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Plus STEP-BY-STEPS | YOU BE THE JUDGE | WINTER MOMENTS | HOLLY AND IVY | CHRISTMAS QUIZ
 NAFAS
Bringing people and flowers together

The National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS)

is a warm and welcoming floral association with clubs country-wide.
Our members enjoy:

● workshops on how to create wonderful floral designs

● demonstrations from accomplished designers

● entering shows and competitions

● qualification opportunities

● fun, friendship and a whole lot more

VISITORS WELCOME AT ALL CLUBS

For more information or to find a club near you contact NAFAS
0207 247 5567 www.nafas.org.uk
facebook @NafasFlowers instagram @nafas_flowerarrangers
 An abundance of berries
in shades of red, glossy
foliage, a few baubles,
cones and moss, these
are the colours and
textures of a fabulous
festive season.
Photograph: © studioPSG
Welcome Editor Chloë Bryan-Brown
Email: editor@nafas.org.uk
Designer Amanda Hawkes
Botanical Consultant Dr Christina Curtis

Photograph: Alicia Hart

Editorial Team
Sylvia Loader (Distribution Officer),

W
inter is a season of Linda Lyons, Christine Saunders
contrasts and there is so Social Media Manager Hanna Azevedo
much in nature to inspire us – Email: socialmedia@nafas.org.uk

from frosty mornings to rain Advertising Manager Georgina Humphrey

Tel: 07956 639714
drumming on the roof and the wind rattling at the door and Email: georgina@nafas.org.uk
windows to be let in; short days and long nights and maybe, Printer Warners
The Maltings, West St, Bourne,
if we’re lucky, a crackling fire. Somehow, all of these things Lincs, PE10 9PH
find their way into our designs, whether it’s a bare branch Tel: 01778 392491

that has been artfully placed, crisp lilies, berries or, at Newstrade Distributor
Select Publisher Services
Christmas, fairy lights and a sprinkling of artificial snow. P.O. Box 6337, Bournemouth, BH1 9EH
Tel: 01202 586848
It’s also a time for reflection. I’ve been thinking about how
SUBSCRIPTIONS
flowers have helped me this year – from the overflowing jug
For members of flower clubs and societies
my children put on the table after I had coronavirus to the visit www.nafas.org.uk
or email info@nafas.org.uk
many online demonstrations I watched, choosing a rose for
For non-NAFAS members
my sister’s birthday, flower arranging classes in the garden • Subscribe on page 66
and the supermarket bunch my mum and I took to the • or contact Warners:
Tel: 01778 392491
graveyard when I could finally visit her again after lockdown. Email: subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk

I hope you’re finding ways to enjoy flowers too. You’ll certainly ISSN 0046-421X
© 2020 NAFAS Enterprises Ltd.
find plenty in this issue to inspire you, from breathtaking
land art to wacky steampunk and lots of festive step-by-steps.
I already know which one I’ll be doing – look on our social
media for a Christmas Day picture.

You can also keep up with all our news at @flowerarrmag on Volume 60 Issue 4
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Or you can email me at The Flower Arranger is the quarterly
magazine of the National Association of
editor@nafas.org.uk Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS),
published by NAFAS Enterprises Ltd.
Happy Christmas everyone. NAFAS
Osborne House,
12 Devonshire Square,

Chloë London, EC2M 4TE

Tel: 020 7247 5567
www.nafas.org.uk
Registered charity no. 1101348

NAFAS Chairman
Dr Christina Curtis

The NAFAS logo is a trademark registered within

the UK. It can be a criminal offence to copy or
use registered trademarks and designs without
Discover on page 46 how to make the permission. To use our logo please seek
fabulous festive pudding featured on authorisation from NAFAS, Osborne House,
12 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4TE
our cover. Designed and created by
Jacqui Arm, it’s beginner level so anyone Opinions expressed by contributors and services
can have a go and it will certainly provide offered by advertisers are not specifically
a talking point for family and friends endorsed by the Editor or the National
Association of Flower Arrangement Societies
Cover photograph: Sam Roberts 2003 Ltd. (NAFAS)

2 | W I NT ER 2020
 45 43
19 10 13
Inside this iue...
REGULARS STEP-BY-STEPS
In season 7 Suspended design 9
Puzzles: Christmas quiz 42 Red wool Christmas tree FLOOS 16
In the garden 61 Candle arch 28
You be the judge 64 Nordic tabletop tree 34
Subscriptions 66 Twists and turns 44
Handbooks 68 Wire and roses 45
Pine cone pudding 46
FEATURES Natural baubles 48
24 things, Holly and ivy 26 Rustic rings:
Focus on steampunk 29 Simply stems 50
Creative crafting at WAFA 39 Conifer and cones 50
Bleached willow 51
EVENTS
White roses 70
Winter Moments with Flowers 56
PEOPLE
Carles J. Fontanillas 12
Mark and Rebecca Ford 18
INSPIRATION
Sparkle and twinkle 4
Contemporary baubles
and stars 10
Dichotomy designs 22
Christmas robin 35
Staircase swagger 36
Festive fun 43
Christmas bubbles 46
Festive fireplaces 53
Five ways with poinsettia 72
READER GIVEAWAYS
AND OFFERS
The Flower Arranger apron 36
Winter Moments tickets 60
INSPIRATION

Sparkle and twinkle

Here are some designs that show how including fairy lights and maybe a
sprinkling or two of artificial snow add an extra dimension to the customary
colours and plant material of the festive season

4 | W I NT ER 2020

D uring winter, there are good
aesthetic and practical reasons
for incorporating lights in your
designs. Not only do they conjure up
bright winter mornings and glowing
Photograph: courtesy of Fleur Créatif
fireside scenes, they also light your
flowers so that you can enjoy them
well into the evening despite the
shorter days and darker nights.
The designs featured here
demonstrate three different ways of
using lights. On this page, Viky
Vangampelaere has wound a string
of white LED fairy lights along the
base of her design to connect ten
distinct sculptures of pine cones that
were created out of shaped floral
foam covered with small leaved
foliage, Rosa ‘Naomi’, some rosehips
and cranberries. The whiteness of
the lights contributes to the overall
frozen look of the scene, which has
then been further enhanced by the
use of artificial snow.
Overleaf, Annick Maertens and
Jan de Ridder have used yellow
SPARKLE AND TWINKLE
lights to create a sense of warmth
and domesticity. Annick’s design
featuring dried plant material and
homely accessories is framed with
soft yellow lights as though you are
looking at your patio from a cosy
spot in the sitting room. In Jan’s
design, the same yellow light is used
to illuminate natural plant material
that has been cleverly enclosed
within a structure of two columns
with slashed openings that hint at a
maelstrom outside.
W I NT ER 2020 |5
SPARKLE AND TWINKLE

above One of Jan de Ridder’s columns

using light to add depth and to light up
and emphasise the natural plant material
left Annick Maertens’ framed design
features hearts and lights and creates a
scene where you are looking outside from
Photographs: courtesy of Fleur Créatif

a place of warmth and cosiness indoors

All the designs featured here

were displayed at the 2019
Winter Moments with Flowers
show near Brussels. For a full
report see page 56

6 | W I NT ER 2020
 In season
CHRISTMAS COLOUR SCHEMES · FLORAL DAYS OUT · FESTIVE Ideas to try
Winter blooms in blues and blush
Add an unconventional twist to your
festive flowers with two colours
tipped to trend this Christmas:
blush pink and classic blue. The
latter was Pantone’s Colour of the
Year – selected for instilling calm
and confidence – so it’s been a
favourite designer choice over
recent months. To decorate this
Illustration: © GoodStudio/Shutterstock.com (top right) Photographs: © iStock.com/PicturePartners (juniper); © Stars for Europe (poinsettia and privet);
Christmas, stylists are pairing it
with pale, peachy pinks to form an
unexpected festive combination.
© Hesti Lestari/Shutterstock.com (hypericum); © LariBat/Shutterstock.com (hydrangea); © Silver Spiral Arts/Shutterstock.com (anemone)
While blue flowers are few and far
between – especially mid-winter –
Juniper
berries
Pink Hypericum
berries
Waltz into
winter with
Hannah Dunne
it is a great period for blue berries.
Choose blue-berried sprigs of
festive foliage such as ivy, privet or
even juniper. Blue accents can also
be built in with your choice of
container, ribbons, accessories or
dried flowers.
To get the look, contrast the blues
with blush pinks, and here we’re
spoilt for choice. Did you know,
poinsettia are available in pale
pink? Add pink Hypericum berries
for a blush take on another
traditionally festive plant. For more
Poinsettia and
privet berries
Dried
Hydrangea
flowers
massed colour, try peachy shades of
carnations and roses – available all
year, or mix-in delicate Ranunculus,
such as florist’s favourite R. asiaticus
‘Cloni Hanoi’, or anemones like pink
A. ‘Mistral® Rosa Chiara’. Speaking
of anemones, if you’d prefer to keep
colours more classic, you can never
go wrong with a black-centred pure
white anemone at Christmas –
something about that monochrome
contrast feels instantly wintry.
While it’s not the best season for
UK-grown flowers, you can still find
British blooms to suit the blush
trend. Pale pink hellebores are
commonly available, as are tulips –
look for fringed or double varieties
for that fluffy snow-topped look
and try adding dried dill seed heads
for wispy winter texture. UK foliage
lends itself to the look; this season
brings complementary deep
shades such as purple beech and
Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Purpureum’,
with gorgeous dark green, purple
and variegated leaves.
White
Anemone
W I NT ER 2020 |7
IN SEASON

In brief Deck the walls

A new trend to make a statement this
Christmas: temporary backdrops
Add colour for your floral arrangements.
with dried flowers Peel-and-stick removable wallpaper
is becoming more popular,
In keeping with the blue theme, look
transforming any room into an
for preserved blue Delphinium,

Photograph: Plant a Bloomer

enchanted grotto. Use a woodland
lavender, Hydrangea or Limonium
design as the backdrop for real
(statice, sea lavender). If you don’t
Christmas trees or floral
mind experimenting with dyes,
arrangements with wintry blooms
dried flowers such as Achillea and
and plenty of pine to add scent as well.
Craspedia (Billy buttons) are perfect
for painting – OASIS® Lake Blue spray
wallsauce.com
is just the shade to match Pantone’s
blue, and there’s also a blush pink.
Letterbox Christmas
Always read the description to make
sure paints are suitable, as some only As many of us will be sending
work on dried materials but others Christmas presents by post this
such as the FloraLife® sprays can year, there are still plenty of ways to
colour fresh flowers. make it special. You could send a
oasishomeandhobby.co.uk flower or plant subscription, a
workshop gift voucher, or seed
packets to grow some thoughtfully
chosen blooms. These festive seed
paper shapes – stars, hearts or

Photographs: wallsauce.com
Christmas trees – are perfect for
popping into a card.
plantabloomer.co.uk

Floral dates for the diary

WREATH WORKSHOPS DRIED FLOWER WREATH
Many flower clubs, florists and WORKSHOP
flower schools all over the UK have 7 November 2020
reopened their doors to run socially Learn about the best varieties and
distanced workshops, so lots of techniques for drying and
Christmas wreath classes look set to preserving flowers, and how to wire
go ahead this year. Search online to them into wreaths, at this workshop
find one local to you. with Liz of Cotswold Posy Patch
flower farm near Cheltenham.
NAFAS EVENTS cotswoldposypatch.com
Most NAFAS club events were being
reviewed at the time of writing, so to FULLY FORAGED FLORAL
find out what’s on near you, visit DESIGN
www.nafas.org.uk and check the 14 November 2020
latest information provided by your In this class by Grace and the
nearest team. team at Bramble & Wild in Frome,
Somerset, you’ll discuss and
learn about sustainable flower
CORONAVIRUS (Covid-19) foraging, the best plant material
ADVICE to grow at home, and how to
Please be aware of coronavirus correctly condition and design
(Covid-19) and check events are with foraged blooms.
going ahead before setting out. brambleandwild.com
FESTIVE DOOR SWAG
WORKSHOP
4 December 2020
Hundreds of Christmas door wreath
classes are taking place across the
UK but, in this alternative workshop,
Pesh Flowers in London will show you
how to make your door stand out with
a swag using sustainable methods.
peshflowers.co.uk
CHRISTMAS FIREPLACE
GARLAND WORKSHOP
19 December 2020
At this workshop at the famous
Riverford Field Kitchen in
Buckfastleigh, head gardener Penny
Hemming will guide you through the
techniques for creating a long
garland for your banisters,
mantlepiece or table using material
grown on the farm.
fieldkitchen.riverford.co.uk

