Page 46 • The HERALD • 24th August 2023 v SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES v ✿ DOWN THE GARDEN PATH ✿ Smithwood Landscaping Professional Gardening & Landscaping • Garden Redesign • Astro Turf • Trees & Shrubs Carefully Pruned • Rockeries Designed • Fencing • Ground Cover • Seasonal Tidy Ups No Job Too Small as I am a Local Gardener Any advice over the phone is freely given Contact Gary (Master Landscaper) 07707 433194 FABULOUS FLOWERS BY LUCINDA KNAPMAN from Debbie Thorne Foresters Flower Club Lucinda Knapman is a orist of more than 35 years, who also has a Fine Art degree. She treated us to a wonderful, inspiring evening of di erent oral techniques and oral tips. We were le in awe of six di erent stunning arrangements and wished we had bought more ra e tickets! Firstly, Lucinda demonstrated a hand tied ower arrangement; particularly useful as we try to minimise our impact on the environment. She used pittosporum for the inside, leatherleaf fern and palm foliage for the outside of the hand tied bouquet, which protects the ower stems from damage when all is tied together. White lisianthus, red Naomi roses and blue delphinium owers were incorporated as a nod to the Coronation of our King. Lucinda held the foliage stems in her le hand and added owers (standing proud above the foliage) and made a quarter turn a er each – in the same direction – to create a spiral at the bottom, allowing a solid base. e palm leaves were outside to extend the width of the bouquet, looking more luxurious. Tie o , cut the stems level, then trim the centre stems level, enabling the arrangement to stand at. Add cellophane around to protect, water and a ower bag – beautiful! arrangement. Mini deco oral foam container and foam was used with wires attached. She attached the two small arrangements to a circular stand (circle facing), an exquisite Oriental design. Her fourth arrangement was a dish on a tall rose gold vase. Lucinda shapes oral foam to avoid crumbling corners. Bulrush leaves made a really tall vertical line; fatsia leaves, large Ivy leaves, and leatherleaf fern covered the base. Amongst the foliage were ‘Bells of Ireland’- mollichella -this is a photo and geotropic plant and so will move to light and gravity, adding interest. Very pale pink roses and salmon pink anthurium were added to complement the rose gold vase. Anthurium leaves can be manipulated, but don’t touch the ower leaf as the oils on skin kill the ower rapidly. Also, leaving some leaves on owers will help them drink with the aid of transpiration. en came a grey statue of an Oriental lady’s head without the top, Lucinda created a hat e ect using variegated foliage, eucalyptus and mint– to blend with the grey – and lavender, deep cerise roses (Flash Bacchara), pink wax owers, ‘Mimi Eden’ small spray roses and purple larkspur. What a hat! Finally came a terracotta garden pot with mechanics inside supporting a ‘cut down’ ower bucket, covered in hessian. Floral foam was used. Lucinda created a beautiful, summery, tall arrangement, including yellow gladioli edged with orange (remove growing tip, if you want to keep straight), ‘Sunrich’ sun owers, and ‘Con dential’ bright orange roses, which were cut short to encourage water ow. e stage was a blaze with fabulous owers by Lucinda! Next meetings: Thursday 7th September for a presentation by Chris Legrande: Vienna, the Waltz City. Thursday 8th September: Outing to Wisley 023 8081 2810, Thursday 5th October: In house workshop. For more information about Foresters Flower Club please call Debbie orne on: 07769 830752. Next came a table decoration in lemon, white and green. A straight sided vase of fairy lights was surrounded by an exquisite 12 inch wreath ring arrangement. Lucinda emphasised using a plastic backed oral foam ring, and to remove a notch of oral foam to allow watering ( ag space) She greened the base layer with hebe and le spaces for the owers. Dried cornice made strong vertical lines and ‘Gold cap’ calla lilies were inserted and secured with paper covered wire across two cornus, on the diagonal. Calla can be le out of water to go accid, manipulate, and will become turgid as soon as watered. Some calla lilies were vertical and interspersed with white Lisianthus. As white is a dominant colour, Lucinda recommends using a lot of white when mixing with other colours to avoid white dominance. She used yellow pom-pom spray chrysanthemums, cut short, to cover the remaining holes in the greenery base. Beautiful, elegant, large, white orchids (in tubes), symbolised butter ies on the base and two paper butter ies were incorporated – one to cover the watering hole and one high on the cornus stick. Lucinda recommends using a orist’s knife to cut ower stems and she demonstrated pulling the ower stem away to avoid cutting oneself. e knife prevents damage to the phloem and xylem, arteries and veins of owers, which can be crushed by scissors. A er this came a Japanese style purple and green mini
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