularly relevant as the event’s ambassador is Daisy Lowe, she launched the event on 5th July.

Kildare-floral-pagoda

Joe’s team also decorated the performance stage and food marquee.  The exquisite designs were very labour intensive and took a team of 8 florists, five days to complete.  The catwalk will be in the open air for a month, so a combination of real and artificial materials were used to ensure the designs look perfect throughout the event.

kildare-village-floral-couture

The dresses contain fresh grasses, succulents, echeverias, lichen and branches. The plants and flowers used were roses, dahlia, hydrangea, marguerite daisies, gyposphilia, lavender, cornflowers, and cosmos.  The installation can be viewed until Sunday 29th July, at Kildare Village outlet shopping, Ireland.

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Guilt free flower cakes

12 July 2012 | Permalink

birthday-flower-cake

Image: Flower Council of Holland

What do you buy the person who has everything? Flowers of course.  These floral cakes make ideal birthday presents, you can enjoy them for for at least a week and they are calorie free. The cake above features green beans and radishes amongst the flowers.

flower-cupcake

Image: Flower Council of Holland

Floral cakes tend to be made with chrysanthemums or carnations as their uniform shape works very well en masse and they are long lasting.  They can also be used as table arrangements for parties or a centrepiece on a buffet table.  Floral cupcakes look cute grouped on a cake stand too.  They can be made in silicone cake cases which have the added benefit of being waterproof, so floral foam will hold water better.

floral-slice-of-cake

Image: newarkflowershoppe.com

This zesty slice of floral cake has been placed on specially shaped dish, but any decorative plate or tray could be used. A group of two or three cake slices on a cake stand would make a fun centrepiece.

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Top 5 long lasting flowers

27 June 2012 | Permalink

chrysanth-arrangement

We all want to get the most out of cut flowers and enjoy them for as long as possible. There are a few things you can do to increase their longevity and of course it helps if you know which flowers are long lasting.

chrysanthemumChrysanthemums
These robust flowers come in almost every colour imaginable.  There are two main types, spray chrysanths have lots of small heads on a stem, and blooms which have one large head.  Forget boring mixed bunches; new varieties from florists are funky and modern.  They are very hardy and will last up to three weeks.
Cymbidium OrchidsCymbidium Orchids
All orchids are long lasting, but cymbidiums last particularly well as they don’t damage easily like other more delicate orchids.  The exotic blooms are large enough to be used individually in arrangements.  They are available in white, pink, yellow, red and green. They last up to three weeks and work well submerged in vases.
AlstromeriaAlstromeria
These elegant flowers come in many colours from white to pink, orange, red and purple.  There are several heads on each stem of Alstromeria.  English grown Alstromeria is far superior when in season, usually from spring to autumn, with beautiful large heads. They will last up to two weeks or longer, sometimes English Alstromeria will last three weeks.
CarnationCarnations
You are spoilt for choice with carnations, there are literally of hundreds of colours.  You can get frilly, feathered or two tone varieties.  Choose from pure white to the palest pink, to cerise and velvety crimson. Standards carnations have one large head, whilst spray carnations have several small heads on a stem and are sold in bunches.  They are great value for money and last up to two weeks.
King ProteaProteas
These impressive flowers are very long lasting.  They come in in many varieties ranging from small pincushion proteas to huge king proteas.  They last 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer as they gradually dry out. King proteas can have flower heads up to 25cm across; the tactile petals have a velvety feel.  Proteas are available in a range of colours from white to pink, red, orange and yellow.
For tips to help your flower last as long as possible have a look at this article

Images:
Chrysanthemum arrangement – Justchrys.com

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Flower carpet festival

20 June 2012 | Permalink

flower-carpet-1

Ventspils in Latvia hold a flower carpet contest as part of their annual summer festival.  The contest is in it’s 12th year, visitors from around the world flock to Ventspils to see the creative entries made using flowers and plants.

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Florists from Latvia and other countries around Europe take part in the contest.  The carpets are displayed on the Oste Street Promenade and judged to win awards.

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There are also flower sculptures dotted around the city including a rabbit family, giant fish and a flower clock.

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Ventspils gained the world record for the longest flower carpet in 2010.  Nearly 1000 residents of Ventspils helped to make the carpet out of plants; it was an incredible 1,665 metres long.

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The flower carpet festival runs from 3rd-5th August.

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flower-clock

Images:

Images 1-5 – flowercast.com

Image 6 – flower clock –Vipe, panoramio.com

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