8 | W I NT ER 2020
 STEP-BY-STEP

Suspended
design
Suspended floral
designs have been a
popular choice for
wedding receptions in
recent years – a trend
now extending into the
home. If you can hang a
sturdy hook from your
ceiling, it’s a great way
to wow your guests
this Christmas

Plant material
l a selection of flowers, branches, berries
and foliage of your choice

Mechanics and sundries

l a sturdy hook in the ceiling
l floristry reel wire
l water tubes if required
l ribbon or string for hanging
l a ring - use a hula hoop, wreath ring or
wedding hoops in various sizes from
www.corsagecreations.co.uk

ENTHUSIAST FOAM FREE

Method
1 Tie separate pieces of ribbon or
string at three or four intervals
around your ring (you can glue them
in place to prevent slipping). Extend
them at equal lengths to the height
you’d like the piece to hang and
knot them together at the end.
2 As though making a classic
wreath, attach the foliage
branches around the ring by
binding with wire, always placing
them in the same direction and
overlapping each one to achieve
Photograph and step-by-step: Stars for Europe

An example of
bushy coverage. a suspended
3 Wire on your desired accessories design. This one
including baubles and fairy lights is a straw wreath
with moss and
if you like. Make sure your flowers
privet berries, then
are kept hydrated in water tubes. wired on pine,
Distribute everything evenly around lichen-covered
the ring to avoid weighting the branches and
piece to one side. cut poinsettia
bracts in flower
4 Hang the knotted ribbons from tubes filled
the hook and enjoy. with water
INSPIRATION

Jacqui Arm’s alternative

table design would
work equally as well in
a contemporary home
as in a more traditional
setting where it would
provide a stunning
contrasting look

Contemporary
baubles and stars
 CONTEMPORARY BAUBLES AND STARS
When asked what inspired this
design, I had to stop and think.
Like so many of my ideas, it just
popped into my head and I’m not
sure why. I know I wanted to create
a contemporary, foam-free design
that had a seasonal feel, but wasn’t
the traditional red, green and gold.
The colour palette was prompted
by the lovely white painted, twisted
vine that was lent to me by the
chairman of my flower club
(Dee Kelly) and some blue-grey
glass baubles that I had picked up
in a sale for 10p each.
Photograph: Sam Roberts
I chose Ornithogalum, deliberately
going for stems that were ever so
slightly bent rather than ramrod
straight to echo the twisted vine.
The rest of the flower choice was
mainly because of their star and
bauble shapes (Eryngium alpinum
‘Orion Questar’ (sea holly), Clematis
‘Blue Pirouette’, Brunia laevis (silver
brunia) along with Garrya elliptica’s
catkin-like racemes for their colour
and tinsel-like tassel form. Adding a
few white painted pine cones
around the base finished the design
by providing contrast and texture.
PEOPLE
Carles J. Fontanillas
Chloë Bryan-Brown talks to the hard-working Catalan who tirelessly promotes
the work of international master florists through his online library of their floral
‘recipes’, all the while experimenting, learning and developing his own quirky style
C arles J. Fontanillas it that rare
thing – a floral artist and florist
who enjoys every aspect of his work,
from teaching and demonstrating to
competing and even serving in the
family florist business that his
grandmother established near
Barcelona almost 100 years ago. “They
feed into each other,” he says. “The
flower shop is my connection with the
general public and keeps me up to date
with what people want. This, in turn,
helps me with my teaching, and in my
demonstrations and workshops.”
Rather than feeling stifled by his
family’s floral pedigree, he thinks it has helped him.
“My mother has always been interested in trends and
techniques. I would say that the way I see floral art is
similar to my family, but that it also incorporates new ideas.”
A round-shaped, rusty-coloured and romantic-looking,
textural centrepiece featuring a bed of Fatsia japonica
flowers with carnations, roses, Hydrangea, rosehips,
candles and Christmas accessories
In 2014, Carles set up FLOOS, an
online library with tuition showcasing
floral recipes from master florists all
over the world. This, he says, also helps
him with his creativity with some of the
more advanced techniques being
adapted for his daily business.
Four years later, he won the Spanish
Floral Art Cup, meaning he will
represent Spain in the Europa Cup in
Photographs: FLOOS, the crafter’s secret
Poland (delayed from 2020 to 2021).
“Competitions are an opportunity to
learn and push your limits,” he says, “not
only in floral art but also personally”.
The future? He is not downhearted
despite the difficulties of our time. “Covid-19 has affected
everything both as individuals and for the business, so
we will need to change and rebuild. Something new from
FLOOS will come for sure.”
 CARLES J. FONTANILLAS

This tall, elegant

design is a tower of
floral foam bricks with
a layer of Jacobaea
maritima, some
beautiful white
Eucharis grandiflora
(Amazon lily),
Symphoricarpos
(snowberry), Fatsia
japonica (Japanese
aralia) flowers,
Anigozanthos ‘Bush
Dawn’ (kangaroo paw),
Diplocyclos palmatus
fruit, Larix (larch) and
dried thyme
CARLES J. FONTANILLAS

A plate-shaped structure
created out of wire with pine
cones glued on, supporting a string
of Diplocyclos palmatus fruit,
Symphoricarpos (snowberry), Heuchera
leaves and white Phalaenopsis (moth orchid)

Photographs: FLOOS, the crafter’s secret

left Christmas bauble design featuring pine needles stuck with

a mixture of glue and water to a large wooden structure edged
with Christmas accessories and a band of Malus (crab apples)
with pine branches and rosehips
 CARLES J. FONTANILLAS
Seasonal container made from pine cones
attached to half a polystyrene sphere
with x Heucherella, Vanda (orchid),
rose hips, Cotinus coggygria
(smoke tree), Fatsia japonica
(Japenese aralia) flowers,
Larix (larch) fronds, and
Eucalyptus blossom with
Christmas accessories

right A wooden picture frame

with wooden sticks creating
a layer of enclosed space
that has been filled with
Christmas decorations and
an interesting combination
of traditional western and
oriental plant material
including pine fronds, Vanda
(orchid) and rosehips

Step-by-step
instructions for
Carles’s designs are
available at floos.org
STEP-BY-STEP

Red wool Christmas tree

In this contemporary Christmas tree design,
Carles J. Fontanillas has used wool to create a structure
that mimics the shape and fuzzy texture of pine branches
while also supporting the natural plant material and accessories. Carles’s design
is brought to The Flower Arranger by FLOOS, the online floral design library

Plant material 3 Cut 30cm lengths of wired wool and wrap these 6 Space the Diplocyclos
l a few strings of around the shaped metal rods, attaching them with palmatus fruits and wired
Diplocyclos palmatus a dab of hot glue. Once in place, bend the wired sprigs of noble fir around
l several sprays of wool lengths to the desired shape, comb out the the ‘branches’.
small rosehips e.g.
wool for a soft fuzzy surface, and pinch over the cut
Rosa ‘Magical Pearls’
l a handful of Malus (crab ends to cover the wire.
apple) fruit, wired
l some small pieces of
Symphoricarpos
(snowberry)
l wired sprigs of Abies
procera (noble fir) and
some of its small male cones
strung on reel wire

Mechanics and sundries

l a wooden base
l a long piece of wood for
your tree trunk
l two metal rods around
1cm in diameter that you
can bend into shape for
the ‘branches’
l glue gun and hot glue
l a few baubles and small
Christmas accessories
l some red wired wool,
available from florist
wholesalers
l small metal posts or nails
to secure the branches to
the tree
l plenty of stub wires and
reel wire
l some small water tubes
(optional)
4 Hang the covered
rod ‘branches’ on the
metal posts on the
‘tree trunk’ and secure
with hot glue.
7 Remove the snowberry
leaves (they dry out
quickly) and place the
stems inside the water-
filled baubles. Add the
wired crab apples and
rosehips in the water
5 Remove the hangers tubes or further baubles.
from the baubles and fill
them with water to hold
the fresh plant material.
Place these and your other
Christmas accessories in
the wired wool branches.

EXPERT FOAM FREE

Method
1 Fix your ‘tree trunk’,
the long piece of wood,
to your wooden base.
2 Shape the metal rods
and plan where you are
going to attach them to
the ‘tree trunk’. Hammer
small metal posts into the
wood at the points where
the rods will attach.

16 | W I NT ER 2020
 STEP-BY-STEP

FLOOS offer
FLOOS is offering
Photographs: FLOOS, the crafter’s secret

our readers 10%

discount on annual
subscription to its
online library of
floral recipes. Sign
up at floos.org using
the discount code
NAFAS2020
PEOPLE
Meet the sculptors of
the natural world
Jackie McCarrick talks to husband and wife Mark and Rebecca Ford, Sussex-
based land artists and environmental designers who draw on ancient traditions
to weave their surreal, magical sculptures from willow, chestnut and hazel
R ebecca, who studied creative
writing and literature before
going into teaching, grew up in a
creative family, living ‘in the middle
of nowhere’ and recalls an idyllic
childhood climbing trees and
paddling in streams. Meeting Mark
was the catalyst for a huge change of
direction: a graduate of Fine Art at
Sunderland, his work in garden
design and structures reignited her
own passion for the outdoors and it
wasn’t long before they teamed up
professionally as well as personally.
HOW DID YOU DISCOVER SUCH AN
UNUSUAL CREATIVE PATH? When
we married in 2005, we had two
ceremonies – a Pagan-Christian
‘handfasting’ out in the forest and
then a traditional May Day village
wedding complete with top hat and
tails, cherry blossom confetti and a
procession of guests. Everyone
contributed flowers and food and we made our own
wedding arch from woven willow. Not surprisingly, that
lovely creation resulted in orders from other couples for
similar wedding structures, some dressed with flowers.
HOW DID THE BUSINESS DEVELOP? We just carried on
holding a vision of our perfect working life. Some people
were pretty cynical at the beginning and it was a bit ‘seat
of the pants’ financially but we kept at it and the work
evolved in its own way. As in any artistic or creative field,
you have to be flexible and go with what presents itself,
and something always came up.
YOU’RE NOW KNOWN INTERNATIONALLY – HOW DID THAT
HAPPEN? Our first big commission was a mammoth pod
at Arundel Castle in 2010, and as word got around, people
started finding us from all over the world. Our first
international commission came via a Facebook contact,
18 | W I NT ER 2020
and involved working with
renowned Italian florists Gabriele
Meneguzzi and Vincenzo Sponga on
an installation called ‘Hygroscopic’
for the biennial land art symposium
Humuspark in 2016. We’ve since
been involved with environmental
art events abroad in Poland,
Lithuania, the US and Canada, and
are proud to be part of the new wave
of ‘land art’ artists.
DO YOU SEE LAND ART AS A
GROWING MOVEMENT? Yes, the
Netflix competition The Great Flower
Fight seems to have created lots of
interest – it’s becoming a big
movement. We especially enjoy
going into schools and creating
sculpture projects with children of
all ages – they find it thrilling and it’s
one of the most rewarding parts of
what we do.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE
INSTALLATIONS YOU’VE CREATED? We loved working at
Chichester Cathedral on their Labyrinth projects in 2013
and 2017, and then on a giant ‘Spire of Peace’ in 2018,
for the centenary of the end of the First World War.
The 9.5m-high spire was made in sections, from willow
and hazel, and included a little side room where visitors
could write messages of peace. We enjoyed working with
local organisations on making over 1,000 origami paper
butterflies to decorate the structure.
above Mark and Rebecca Ford, Canada, 2019
opposite page
top Medžio Višta, Kaunas, Lithuania, 2018
centre left Bulb, Edward James Foundation
West Dean Gardens, West Sussex, 2012
bottom left Shoal, Slindon College, 2017
bottom right Time Passing, Kozlowka Palace Gardens,
Poland, 2018
MARK AND REBECCA FORD
WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING
COMMISSION YOU’VE UNDERTAKEN?
Probably the quirky 12m wide
moustache we created for the Grange
Opera Festival in Northington, for
their production of The Barber of
Seville. It had to be hoisted by cherry-
picker onto the outside of the building,
8m up. At one point it almost broke,
which was pretty nerve-racking!
WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR RAW
MATERIALS? We have hazel and
willow in our own garden, but we
also have access to a willow bed at an organic farm not
far away in Barnham, which we negotiated in exchange
for weaving them a giant chicken. We coppice a lot of
materials there each year, and if we need more, we can
go into the local countryside, as we’re part of a regulated
network. The dry willow we use comes from Somerset.
DO YOU HAVE TIME TO ENJOY YOUR OWN GARDEN? Yes,
and there’s lots to do: we’re on a south-facing slope in the
National Trust village of Slindon, and when we moved
here 16 years ago it was covered in brambles that took
ages to clear. Now we grow our own food, love our roses,
have a pond and do lots of composting, but we also keep
some wild areas. “Mark is the topiary king,” says Rebecca.
“So he keeps on top of all that!”
20 | W I NT ER 2020
WHAT ABOUT FLOWERS AROUND
THE HOUSE – ARE YOU ARRANGERS?
The cottage we live in is 17th century
so the garden has been a bit of a bottle
dump over the years. It’s amazing
what we’ve turned up from the earth,
from little glass ink wells to Victorian
medicine bottles. “Rebecca will often
display a single flower – a geranium
or a buttercup – in one of those for
the ultimate in simplicity,” says Mark.
“She also enjoys putting together
natural little arrangements
incorporating fragrant stems of
mint or parsley, soft and spiky grasses or things that have
gone to seed and look frothy and fluffy.”
LATEST PROJECT? During lockdown we’ve been kept busy
creating three deer, two fish and a kingfisher. They’re a
commission for Ardingly Reservoir in West Sussex.
FIND OUT MORE Visit twocirclesdesign.co.uk
above left Wedding circle ceremony space,
Southdowns National Park, 2017
above inset The Connoisseur, The Grange Festival,
Northington, Hampshire, 2018
above right Lazurite, Hampshire, 2018
bottom right Atamatik, Mont Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada, 2019
MARK AND REBECCA FORD
INSPIRATION

