‘Brighten
home with
still life
sroupings
of flowers

TO BRIGHTEN up a
winter scene, flowers can
make all the difference.

The early harbingers of spring
— tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and
crocus — are available across
most of Canada right now.

They're not in the garden, of
course. Instead, they're blooming
as potted plants or cut flowers in
garden centres, supermarkets and
grocery stores. Use them to create
your own still life arrangements.

Compose a quiet corner in your
home by grouping long-stemmed
glassware, pottery pitchers and a
collection of brass- or wood-
framed photographs.

Add a vase containing a few
tulips surrounded by some small
evergreen branches from the

‘garden, or.store- bought greenery.

Place your creation against a
serene backdrop, to award it the
attention it deserves. Or, place it
in front of a mirror to see its
beauty magnified.

Dutch Amaryllis, i.e. Hip-
peastrum, make an arresting ar-
fangement when used sparingly.
Try combinging just two or three
in graceful, slender vase with a
touch of English ivy, ferns or
other greenery clipped from your
house plants ).

Try this composition: take three
matching vases and place one

“Amaryllis in each. Arrange’ the
tendrils of some ivy or other vine
in another vase or an attractive
dish, allowing them to wind like a
ribbon among the Amaryllis-filled
vases. |

Alternatively, it only takes one
Amaryllis to make a_ beautiful
‘table decoration. Place a set of
wine glasses or shallow bowls in
the centre of the table and set one
gigantic flower afloat in any of

«them.

Be sure that the open blossom
points upwards, showing off the
flower’s lovely throat. In the other
glasses or bowls, arrange greenery
or even a floating candle,

Here’s a tip to make working
with Amaryllis earier: wind a thin
wice or thread around the end of
the cut stem. Ordinarily the stem
ending has a tendency to split and
curl upward. Binding it will help
prevent this happening.

If there is only a tiny. bit of

stem left, try make an arrange-.
ment of floating blossoms. Place.

one or a few. in. an oversized

brandy snifter or a shallow dish.
_Fully: opened. narcissus look

‘lovely this way, as do tulips.

Vines or other greenery can be
used to create a light garland
around the rim of the dish.

Another approach to flower ar-
ranging is to create a landscape
effect by using twigs, greenery and
moss for a natural look.

Take a flat, shallow dish or
water-tight serving tray.

Fill the space with a well-soak-
ed piece of floral foam (ie.
‘‘Qasis’’) approximately two to
three centimetres thick (about one
inch).

Place a’ thin, hollow metal rod

q off-centre in-the foam and cover

the, entire surface with light moss.

" Lift up the moss and add water,

so that the plant material can ab-
sorb water.

‘ In the rod, place a decorative
twig or several tulips which still
have ab it of a stem...

- With a small stick, poke holes
in the moss-and the floral foam

@below it, making it easy to insert
tiie tulip stems.

‘ Scatter the tulips. across the
moss, not bunched up together; as
if the flowers had just naturalized ‘
in the grass.

February 12, 1993 - North Shore News - 15

Club hosts DR. ROBERT Copeman, of the — plant doctor in my garden,” will in the Lynn Valley United

. Department of Plant Science at be follawed by a question period Church, 320! Mountain Hwy,

lant doctor University of British Columbia about pests, diseases and prob- Worth Vancouver. Visitors are
will speak at the nest Lynn lems in the garden. welcome,

Valley Garden Club meeting. The meeting will be held For more information call

at meeting His talk, entitled ‘There's a Thursday, Feb, 18 at 7:30 p.m. 984-8252.

Thank You for Your Support Over the Last 4 Years]

Oop

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