Dichotomy designs
Competitors in this class at the UK’s 2019 national flower show were inspired to
create designs that appealed to both head and heart

“Fine art is that in

which the hand, the
head, and the heart
of man go together.”

S o said the Victorian art critic

John Ruskin, and it certainly
seemed to be the case in the
‘Dichotomy’ class at the 2019 Floral
Art & Design Show in London.
The head appeared to have been
the starting point for many of the
designers – or at least a dictionary
or a thesaurus. The definition of
dichotomy, depending on which
lexicon you have, is ‘division’ coming
from the Greek dikho ‘in two’ and
tomy ‘cutting’ (in botany, the
division or forking of branches).
This translated into exhibits where
there was a strong contrast between
forms that were entirely opposed, be
it colour (black and white), shape
(regular and irregular), or texture
(smooth and rough).
Then came the heart. The
opposition within the exhibits made
for an extremely dramatic and
exciting class. Furthermore, the
gallery-style setting, where the
exhibits were hung like paintings on
a maze of backing boards, gave an
element of surprise as you turned
corners to discover the exhibits.
Lastly, the hand. As you would
expect from a national show, all the
exhibits were painstakingly and
Photographs: Joseph Traylen

beautifully executed. The finished

result? Floral art at its best.

22 | W I NT ER 2020
 DICHOTOMY DESIGNS

right My dictionary said “division

into two contrasting groups”, so I
decided on ‘rough’ and ‘smooth’
as I felt this was achievable in plant
material. I started with two wreath rings
and wired textured plum tree twigs
around both and then anchored them to
a wooden base on top of each other but
slightly apart for a 3D-effect. A small cage
filled with floral foam was wired to the
same base. Then I soaked a length of
plywood and let it dry in a spiral shape
and screwed it to the base with the lower
part also fixed onto the staging backing
board. I twisted glossy Phormium ‘Yellow
Wave’ leaves from the top to bottom of
the design followed by smooth
Zantedeschia ‘Crystal Blush’ (calla lily)
threaded through it. I placed a few
green carnations for additional rough
appearance before finally winding
through a ribbon of wired twigs.
Award: First Prize
Arranger: Wendy Parsons

left I too took inspiration from a dictionary.

But the definition of division got me
thinking about light and shade and
Yin and Yang.
Knowing that the exhibits were to be
hung gallery-style, I cut out the Yin and
Yang shapes from plywood and covered
them with hard ruscus that I glued on with
a hot glue gun and a layering technique.
I sprayed one shape white and the other
black using OASIS® Spray Colours – these
are kinder to plant material as they have
no toxins that dry things out.
Then I screwed the shapes onto the
backing board staging wall using spacers
so that there was a gap behind them.
This made it easy to insert the orchids in
their water tubes through the holes in
each shape.
It was time consuming and repetitive
work but simple and effective and I was
very happy with the result.
Award: Second Prize
Arranger: Kathryn Stangaard

W I NT ER 2020 | 23
DICHOTOMY DESIGNS
left The inspiration for this The sticks flowing from the
design came from the title and cavities were painted pieces of
the wall-mounted staging. Stephanandra tanakai wired
Using the definition of one with bullion wire. The Vanda
body equally divided and the ‘Tayanee White’ and ‘Sunanda
principle of the light and dark Chocolate Brown’ added yet
sides of the moon, I opted for another texture and shape
black and white colouring. helping to break up the large
Simple bold oblong shapes surface area. These were
placed vertically were in glued on to follow the trail of
proportion to, and echoed the sticks and give interest.
space given. To create depth, The Vanda were conditioned
one shape came forward while by fully submerging them in
the cut out holes took the eye water for 30 minutes and
through to the background. lasted for the full duration of
I made the shapes from the three-day show.
versatile insulation board (which
Award: Commended
is also very light for hanging)
Arranger: Ann Hinde
glued to thin board for stability.
On one, split leaves of
Cordyline ‘Black Ti’ were
pinned over a covering of
black paper, giving a sheen
and ripple effect. On the other,
strips of hand-made, textured
paper were lightly torn and
PVA glued on echoing the leaf
ripple on the first shape with a
textural contrast. Precision and
neatness were the key here.

Photographs: Joseph Traylen

24 | W I NT ER 2020
 DICHOTOMY DESIGNS

above I went for the

botanical forking branch
definition of dichotomy,
deciding to base my design
around Corylus avellana
‘Contorta’ (contorted hazel)
laid diagonally and secured
with large mossing pins across
the design, dividing in the
centre of the design and
thereby depicting dichotomy.
I made three panels out of
insulation board, covered them
The base board was
with masking tape and then
divided into four sections with
painted them the same colour
the third left empty to reveal
as the background. The first
the background colour and
panel was covered with dried
highlight the dividing contorted
roses from Australia mounted
hazel. The Vanda ‘Diamond
on double-sided tape. On the
White’ (orchid) flowers were
second panel, black lichen was
sealed and attached with cold
fixed with hot glue, while on
OASIS® glue.
the third, fresh Cordyline ‘Black
Ti’ leaves were attached Award: Third Prize
horizontally with pins. Arranger: Tom Hodge

W I NT ER 2020 | 25
FEATURE
24 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
TheHoy and the Ivy
Fast facts about this
season’s favourite
foliages, prized for their
colour, longevity and
contrasting textures as
well as their association
with Christmas
1 Common holly is an evergreen
shrub or tree with the botanical
name Ilex aquifolium.
2 In winter its fallen leaves provide
hedgehogs with a cosy place
to hibernate and its berries (which
are poisonous to humans) are an
important food source for birds.
3 7
Mature trees can grow up to
4.6m high and may live up to
300 years.
4 Holly is loved for its glossy
green leaves; in younger plants
these are spiky, while on older
plants the leaves are smoother.
Variegated
holly
26 | W I NT ER 2020
with Diana Woolf
Ilex aquifolium
(common holly)
Hedera helix
5 Holly is dioecious, meaning that
male and female flowers occur
on different trees. The flowers are
(ivy)
© Cynthia Shirk/Shutterstock.com (below left); © Bos11/Shutterstock.com (below centre); © iStock.com/Hana Richterova (below right)
small and white.
9 English ivy (Hedera helix) is an
evergreen woody climber
6 Holly is a traditional hedging
plant as its foliage is dense and
native to Western Europe.
impenetrable.
10 Ivy was a symbol of fidelity
and in the past, priests would
Holly was believed to be a give a wreath of ivy to newly married
Photographs: © RG-vc/Shutterstock.com (top left); © Koldunova Anna/Shutterstock.com (top right);
charm against witches and it couples: today, wedding bouquets
was considered unlucky to cut a still often include a sprig of ivy.
holly tree down; it was also thought
to protect against lightning strikes.
11 Ivy has small greeny-yellow
flowers that appear in
8 Holly is a very white wood and
as it is hard and fine-grained
was often used for furniture inlays.
autumn, but it is valued by flower
arrangers more for its year-round,
glossy green leaves.
White flowers Red berries
on common holly on frosted holly
 THE HOLLY AND THE IVY

18 Holly and ivy are used for

traditional Christmas
decorations and there are several
Christmas carols referencing the
two, the best-known being the
traditional folk carol The Holly and
the Ivy.
21 Holly and ivy can both be
easily foraged in winter
hedgerows and make excellent,
long-lasting additions to seasonal
arrangements and wreaths.
22 Ivy and holly berries can be
sprayed gold or silver to add

19 Ivy is popular as a base

foliage for Christmas
decorations as it’s a good contrast
a splash of seasonal glitz to
Christmas decorations.

to the bright reds and metallic

baubles often added to seasonal
arrangements.
23 Longer fronds of ivy can be
left hanging from Christmas
wreaths or bouquets to create a
sense of flow and naturalism.

20 Spiky holly leaves can be

used to add texture to
decorations and their shiny 24 Variegated hollies with
creamy white or yellow
surfaces are prized by flower borders framing dark green leaf
arrangers for the way they reflect centres can be used to add
back the Christmas lights. contrast to decorations.
Trailing ivy
fronds create
a natural, A traditional wreath of
flowing look thornless Ilex aquifolium
when used in ‘J.C. van Tol’ for Christmas
designs

12 The leaves on some young

ivy plants are lobed, but on
adult plants tend to be more oval.

13 Ivy flowers turn into deep

black, globe-shaped clusters
of berries in the winter.

14 English ivy is not the same as

the North American poison
ivy, but is still mildly poisonous if
eaten and some people may
develop a rash if they touch it.

15 Ivy is often unfairly accused of

Photographs: © iStock.com/uzuri71 (top left); © iStock.com/oversnap (below right)

killing trees when it climbs up

their trunks but, in fact, it is not a
parasite and its roots do not
penetrate the tree or steal its
nutrients as is often said.

16 Being evergreen, holly and ivy

were important ancient
symbols of continuing life during the
dead of winter and a promise of
the renewal of growth in springtime.

17 Holly also has a Christian

symbolism with the prickly
leaves referencing Jesus’s crown of
thorns and the red berries his
blood; it is sometimes known as
Christ’s Thorn.
STEP-BY-STEP
Candle arch
Here’s a design with a reusable structure by Pat George that would make a
wonderful welcome displayed in a window when family and friends come to visit
Plant material
l sprigs of conifer – any
variety
l pieces of x Fatshedera lizei
(tree ivy), the leaves with a
few trails and berries
l handful of small fir cones
3 stems of Alstroemeria or
l
flowers of your choice
Mechanics and sundries
l a wire wreath ring,
approximately 40cm
(16 inches) in diameter
l a base for your design –
I used a 41cm x 11cm
rectangle of 7mm thick MDF
l approximately 60cm of
2.5cm copper wire mesh
2 pieces of cardboard
l
l several lengths of Betula
(birch) bark
l OASIS® Floral Adhesive
(quick drying cold glue)
l test tubes
l gold candles
l reel wire
ENTHUSIAST FOAM FREE
Method
1 Carefully cut or saw the
wreath ring in half. The
two halves of the ring with
a layer of copper mesh
between them will form
the arch and mechanics
for your flowers.
2 Draw around the
outside of the two ring
halves on your cardboard
and cut out two arch
shapes. Make some
‘hairpins’ out of reel wire
and use these to pierce
the cardboard arch
shapes so that you can
attach them to your ring
halves a bit later.
3 Cut the bark into 5 Now, once the bark has
pieces and glue neatly dried onto the cardboard,
onto the cardboard arch use the wire hairpins to
shapes, leave to dry. attach one piece to each
4 Cut the copper mesh in side of the arch, thus
hiding the mechanics.
half lengthways and fold
in half again to give a 6 Push small test tubes
smaller mesh. Use reel and candles through
wire to attach one piece the mesh.
between the inner rings
7 Decorate with foliage
of your wreath halves and and flowers.
also to the outer rings so
8 Mount the structure on
that you now have a
your base covered with
three-dimensional arch.
birch bark.
Photograph: Sam Roberts
WARNING Never leave
lit candles unattended
as this could pose a
fire hazard.
 FEATURE

Focus on steampunk
Steampunk flowers are becoming popular at special occasions and themed
events. Valerie Best and Kathy Stangaard talk you through this fun and
fantastic craze which really lets your creativity and imagination run wild

If your love of floral art is – or could be – combined with

an interest in the Victorian era, fantasy, industrial
steam-powered machinery, fictional inventions and
machines, you might like to have a go at creating your
own slightly wacky steampunk floral design.
Although the word ‘steampunk’ was not coined
Photograph: Sam Roberts
envisioned future technology through the perspective
of fashion, culture, works of fiction, architecture, art
and technology.
Typically, it includes items that have been modified
to achieve a pseudo-Victorian look, often made out of
materials consistent with the period, such as polished

until the 1980s by the American science fiction author
KW Jeter, it’s a style that has its roots in the 19th Century,
a period when new machinery revolutionised almost
every aspect of life from cloth production and transport
to food supply and heavy industry.
It imagines how people from this age might have
brass, iron, wood, leather, velvet and copper.
Although it started as a bit of joke, steampunk has
developed a huge following. Various societies,
particularly in the UK and USA, hold conventions and
events highlighting and promoting every aspect of the
style with eclectic clothing and accessories.

W I NT ER 2020 | 29
FOCUS ON STEAMPUNK
Fashion
Steampunk fashion includes clothing, hairstyles,
jewellery, body modification and make-up. There are
no rules, instead the look is a fusion of modern and
Victorian (including the American Wild West) styles
with a touch of Gothic revival. There is an emphasis
on adornment and accessories.
You might have seen some of its followers wearing
exaggerated military uniforms, waistcoats, corsets,
gowns, bustles, petticoats, high button-boots and top
and bowler hats. The more sensational, the better.
The Botanical Engineers, Lynn Bottamley and
Caroline Jackson are two well-known steampunk
floral artists who also wear the clothes. You can find
out about their work and events at
@BotanicalEngineers on Facebook and Instagram.
Inspiration
Designs are normally dark in colour, often featuring
black as a base. They are heavily outlined, taking
inspiration from machinery shapes combined with
Art Deco and Art Nouveau influences.
In 2009–2010, the History of Science Museum,
Oxford hosted the first ever major exhibition of
steampunk art, with contributions from 18
steampunk artists from around the world. Photos
and videos at https://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/exhibits/
steampunk/album/
Followers of the style take inspiration from 19th-
century scientific fantasies and romances including
literary works by HG Wells, Twenty Thousand
Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and later
Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast and the fantasy
worlds of Terry Pratchett.
In terms of technology, it is inspired by steam-
powered machinery, cannons, airships, cars,
analogue computers and old-fashioned typewriters.
30 | W I NT ER 2020
Steampunk in the arts
You might also find inspiration from the paintings
of the Spanish surrealist Remedios Varo which
combine elements of Victorian dress, fantasy and
imagery, the television series The Wild Wild West
(1965–1969), craft work designs and items by
American artist Tim Holtz, mixing digital media with
handmade art forms, the Star Trek Borg characters.
Create your own steampunk
floral design
Remember these are guidelines not rules:
l Start by choosing a period look or style from the
Victorian era onwards, including Art Nouveau,
Art Deco, Mid-century, Modern or Free Style,
Traditional (triangle with accessories),
or Contemporary.
l Accessorise and/or decorate with cogs, old clocks,
watches, keys, padlocks, goggles, spectacles,
chains, rusty machine parts, pipes, velvet, lace,
gloves, and so on.
Photographs: © FoodAndPhoto/Shutterstock.com (left); © cinzia murgia/Shutterstock.com (right)
l Choose a base made from dark wood, pewter,
metal or slate.
l Pick colours from red, dark red, maroon, black,
brown, orange, yellow, beige. Generally, not pastel
shades – although clashing colours were popular
in Victorian times.
l Find a container that suits your overall design
period and look.
l Ferns, ivy, Aspidistra, herbs, moss, succulents,
air plants, driftwood, glycerined and dried leaves,
seed pods, grasses, paper flowers and jute are
popular plant material choices.
l Traditional flowers such as roses, lilies, and
carnations are often chosen along with Gerbera
and sunflowers with dark centres because they
resemble cogs.
 FOCUS ON STEAMPUNK

Star Trek was the inspiration

Jute strips, a
TIP recent addition
for my traditional design.
I sprayed an urn with two
coats of copper and gold to the variety of jute
paint and attached to it a
products available,
pre-decorated papier mâché
mask of Seven of Nine (one of
are jute fibres which
Star Trek’s more robotic have been glued
characters) which provides a together during the
mesmerising focal area and a manufacturing
sinister twist. For flowers, process to give a
I chose orange Gerbera shiny, paper-like finish.
‘Jameson’ with a dark centre
They can easily be
as they resemble steampunk
cogs and used yellow roses as
rolled and curled and
a contrast with x Fatshedera will maintain a twirly
lizei ‘Variegata’ (tree ivy) and form. They have
Aspidistra foliage. Two copper multiple uses in both
pipes were added and design and craft work.
sprayed lotus seed heads for
even more of a steampunk feel.
The rhythmic twirls were made
from jute strips from India.
Multi-coloured jute fibres were
used for the mask – I twisted
them around a fine 28-gauge
wire to form a base and
added steampunk metal
accessories using wood glue.
Arranger: Valerie Best

Spray dried
TIP and preserved
plant materials with
Photograph: Sam Roberts

metallic paint to
create the
appearance of metal
objects for a
steampunk look.
FOCUS ON STEAMPUNK

Valerie made the container

out of black plastic drain
pipes and metal cogs. It is
based on two-dimensional
Egyptian styles and enhanced
by the addition of the
steampunk cat mask at the
base depicting the Egyptian
goddess Bastet. The plant
material was then inserted in
water tubes inside the
construction. I chose deep
purple Zantedeschia (calla lily)
to harmonise with the
container and manipulated
them to create curves for
movement within the design.
Then Helianthus (sunflower) to
contrast with the callas in
terms of shape and texture
and to replicate the round,
spiky edge of the cogs. The
shiny sphere at the top of the
design brings the metallic and
gold colour through while the
cat mask accentuates the
steampunk theme and culture.
Arranger: Kathy Stangaard

Photograph: Sam Roberts

 FOCUS ON STEAMPUNK

My design was inspired by

American steampunk fashion.
I sewed copper and silver
coloured cogs, keys and
watch faces onto the fabric of
my lovely top hat and then
secured goggles around the
rim. I elevated the hat on a
Glenwood metal stand with a
large motorbike cog at the
base. Pheasant feathers were
placed in the brim of the hat
and I used a fern to create a
softer flowing look and to
break up the dominance of
the black shiny material of
the hat. Finally, a couple
of rolled Aspidistra leaves,
to create enclosed space
and rhythm, with three
Gloriosa were placed in a
tube and attached to the
brim of the hat.
The succulent at the base
was selected for a contrast
in shape and texture to the
other foliage, and to continue
the line of green running
through the design.
Arranger: Kathy Stangaard

Despite the
TIP rich, full look,
steampunk flowers
need not be
expensive. Accessories
such as the hat,
goggles and mask
can be purchased
from fancy dress
shops and reused,
while cogs, keys and
clock faces can be
bought very cheaply,
in bulk, online.
Photograph: Sam Roberts
STEP-BY-STEP

Nordic tabletop tree

Jeanie Osborne’s Nordic-style tabletop tree is perfect if you don’t have space
for a full-size tree, or as an addition to your holiday décor
Plant material Mechanics and sundries Method
l for the large tree (about 45cm high) l 2 pine dowels or garden canes sprayed 1 Attach your longest pieces of
you will need 10 x 22cm, 10 x 15cm and green and cut to 40cm for the large tree
Japanese cedar or larch to the
10 x 10cm lengths of Cryptomeria and 30cm for the small tree
japonica ‘Elegans’ (Japanese cedar) l green reel wire dowel with reel wire, making sure the
or Larix (larch) l beaded wire needles are facing down towards
l the smaller tree (about 30cm high) l a wooden base with bark strips attached the bottom of your dowel or cane.
requires 10 x 15cm l strong cold glue, such as
and 10 x 10cm OASIS® Floral Adhesive
2 Carry on wiring in the different
lengths of ENTHUSIAST FOAM FREE l small black decorative stones or gravel lengths of plant material until the
the same for the base dowel or cane is covered.
3 At the top, add in a few pieces
going the other way up to conceal
the stems – make sure nothing is
showing through from underneath.
4 Repeat for the second tree.
5 Glue each tree to the wooden
base and stick on some gravel-like
black stones.
6 Decorate the trees with beaded
wire and a sprinkling of artificial
snow which you can take down to
the base.

You could add

TIP accessories to make
a Nordic woodland scene if
you like and spray the base
with a fine sheen of silver.

Photograph: Sam Roberts

 INSPIRATION

Christmas robin
Alison Gillott’s charming
Christmas scene design O n a cold, crisp, frosty winter’s
day there is nothing that lifts
the spirits more than the resident
shows how a well chosen robin hopping around the garden.
and placed accessory To bring this cheer indoors I found
can really bring an a spathe and accentuated its curve
by soaking it in the bath for 24 hours.
arrangement alive When pliable I curled it into a circle
and bound it until it dried. Although
the spathe opened up slightly the
curve was ideal for attaching with a
screw to a slice of wood.
Moss was stuck to the inside of
the spathe and to cover the outside of
a small watertight container (I used
a tuna fish can into which I placed
floral foam). The seasonal foliage
inside the curve included Hedera
(ivy) leaves and berries, catkins, Ilex
aquifolium ‘Silver Queen’ (holly),
Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaeity’
and E. fortunei ‘Emerald n’ Gold’,
Clematis vitalba (old man’s beard)
and Taxus baccata (yew).
A red-breasted robin purchased
from my flower club’s sales table
completed the design.
Photograph: Sam Roberts
READER GIVEAWAY INSPIRATION

Apron giveaway Staircase

FREE APRON WORTH £15.99!
We have 10 exclusive
The Flower Arranger
branded aprons worth
swagger
£15.99 to give away

l Stylish and practical

Your hall and stairway are the first
especially for flower things your friends and family see
arrangers when they arrive at your home
l Sensible length to during the festive season
protect you from mess
and spills
l Handy pockets
for loose items
Simply send an email with
your name and address
to editor@nafas.org.uk
with Free Apron in the
subject header by
10 January 2021. The
lucky readers’ names will
be drawn at random.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FLOWER ARRANGEMENT SOCIETIES

Keep track of NAFAS Now

available
events with the
2021 NAFAS Diary
£4.99 plus £1.09
postage

Order now…
METHODS OF PAYMENT
Online At the NAFAS website
(www.nafas.org.uk) to pay
by debit/credit card
Phone Call NAFAS on
020 7247 5567 to pay
by debit/credit card
Post You can pay by
Photographs: Sam Roberts

cheque made payable to

‘NAFAS Enterprises’. Send to
NAFAS, Osborne House,
12 Devonshire Square,
Registered charity no. 1101348 London EC2M 4TE

36 | W I NT ER 2020
 What better way to welcome them
than with Pat George’s sumptuous
garland with fragrant blue spruce
and Eucalyptus or Robin White’s
contemporary Muehlenbeckia
banister and hall stand decoration

Pat’s garland with bling

I based my garland on a length of thin nylon rope. Onto
that I wired small bundles of Picea pungens (blue spruce),
conifer, Eucalyptus and ivy with reel wire, making sure
to overlap each bundle for a sumptuous look with no
gaps. The entire swag was then attached to the lower
section of the banister with garden string so as not to
scratch the paintwork.
It’s not Christmas without a little bling, so I then
added gold ribbon and baubles to the loops with more
gold baubles along the length and roses woven from gold
sprayed Phormium tenax. These are very easy to make.
Instructions can be found in the NAFAS Handbook
Leaf Techniques Part One.

W I NT ER 2020 | 37
STAIRCASE SWAGGER

Robin’s contemporary
banister and hall stand
I wanted to get away from a traditional garland and
looked around the florist’s wholesaler where I work for
an alternative concept with the aim of achieving a more
contemporary style. Finally, I went for Muehlenbeckia
frames because of their malleability and rough texture
which made them perfect for the base of my design.
Starting on the newel post at the bottom of the stairs,
I folded each frame over the banisters like a saddle and
positioned them on the diagonal to create interest.
Linking each one to the next using small cable ties as
I progressed to the top, I then inserted dried gold
glittered Strelitzia (bird-of-paradise) leaves so they
curled around the banisters. I then cable-tied on large
glass tubes into which went one or two beautiful
Anthurium. I used the same idea and techniques to
decorate the hall stand.

Photographs: Sam Roberts

38 | W I NT ER 2020
 FEATURE

Creative crafting
at WAFA
In the cold winter months we naturally consider incorporating craft in our designs
using the wide range of plant material available. Dr Christina Curtis discusses
some of the interesting techniques seen at the World Flower Show in India

T he first thing I noticed in terms of

craft was that surfaces were
variously textured. In particular, in
the craft class ‘The Maharajah’s Jewel’,
where a golden turban was provided,
there were many outstanding pieces
involving immaculately placed,
painted and glued dried components,
particularly pumpkin and melon
seeds, lentils and split peas. Most
notable was the work of Sunita
Photographs: Stephen Merryfield (top centre, below centre, below right ); Pauline Martindale (below left); Dr Christina Curtis (top right)
surfaces to create towers and cupolas
resembling palace buildings with
sculptural ornamentation in ‘Of
Palaces & Peacocks’ by Aman Shukla
and Biswarup Dandapat (bottom
right). In the imposed class ‘Broken
Lines’, shola pieces and spheres
were commonly threaded on wire or
mounted on cane to form repeating
linear units (see Marie Françoise
Déprez and Candace Morgenstern’s

Kanoria (pictured right), who won design below).

First Prize and Best Craft Exhibit.
Julia Knights used chickpeas to
represent baroque black pearls and
a range of spices to evoke jewels and
semi-precious stones (below left).
Claire Bryant formed ‘mountains’
from tissue paper-covered wire
armatures and applied dried
reindeer moss, moss, silky Stachys
byzantina (lamb’s ear) leaves and
spray paint to suggest shadows and
give texture in ‘Beyond the Far
Horizon’ (below centre).
Soft creamy pith from
Aeschynomene aspera (shola) covered

W I NT ER 2020 | 39
CREATIVE CRAFTING AT WAFA

Class: Circles of Mystery

Arranger: Tom Hodge

The ‘Broken Lines’ class also had

lots of marigolds threaded in series
as popular Indian garland forms
(see detail of exhibit by Carys
Harrison and Elaine Bedford
pictured above); as did another
imposed class ‘Peek-a-Boo’. In this
class, long lengths of green, plaited
leaves were provided to competitors
and many draped them around and
through their designs so they were
peeking out (see Rachel Sherwin’s
design below).

Decorative detailing involving

Class: Peek-a-Boo pearl-headed pins was seen in some
Arranger: Rachel Sherwin
exhibits. Perhaps most unusual was
when pins were used to secure corn
kernals inside the holes of dried lotus
seed heads and decorate ridged
Momordica charantia (bitter melon)
fruits. They were also used to secure
circles of Aspidistra leaf material in
‘Circles of Mystery’ by Tom Hodge
and decorate the centre of freeze
dried roses and rose glamelia in my

Photographs: Stephen Merryfield (top right, below right); Dr Christina Curtis (top left, below left)
own exhibit in ‘In Peaceful
Contemplation’ (detail below).
In the same class, unusual dried
seed cases and fluffy white seeds of
Celba speciosa (silk floss tree) were
incorporated by Etwyn Humphrey
(see detail on page 41, bottom left).

40 | W I NT ER 2020
 CREATIVE CRAFTING AT WAFA

Dripped glue appeared in a

couple of designs, most notably in
long ribbon forms within the
‘Savage Beauty’ class by Martyn Best
and David Ryland (detail on left).
A stunning suggestion of ethnic
beadwork, achieved by gluing
hundreds of matches side by side,
was captured in ‘Layer by Layer’ by
Srishti Bhuwania (see detail right
and arrangement below). Neatly and
skilfully placed burnt matches were
placed tip down in rows and next to
red-topped unburnt ones
positioned at right angles to form
vertical ribbon-like units. The effect
was most eye-catching and a
contrast to the horizontal
orientation shown in every other
exhibit in the class.

INFORMATION The next WAFA

World Flower Show will be held in
Auckland (also known as The City of
Sails), New Zealand in March 2023.

Class: Layer by Layer

Arranger: Srishti Bhuwania
Photographs: Stephen Merryfield

W I NT ER 2020 | 41
FEATURE
CHRISTMAS
QUIZ
Christmas lore
1 Which Pagan and
ancient Roman festivals
determined the dates for
modern-day Christmas?
2 In the Western tradition,
what are the names of
the three Kings (also
known as Magi or
wise men)?
3 Where did St Nicholas,
thought to be the model
for Father Christmas,
come from?
4 Which religious reformer
is said to have tried to
recapture the beauty of
the stars by lighting his
tree with candles, setting
the stage for modern-day
Christmas trees?
5 Which country first
manufactured
Christmas
baubles?
6 In Holland
the giving of gifts occurs
on Sinterklaas saint’s
day – what day in
December is it?
7 Which Norse god was
the inspiration for our
idea of Santa Claus flying
through the air?
8 Clement Clarke Moore
wrote a poem that gave
Santa his sleigh and
reindeer to come down
the chimney. What was
the title of that poem?
9 Santa got his red outfit
because of an advert for
a well-known soft drink.
What is the drink?
10 Who banned
Christmas Carols after the
English Civil war in 1647?
42 | W I NT ER 2020
See page 52
Test your plant and for the answers
Christmas knowledge
with the NAFAS Education Difficult anagrams –
Committee: Susie Barwick, Latin names
Pat Dibben, Sharon Dower, 1 Brouhaha lumpier price
Barbara Megarry 2 Autumns sarcoplasmic
and Julie Woods 3 Peccancy slummier
4 Abandon seminarian
5 Alexi folium qui
6 Limbs vacuum
7 Brill greenhouse
8 Exhaled heir
9 Grumbles reach
10 Umpire’s path
Plant names Fascinating facts
1 What is the Latin name 1 Besides red what other Christmas crackers
for snowdrop, often colours do poinsettia
depicted on the front of (Euphorbia pulcherrima) 1 Why does Santa love
Christmas cards? bracts come in? gardening?
2 What family does it 2 What is the link between 2 What is green, covered
belong to? holly and Harry Potter? in tinsel and says ribbit
ribbit?
3 Often gifted at 3 Mistletoe can grow on
Christmas, what is the which trees? 3 What kind of motorbike
flower with tall, hollow does Santa ride?
4 Why is ivy a good plant
stems and trumpet 4 What do you get when
to place in the bathroom?
Illustrations: © iStock.com/Viktoriia Kashchuk (bauble, berries, star and tree); © iStock.com/ElenaMedvedeva (wreath)
shaped flowers and a you cross a pine cone
5 How long can a
very large bulb? with a polar bear?
Christmas cactus live?
4 What is the common 5 Why wouldn’t the cat
6 What well known
name of the above and climb the Christmas tree?
wildflower is related to
what does it mean in the
the Christmas rose whose
language of flowers?
botanical name is
5 What is the common Helleborus niger?
name for Ilex aquifolium?
7 Which variety of
6 What does the Latin Rhododendron can be
word aquifolium mean? found in bloom at and
7 Found in most around Christmas?
churchyards and regularly
used at Christmas, what Easy anagrams –
is the Latin name for yew? common plant names
8 Christmas wouldn’t be
1 flowchart misers 6 Where did the mistletoe
Christmas without pine
cones! What is the 2 trencher wiry go to become famous?
common name for Pinus 3 calm ency 7 Why are Christmas
sylvestris? 4 inform rand trees so bad at knitting?
9 What does the Latin 5 Lorrie Shelby 8 Why couldn’t the
word sylvestris mean? skeleton go to the
6 Elite mots
10 What is the parisitic Christmas party?
7 eyrie TV
plant regularly used at 9 What do you get when
Christmas? Extra points 8 Allis army you cross a snowman with
for the Latin name. 9 Mitch sarcastic a vampire?
 INSPIRATION

Festive fun ‘Tis the

season to be
jolly – and
that includes
Christmas
wreaths says
Ruth Milton-
Jones

I encourage students at my
Christmas wreath-making
workshops to have fun. Bows,
baubles, ribbons – this is the time of Accessories
year to enjoy yourself. We tend to come next –
Cheat’s bow
TIP Find the middle of your
start with a ring of traditional I used some
foliage inserted in floral foam – cinnamon
ribbon. Make a loop, scrunch it
Photograph: Paul Davies

I’ve used pine with two types of bundles,

Eucalyptus and lime green conifer
and ivy for contrasting colours and
textures. Round Hypericum berries
and blue thistle dotted around the
ring provide yet more interest.
coconut stars,
sprayed pine
cones, a luxurious bow and
my Noel sign – just in case
anyone forgets!
in the middle and secure with a
piece of wire which you can
then cover by looping over the
tail ends of the bow and tying.
STEP-BY-STEP

Twists and turns

Margaret Trepant’s modern table arrangement can be expanded and adapted
for any size and shape of table. We’ve used festive red and spruced up the
candles with gold leaf but you can also work with your own colour scheme

Plant material Method 4 Arrange them all together on

l a bunch of supermarket roses 1 Wrap wire around the candles to
Mechanics and sundries link them visually with the other
l a few round candles
components. I used two shades of
l some glass tubes wire to give a range of colour.
l aluminium wire 2 Now take another long piece of
l a pair of pliers will make this design
wire, 1m or so. About 30cm from the
easier
end wrap the wire around a tube a
few times. I used pliers to turn the
BEGINNER FOAM FREE ends into a neat spiral. Use the rest
of the wire to make twists and turns
in different planes. For stability,
each tube needs three points of
your table in a pleasing way.
5 Cut the roses short and place in
the tubes. I put a couple of flowers
of different heights in some tubes.
The uneven placing of the roses
creates rhythm through the design.
6 Make sure you top up the tubes
with water.
The aluminium wire is
TIP easy to manipulate
Photographs: Sam Roberts

surface contact, the bottom of the

tube, plus two loops of wire in an
approximate triangle shape.
3 Repeat with each tube. Try to
make different shapes, using turns
to create volume.
but if you are not confident
making smooth curves, try
using a cylindrical template
like a tumbler or a glass.

44 | W I NT ER 2020
 STEP-BY-STEP

Wire and roses

Jeanie Osborne’s beautiful centrepiece combines traditional Christmas
materials with orange roses and bronze aluminium wire for a contemporary twist

Plant material Method

l 12–16 roses 1 Spray paint the floral foam tray 5 Spritz the cones with bronze
3–4 spray-shaped stems of Picea
to tone in with the wooden base spray paint and mount them on
l

(spruce)
l 10–12 pine or fir cones and glue it on. lengths of bronze aluminium wire
2 Place the floral foam inside the (wrap the wire low down the cone
Mechanics and sundries around the bottom scales, pull tight
tray. Mount the candle on three
l 1 green block of floral foam and twist a few times to give you a
kebab stick legs cut to length and
1 single floral foam tray
stem). Insert in the foam at an angle.
l

l a flat wooden base taped around its base. Insert the

l a chunky pillar candle, kebab sticks legs in the centre of the foam.
and pot tape
3 Add the spruce around the foam,
l 1 reel of bronze aluminium wire
l OASIS® Floral Adhesive and at each end of the design.
(quick drying cold glue) 4 Now place the roses around
l bronze spray paint BEGINNER the candle and spread them out
across the foam.
6 Cut some bronze aluminium wire
into lengths; twist and bend and
place around the design.
WARNING Never leave burning
candles unattended.

W I NT ER 2020 | 45
INSPIRATION · STEP-BY-STEP

Christmas bubbles
A bottle of pink champagne completes Lynis Williams’s design celebrating the
season’s favourite plant material. It would provide a fun talking point when
family and friends come to visit, or at a special Christmas event

T his very simple design was created to celebrate the

flowers and foliage of Christmas. I positioned different-
sized glasses on a circle of silvered card inside a birch
wreath ring wound with ribbon and decorated with
silver-painted star anise – but you could use a silver tray
if you have one. The glasses were arranged from smallest
to biggest in an upward spiral line for interest. Then, a
small hand-tied posy of Christmas plant material was
added to each glass. Any seasonal flowers or foliage or
berries can be used. Two trails of ivy, each inserted into
a test tube, covered the bases of the glasses. A bottle of
pink bubbles completed the design. The design lasted for
a long time as I could replace each posy as necessary.
But eventually, you might want to drink the bubbles!

Pine cone pudding

Here's how to make our fabulous, festive cover design by Jacqui Arm that
you can enjoy without worrying about the calories!
Plant material 5 Add the white spray
l pine cones (I used 40 on a roses to the floral foam
16cm floral foam sphere) cylinder, massed closely
l 5 stems of white mini together to complete the
spray roses
sphere shape. Fill any
l sprigs of holly
gaps between the cones
Mechanics and sundries with buds, making sure
l 16cm dry floral foam the stems are in the wet
or polystyrene sphere, foam for hydration.
painted brown
l OASIS® Junior Bowl, 6 Place on a cake stand
or similar and garnish with a sprig
l wet foam cylinder/round of holly at the top and
l pot tape around the base.
l hot glue gun
and glue BEGINNER

Do not
TIPS allow the
Method cones to get wet or
they will close up.
1 Slice off the top and
bottom of your floral foam If you don’t have a
sphere so it is level either glue gun, mount your
end and will stand firmly. cones on wires bent
2 Soak the floral foam like hairpins and use
cylinder and tape it into this to insert them into
your bowl. Using hot glue, the floral foam sphere;
stick this onto the cut top use pot tape to secure
of the floral foam sphere. the Junior Bowl to the
top of the sphere.
3 Starting at the bottom
Photographs: Sam Roberts

and using hot glue, stick
small cones to the sphere
and each other. Work
around the sphere,
getting the cones as close
to each other as possible.
4 As you add layers of and larger cones around Replace the roses
cones, interlock them so its ‘equator’. Glue a top and holly as needed
that no foam shows. layer of cones on to the to make your design
It will look better if you dish if needed, but allow last the entire
use smaller cones at a few gaps between holiday season.
either end of the sphere some of them.

46 | W I NT ER 2020
STEP-BY-STEP

Natural baubles
Jacqui Arm demonstrates how you can balance your
Christmas bling with some homemade baubles

Plant material Method

l preserved Stachys byzantina (lamb’s 1 Make a loop from decorative stub
ear) leaves (I used 57 for a 12cm floral
wire and use pot tape to secure it
foam sphere) or fresh Elaeagnus x
submacrophylla leaves to the centre of your jam jar lid.
l larch or similar small cone 2 Starting from the centre, wind
Mechanics and sundries the twine and use PVA glue to fix it
to cover the lid, including the sides.
l 12cm dry floral foam or polystyrene
sphere Glue your cone in the centre.
l small jam jar lid Allow to fully dry.
pot tape
3 Starting just below where the
l

l pearl or diamanté-headed pins

l decorative, coloured stub wire
l hemp or jute twine
l hot glue gun and glue
l PVA glue
edge of the lid will sit, place the
lamb’s ear leaves onto the sphere
BEGINNER and pin each tip to secure.
4 Working down, overlap and
stagger the pinned leaves until the
sphere is completely covered.
5 Apply hot glue under the edge of
the lid and attach it to the top of
the bauble.

Vary your baubles by

TIP using thin ribbon rather
Photograph: Sam Roberts

than wire for the loop, covering

the sphere in chunky twine or
hemp wool or gluing lamb’s ear
leaves onto the jam jar lid
(see bauble on left in photo)

48 | W I NT ER 2020
 STEP-BY-STEPS

Here are some

no-foam designs
to show how wreaths
made from branches,
foliage, pine cones and
perhaps a homespun
ribbon, stand out for
their simple beauty

RUSTIC RINGS
STEP-BY-STEP

Simply stems Conifer and cones

Got some late pruning to do in the
garden? Jeanie Osborne shows you
how to use your trimmings to make
this delightful wreath
Plant material
l 40–60 sturdy blackish red
stems of Prunus cerasifera
‘Pissardii’ (cherry plum).
I saved mine from some
winter pruning but you can
use whatever stems you
have as long as they are
strong and bendable and
an interesting colour
l 2–3 stems of Picea (spruce)
Mechanics and sundries
4–6 cable ties
l
Pat George’s wreath is a zingy
alternative to the darker tones of
more traditional door dressings.
It's formed on a ring of Cornus
with conifer fronds and pine cones –
all gathered from the garden
Plant material Method
some lengths of Cornus
l
1 Use lengths of
(dogwood)
dogwood to form a ring
l plenty of fir or pine cones
spritzed with gold spray if
of the desired size; secure
you like the ends with cable ties.
several pieces of conifer
l
2 Glue the cones onto
Mechanics and sundries the ring.
l cable ties 3 Tuck small pieces of
OASIS® Floral Adhesive conifer between the ring
l

l reel wire (quick drying cold glue)

1 roll of hessian ribbon and the cones.
l
l a length of hessian tied in
l 3 baubles a simple 4 Add a hessian bow to
l strong household glue bow the top of the design.
l spray paint (optional) BEGINNER FOAM FREE

BEGINNER FOAM FREE

Method
1 Make an outline shape
out of your stems and
secure at the bottom with
cable ties.
2 Once you have the
outline, add in further
stems, weaving them in
and out for a three-
dimensional effect.
3 Use reel wire to attach
the spruce to the stems
at the bottom so that it
covers the cable ties.
4 Make three hessian
roses by twisting and
turning the ribbon tightly
into a compact coil,
stitching at the back to
hold in place and gluing
them to the wreath in the
Photographs: Sam Roberts

desired position.
5 Glue Christmas baubles
into the centre of each
rose and spritz the design
with bronze or gold spray
paint for a bit of shine.

50 | W I NT ER 2020
 STEP-BY-STEP

Bleached willow
Here’s a simple contemporary wreath by Margaret Trepant that you can leave
in neutral colours or spray to complement your door; it’s reusable too so you
can keep it for another year

Plant material
l buy a willow wreath ring,
or make your own using
bleached Salix viminalis
(osier willow)
l pine cones mounted on
20cm lengths of gold
aluminium binding wire (or
similar). Wrap the wire low
down the cone around the
bottom scales, pull tight and
twist a few times to give
you a long stem to insert it
in the wreath

Mechanics and sundries

l binding wire to mount your
cones (see above) and
crinkly wire for decoration
l glitter stars, various sizes

BEGINNER FOAM FREE

Method
1 Start with the ring. Buy,
or see box below if you
would like to have a go at
making your own.
2 Give your cones a
spritz of gold spray and
mount them on wires as
above so they can be
attached to the wreath
exactly where you want
them, wrapping and
twisting them into place.
Mine are arranged in Make your own willow ring
groups for a not too rigid Making your own willow wreath is satisfying but will make this design a bit
asymmetric design. trickier. I made mine because I had a bundle of willow left over from the floral art
3 Attach the stars by competition at RHS Wisley.
winding a long piece of You need to soak the willow for a few hours before it is supple enough to use –
crinkly wire around each some willow growers sell long, sturdy bags that you can fill with water for ease –
of them a couple of times or you can use the bath. Once soaked, form it into a ring the size you want (this one
and twisting. String lots is 50cm diameter). Carefully overlap and wrap the ends into a ring shape. Take
together using uneven each next piece and wrap it round the form in the same direction, start at a
spacing and then drape different place each time. Take care to turn the ends into the ring so that they don’t
these lengths around the snag on everything. I found that the thickest parts of the willow never got supple
wreath; they provide a and curved, so I just cut them off. Once completed, you need to leave the ring to dry
lovely contrast of form. properly for a couple of days.
4 Hang simply on a nail, My 2.5m (8ft) bundle of willow came from Somerset Willow Growers, but there
or attach a loop of wire are plenty of other sources.
to hang it on.

W I NT ER 2020 | 51
 Wholesale British Flowers
direct to your business
Find out more about wholesale:
sales@flowersbyclowance.co.uk
or by telephone: 07766 306682
www.flowersbyclowance.co.uk
CHRISTMAS QUIZ ANSWERS
How did you do? Find out here
Christmas lore
1 Pagan Yuletide (the winter
solstice) and Roman Saturnalia
(mid-winter festival with
feasting, drinking, garlands
and wreaths to decorate
houses, singing from house to
house and gifting).
2 Casper, Melchior and
Balthazar
3 Myra in modern-day Turkey
4 Martin Luther
5 Germany
6 6 December
7 Odin
8 A visit from St. Nicholas
which begins “Twas the night
before Christmas…”
9 Coca-cola
10 Oliver Cromwell
52 | W I NT ER 2020
Follow us online
3 Viscum album (mistletoe) is a Difficult anagrams –
parasite and can attach to
domestic apple, crab apple,
Latin names
1 Euphorbia pulcherrima
hawthorn, poplar, lime and conifers
which are the main hosts. It can
2 Solanum capsicastrum
3 Cyclamen persicum
also be found on crack willow,
Plant names sycamore, pear and whitebeam.
4 Abies nordmanniana
1 Galanthus nivalis 5 Ilex aquifolium
4 Hedera helix (ivy) is ideal for
2 Amaryllidaceae 6 Viscum album
reducing impurities in the air and
3 Hippeastrum 7 Helleborus niger
can also help to get rid of mould
4 Amaryllis which means 8 Hedera helix
spores that grow in areas of high
‘pride’ in the Victorian 9 Schlumbergera
humidity.
10 Hippeastrum
Photograph: Sam Roberts (page 53)
language of flowers 5 Properly cared for,
5 Holly Schlumbergera (Christmas
6 Prickly or cactus) can live for 20-30 years.
pointed leaves Can you imagine passing a living
7 Taxus baccata flowering plant on to your
8 Scots pine children and grandchildren?
9 Wild or of the 6 Buttercup.
woods/forest 7 Rhododendron
10 Mistletoe. ‘Christmas Cheer’.
Latin name –
Viscum album
Illustrations: © iStock.com/Viktoriia Kashchuk
Easy anagrams – Christmas crackers
common plant names 1 He is always ‘Ho Ho Ho-ing’!
Fascinating facts 1 Christmas flower 2 A mistletoad!
1 White, pink, burgundy, 2 Winter cherry 3 A Holly Davidson!
yellow, apricot, and salmon. 3 Cyclamen 4 A fur tree!
Some bracts can be 4 Nordman fir 5 It was afraid of the bark!
marbled and speckled. 5 Holly berries 6 Holly wood!
2 In the Harry Potter novels by 6 Mistletoe 7 They always drop
JK Rowling, Ilex aquifolium 7 Tree ivy their needles!
(holly) is the wood used for 8 Amaryllis 8 He had no body to go with!
Harry’s wand. 9 Christmas cacti 9 Frostbite!
 INSPIRATION

Festive fireplaces
When it comes to decorating for Christmas, there is no better place to make
a statement than your fireplace – the focal point of any room. Here are
three designs that you could scale up or down to suit your home or pick an
element – maybe a moss ball or bark cone – and make your own creation
FESTIVE FIREPLACES

previous page and above I wanted to

create a stunning yet simple and natural
design reusing Betula (birch) poles from an
exhibit at Chichester Flower Festival a few
years ago. My inspiration was a walk in
the woods one frosty Christmas Day when
I was struck by the beauty of fallen
branches covered in moss and mistletoe
hanging in the trees. I recreated this scene
by covering dry floral foam spheres with
moss and placing them in branches
created out of my poles. White Hydrangea
were put into glass globes and hung with
fishing line to represent snow balls.
Arranger: Patricia Ellis

left I used sheets of bark cut into squares

to cover insulation board that was left
over from a workshop I tutored for my club.
I always love using this material as you
can glue or pin plant material onto it very
easily. I then rolled four pieces of bark into
cone shapes to hold my plant material –
the fact that everything I had selected
was dried meant I didn’t have to worry
about any water dripping through.
The finished board with cones was pinned
to a black stand so it sat straight, and
then positioned in the fireplace.
Finally, I placed the seed heads of
Papaver (poppy), Lunaria annua (honesty)
and Allium with pussy willow and feathers
inside the cones and decorated the
fireplace with large fir cones and candles.
Once the candles were lit, the whole
design took on a magical feel, just right for
Photographs: Sam Roberts

a cold and frosty night at home.

Arranger: Dee Kelly

WARNING Never leave burning candles

unattended and keep them away from
dried plant material.

54 | W I NT ER 2020

below Memories of a winter holiday in
Lapland inspired this design which
encapsulates both the Nordic outdoors
and the sense of homeliness or ‘hygge’
that permeates the region.
I started with two softwood frames from
a local DIY store joined with small
hinges and painted grey. I chose to
decorate these with Betula (birch) bark
and sticks because they gave strong
lines and reminded me of the trees in
the forests in Lapland. The sticks were
FESTIVE FIREPLACES
positioned with wood glue while the WARNING Position the staple gun
bark was fixed using a staple gun. carefully and take care when you
Wispier birch twigs sprayed red gave secure the bark.
texture and broke the line of the frame.
I could not resist adding three branches
of frosted holly berries and the silvered
stars suspended on fishing wire.
To convey that lovely sense of ‘hygge’
I knitted two long strips of red cotton
yarn to fit the frames.
Arranger: Lynis Williams
EVENT
Winter moments
with flowers
If you’re looking for inspiration for something a bit different this Christmas,
here’s a report from Belgium’s 2019 Winter Moments with Flowers show
to get your creativity and ideas flowing
L ike robins at Christmas, a flower
show in winter is all the more
welcome for the colour it brings at
the darkest time of the year, and
Winter Moments with Flowers 2019
was certainly no exception.
Organised by the Belgium-based
international flower magazine
56 | W I NT ER 2020
Fleur Créatif, the new extravaganza
(formerly held in Bruges), featured
works by floral artists from Belgium
and elsewhere around the world.
It’s the sister show to the annual
Fleuramour event at Alden Biesen,
and has a similarly fairytale-like
setting at Castle Groot-Bijgaarden
near Brussels, where visitors
flocked to see innovative displays,
demonstrations and tempting floral
accessory stalls. There were two
wreath competitions for floristry
students and enthusiasts, the latter
won by Elke Van Molle with an elegant
design in shades of pink (see page 58).
left Detail of Thaw316 – a large-scale
design in the castle dungeon symbolising
a luminous winter sky moon (featuring
wool with Christmas lights and bauble
water containers) with a red Hippeastrum
‘Star of Bethlehem’
Arranger: Tania Huyghe
right A simple but effective table top
design on a wood slice base featuring
two rings of spruce cones filled with
Ornithogalum and long needled Pinus,
finished with a smattering of reindeer moss
and star accessories
Arranger: Nele Debruycker
below and page 1 A sumptuous Christmas
wreath created out of a Picea (spruce)
cone structure filled with moss, a selection
of orange and red berries, variegated
holly and a ring of red baubles
Arranger: Jasmine Nachtergael
Photographs: courtesy of Fleur Créatif
WINTER MOMENTS
 above A stunning explosion in a cool
winter palette featuring a backing
covered with Hydrangea florets and
Zantedeschia (calla lily) enhanced with
fairy lights
Arranger: Aymeric Chaouche

left Elke Van Molle’s immaculately

executed First Prize-winning contemporary
wreath-within-a-wreath in the
enthusiasts’ competition was an example
of the move away from traditional
Christmas colours

below A restrained Ikebana-inspired

wreath created out of long-needled Pinus,
Vanda orchids and white twigs
Arranger: Katrien Moerman
Photographs: courtesy of Fleur Créatif

58 | W I NT ER 2020
 WINTER MOMENTS

above This densely filled two-part wreath

with lights and hanging spruce cones was
awarded Second Prize in the student
florist competition
Arranger: Oksana Dechin

inset A profusion of gold baubles at the

centre of a long-needled pine wreath
creates an area of interest and fun while
echoing the shape and colour tones of
the central ring of natural berries
Arranger: Margo Van Berlamont
WINTER MOMENTS

above Fluffy, snow-like Chrysanthemum and Anthurium bent like

We are now trees in the wind on a base of braided chunky wool in cool blues
on Facebook, and white, a layer of artificial snow and lights
Twitter and
Instagram Arranger: Gea Korpel-Beskers

Free tickets to Winter Moments

W&M SMITH
For all those special occasions in your life...
Visit our showroom for your floral artistry and craft needs.
for readers of The Flower Arranger
We have 10 tickets to give away for Winter Moments
2020 (19–23 November) worth €15 each. Simply send
an email with Winter Moments in the subject
heading to editor@nafas.org.uk by 16 November.
The lucky readers’ names will be drawn at random
and they will receive a code to get their tickets free
online. Please be aware of Covid-19 guidelines and
check the event is running before departure.

Decorations
D i G
Galore
l Spray P
S Paints
i Artificial
A ifi
fi i l Fl
Flowers & B
Berries
i
Photographs: courtesy of Fleur Créatif

Christmas
h Planters
l Ch i
Christmas O
Ornaments Ribbons & Twines
Ribb T i

Pightle Barn, Blacksmiths Lane, Middlewood Green, Stowmarket

et IP14 5EU
Open Monday & Thursday 10am to 7pm
tockis
ts of Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10am to 5pm On
Sho line
S hers pN
Open ow
Smit sis Saturday 10am to 4pm Sundays By Prior Appointment Only
Sa nly
Oa
Tel: 01449 711014 Fax: 01449 711815
Email: enqu
enquiries@wandmsmith.co.uk Web: www.wandmsmith.co.uk
smith.co.uk

60 | W I NT ER 2020
 FEATURE

In the garden with Lizzie Fairrie

INSPIRATIONAL GARDENS · EVENTS · PLANTING IDEAS

The Beth Chatto Gardens

Beth Chatto learned the art of garden composition and plant combinations
through years of flower arranging and as a founder member of Colchester
Flower Club. Her gardens are a wonderful source of year-round inspiration.

The Reservoir
Garden

The Gravel Garden

Illustration: ©Alenka Karabanova/Shutterstock.com (wheelbarrow) Photographs: Beth Chatto Gardens Ltd

Standing in the orderly abundance of the Gravel Garden,
the sound of water sprinklers deafening by its absence
(this area has some of the country’s lowest rainfall), it’s
hard to believe that this was once a car park.
It was ground breaking, both literally and figuratively,
when Beth and Andrew Chatto moved onto a piece of
brambled land condemned as unfarmable and set about
establishing a garden. Beth got to work and gradually
transformed the overgrown wasteland, creating five
main areas – each with a challenging soil or aspect.
She did it according to her mantra of “right plant, right
place”, which was a relatively new idea in the 1960s.
The Gravel Garden is a case in point: here plants are
not watered at all and yet thrive astonishingly well. The
Reservoir and shaded Woodland Garden are others and
here you often see visitors with their notebooks out as
they write down solutions to their own tricky areas.
In each, the diversity of plants reflects her extraordinary
breadth of knowledge with many rarities, oddities and
varieties that have a definite edge over more commonly
found specimens. The nursery, which stocks the garden
and shop, is run by the most trouble-taking staff you are
ever likely to meet (or not meet, if you use the excellent
on-line version). Mrs Chatto had the highest standards
and, after her death two years ago, these have not slipped.
Design-wise the gardens reflect her love of Ikebana,
hence feeling much more controlled than the equally
adventurous Great Dixter owned by her friend and
gardener Christopher Lloyd. They are also very much of
their time; “Island beds!” you hear young designers sniff.
Yet with 1960s G Plan furniture once more all the rage, it
could well be that we see Beth Chatto in horticultural
vogue again.
Visit
The Beth Chatto Gardens & Nursery are open
Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, March to
October and 10am to 4pm, November to February.
Face coverings must be worn when entering the
Visitor Information Centre and tickets pre-booked
online with an allotted arrival time.
Adult entry £8.95 + 50p booking fee.
bethchatto.co.uk

W I NT ER 2020 | 61
IN THE GARDEN

Bright lights for winter nights

Christmas at Kew

Christmas at Kew: Photograph courtesy of Raymond Gubbay Ltd

Christmas light spectaculars are becoming more and more
popular and are a wonderful way to enjoy being outdoors
and appreciate a beautiful garden when the days are
short and nights long. This year, events are planned at:
Floral Tours
Right people, right place, right time
KEW GARDENS, LONDON
Specialising in tailor-made floral and horticultural tours
18 November 2020– 3 January 2021
kew.org
We can take Tours include
BLENHEIM PALACE, OXFORDSHIRE
20 November 2020–3 January 2021
you to some • Winter Moments with Flowers –
Brussels 19–23 Nov 2020

blenheimpalace.com fabulous floral • Keukenhof – Holland

20 Mar – 9 May 2021

DUNHAM MASSEY, CHESHIRE

destinations • Floralien Gent – Ghent, Belgium
30 Apr – 9 May 2021

20 November–30 December 2020 and events • Temps de Flors – Girona, Spain

8–18 May 2021
nationaltrust.org.uk/dunham-massy • RHS Chelsea Flower Show
18–22 May 2021
• Carpet of Flowers – Brussels
STOURHEAD, WILTSHIRE 12–15 Aug 2021
Dunham Massey: Photograph ©National Trust Images/Mike King

27 November 2020–3 January 2021 • Fleuramour – Belgium

24–27 Sept 2021
nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead • The Floriade 2022 – Almere,
Holland 14 Apr – 9 Oct 2022
• WAFA 2023 – New Zealand
Blenheim Dunham Massey 20–26 March 2023
Palace Register your interest now

✓ The only UK group travel

■
operator that specialises purely in
horticultural and floral tours
✓ Top quality at a great price
■
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■
focused on the ‘floriculture’ sector

CORONAVIRUS (Covid-19) ADVICE

All dates and bookings are subject to Covid-19 guidelines.
Contact us or visit the website for more details
tel +44 (0)1225 913106 email info@floraltours.co.uk www.floraltours.co.uk
Please check before you set out.

62 | W I NT ER 2020
 IN THE GARDEN

Perennial questions and answers

If you’re a gardener of a certain age you’ll probably
remember that in the old days, we’d spend autumn
chopping and clearing the herbaceous border and
winter staring at a beautifully ordered bed. But then
along came the ‘new perennial’ movement with its
naturalist rethink and we were told to leave well alone
until spring: dead plants provide structure over the
winter, seed heads glistening with winter frost, homes
for wildlife and seeds for the birds. Except who has time
in hectic spring? When is it safe to interrupt the wildlife?
And what is so visually appealing about a collapsing
clump of Michaelmas daisies?
So, eternal gratitude should go to the Dutch gardener
Piet Oudolf, and others like him, for reviving interest in a
group of plants that float the beds through the seasons.
Many make wonderful cut flowers to boot and, for the
time-poor gardener, win hands down maintenance-wise
over needy annuals. Generally, once they’ve been settled
in, kept free from competition and watered well for the
first six months, they will reward you with pickable
flowers by year two, some even in the first season and
others (Nepeta, Delphinium, Astrantia) with more than
one flush a year.
There is a cost of course. Literally. Why is it garden
designers never mention the price of perennial plants?
Plant in drifts, they advise, not in singles, and in odd
numbers unless in groups of more than seven plants.
Probably because they have wholesale accounts and don’t
have to worry about the ‘How much?’ conversation with
the other half at the checkout. One tactic if you are buying
from an independent nursery is to ask for a discount on a
bulk buy. Another is to admire a friend’s collection so
much they offer you spares when they are dividing in the
autumn (many perennials benefit from being divided so
you are really doing them a favour). Many are worth trying
from seed but, again, it’s a job for the less pressured days
of autumn. Often a period of chilling is needed before
some will germinate so even if the seed trays look
unpromisingly barren, tuck them into a cold frame and
wait until spring warms up, you might well be rewarded.

Best herbaceous perennials for the cut flower border

SHADY SPOTS PARTIAL SHADE FULL SUN
Astilbe (gay feather) Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Achillea (yarrow)
Alchemilla mollis (lady’s mantle) Jobert’ (Japanese anemone) Baptisia australis (blue false
Photographs: © iStock.com/Nik Cain (Astible); © iStock.com/Maksims Grigorjevs (Astrantia); © iStock.com/MichelR45 (Veronica)

Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian Aquilegia (columbine) indigo)

bugloss) Astrantia (masterwort) Centranthus ruber ‘Albus’
Euphorbia amygdaloides var. Campanula (bellflower) (white valerian)
robbiae Geranium x johnsonii ‘Johnson’s Delphinium (larkspur)
Helleborus (hellebore) Blue’ Echinacea (cone flower)
Hosta (for the leaves) Leucanthemum x superbum Echinops (great globe thistle)
Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’ (Shasta daisy) Eryngium (sea holly)
(white bleeding heart) Lupinus (lupin) Geum (avens)
Tellima grandiflora (fringe cups) Phlox paniculata Hylotelephium (stonecrop)
Polygonatum (Solomon’s seal) Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii Lavandula (lavender)
Convallaria majalis (lily-of-the- (Chinese lantern) Nepeta (catmint)
valley) Paeonia (peony) Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ear)
Vinca difformis (intermediate Symphyotrichum (aster) – Verbena bonariensis (purple top
periwinkle) also excellent as foliage vervain)
Zantedeschia aethiopica (arum lily) before flowering Veronica (speedwell)

Astilbe Astrantia Veronica

W I NT ER 2020 | 63
 You be the judge
In our regular feature, we ask you to put on your judge’s hat and work out
what award each of the exhibits shown here received. In this issue
we’re assessing crowns fit for three kings from the Jewel in the Crown
class at the 2019 Floral Art & Design Show in London

CLASS SPECIFICATIONS A craft exhibit staged on a  OFFICAL JUDGES Anne Blunt and Chris Brown

clear acrylic shelf, 5mm thick, suspended from a wall
Now turn to page 68 to see how your results compare
painted aqua. Space allowed, width 35cm, depth 25cm,
with those of the official show judges. 
height optional. Maximum weight 400g. To be judged
from the front.

2
A WORD FROM THE JUDGES The exhibits in this class
were to be brought in from home, or posted ready
assembled and staged by the competitions team. As it
was a craft class, we were looking for immaculate
craftsmanship and skilled selection and use of plant
material in pristine condition. The title gave a wide
scope for interpretation and artistry.
The exhibits showed a variety of interpretations as
well as skill and imagination.

EDITOR’S NOTE ‘You be the judge’ is intended to be both

fun and informative: letting you ‘have a go’ at judging
while learning what qualified judges take into
consideration. It should be remembered however, that,
as well as being two-dimensional, exhibits shown in
print can be affected by light, position and the angle of
the photograph making them appear different from the
actual competition.  

1 3 Photographs: Joseph Traylen

64 | W I NT ER 2020
 YOU BE THE JUDGE

Awards given
1st HC

2nd C

3rd No award

VHC No award

5 6

7 8

W I NT ER 2020 | 65
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W I NT ER 2020 | 67
RESULTS

You be the judge THE RESULTS How to order

You can place an order in the
Continued from page 64 following ways:
Online at nafas.org.uk
By telephone Call NAFAS on
FIRST PRIZE (DESIGN 6) Ratna Dey 020 7247 5567 and pay with
With its immaculate craft skills and clever use of plant material this creative exhibit your debit or credit card
really stood out. Although a limited palette of colours is used, it shows a unique By post Complete the form on
interpretation. A central painted piece (the details of which cannot be seen totally the opposite page and return
to: NAFAS Enterprises Ltd,
in the photograph) provides a dominant feature to a superbly constructed design. Osborne House,
Exciting rhythm and movement have been created by the strings of beads and swirls 12 Devonshire Square,
of plant material. London EC2M 4TE
In person at NAFAS in London
SECOND PRIZE (DESIGN 4) Eileen Parnaby (address as above)
An excellent choice of a diverse range of plant material has been used to create an Opening times:
Monday to Friday
impressive ‘crown’. The depiction of the bird in the central panel is particularly
9am–4pm
exquisite. Rhythm is created by the pearls made out of seeds (seed pearls!) placed It is advisable to telephone
on the outlines of the shapes, these all give unity to the whole design. The central area 020 7247 5567 before visiting
of the crown appears quite dense, some space or greater contrast of textures would
enhance the main features on the panels. Ordering enquiries
Tel: 020 7247 5567
THIRD PRIZE (DESIGN 2) Lola Phillips
Email: info@nafas.org.uk
This crown has been constructed very cleverly with painted plant material used
effectively on the panels. The repeated areas of decoration give unity to the design
and this is another design where ‘seed pearls’ provide movement and rhythm.
Overseas orders
The dark blue base and lining to the crown appear rather dominant and do not If you are ordering from
enhance the exhibit. outside of the UK mainland,
please contact NAFAS on
+44 (0)20 7247 5567 or place
VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED (DESIGN 1) Cécile Povey your order online.
The use of the linear plant material to create the shape of the crown is original and
charming. It gives the exhibit a light and open appearance. The plant material used
for the central jewel is well-chosen and it provides a dominant feature. The open weave NAFAS members
is a little irregular and is not quite in harmony with the jewelled edges of the design. Save money on postage
by ordering from your
HIGHLY COMMENDED (DESIGN 7) Sunita Kanoria Flower Club or Area
This exhibit is superbly crafted with an original design of a crown with intricate use Publications Officer
whenever possible.
of tiny painted seeds. The repeated forms and limited palette of colours give harmony
to the design. The shape of the upper part of the design provides exciting rhythm to Confirmation of prices
an exhibit which appears quite flat but it also makes the central part unbalanced. and availability can be
obtained from your
Area Publications Officer
COMMENDED (DESIGN 8) Margaret Hayes or from NAFAS on
Exciting colourings and choice of plant material provide interest and a clear 020 7247 5567.
interpretation in this exhibit. The detailed panels are decorated with a high level of
skill and good quality plant material has been used. The poppy seed head placed at the
top does not appear to be fully integrated with the panels of the crown and a little more
height would reduce the dominance of the furry rim of pussy willow.

NO AWARD (DESIGN 5) Collette Archer

The chosen plant material used in this regal-looking ‘crown’ is of high quality and
the use of the different forms and textures show imagination. Some of the natural, NAFAS Enterprises Ltd
dried plant material does not have quite the precision needed to represent Chairman:
jewels in this highly competitive class and greater use of colour could achieve Dr Christina Curtis
a clearer interpretation. General correspondence
regarding NAFAS Enterprises Ltd
should be addressed to
NO AWARD (DESIGN 3) Diane Jones NAFAS Enterprises Ltd,
Osborne House, 12 Devonshire
Although the overall shape of the ‘crown’ is not apparent in the photograph used, Square, London EC2M 4TE.
the components have been used to good effect with a strong rhythm created. A little All profits from NAFAS Enterprises
more variety of plant material and colouring would have created a more decorative Ltd go to the National Association
of Flower Arrangement Societies
exhibit. A larger form for the jewel would have given it more dominance and also 2003 Ltd.
a clearer interpretation of the class title. Registered Charity no. 1101348

68 | W I NT ER 2020
 NAFAS Handbooks
To provide inspiration for show work and festivals NAFAS publishes an extensive
range of handbooks on various aspects of flower arranging. The books are
written by experienced flower arrangers and are compact and reasonably
priced. More titles are available by visiting our online shop nafas.org.uk

TITLES AVAILABLE Prices valid until 18 January 2021

Abstract – An Introduction £4.00

Ancient Japanese Flower Arranging AD 594 to c. 1860 £3.00
Illustrated Booklet of Basic Designs for Flower Arranging £4.50
Illustrated Booklet of Basic Designs for Flower Arranging 2 £4.50
Church Flowers £3.20
A Flower Arranger’s Guide to Colour Theory £1.30
Competitions Manual – Third Edition 2015 £5.00
Instructions and Diagrams for Home-made Containers
and Artefacts for Period Flower Arranging £4.50
European Continental Styles £1.60
Grand Designs with Flowers £9.00
Leaf Techniques Part One £4.50
New Ideas for Christmas £4.50
Period Guide II 1940 – 2000 £7.50
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STEP-BY-STEP

White roses
This pretty, seasonal design by Chrissie Harten is quick and simple to make
and will enhance any festive table. Scale it up if you wish by using a larger
container and increasing the amount of plant material used

Plant material Method

l 12 white roses 1 Cut the soaked floral foam to 4 Fill in the gaps with the holly, box
6–8 pine cones fit inside the container – it should and Pittosporum.
l

l Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Golden King’

(variegated holly) be around 5cm higher than the 5 Arrange the cones equally
l Buxus sempervirens (box) rim of the container. between the roses.
Pittosporum tenuifolium
Photograph: Chrissie Harten

l
Mechanics and sundries
l a low oval or square container
l ¾ block of floral foam, soaked
l about 1m silver cord
l silver angel hair
l a few florist wires
2 Use the florist wires to create
stems for the pine cones, and to
secure each end of the silver cord.
3 Arrange the roses evenly
around the foam, forming a
BEGINNER
gentle dome shape.
6 Secure one end of the silver cord
into the foam, and weave it through
the design to add rhythm.
7 Finish off with a few strands of
silver angel hair for a festive sparkle.

70 | W I NT ER 2020
 CLASSIFIED · CLASSIFIED · CLASSIFIED · CLASSIFIED
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WORCESTERSHIRE
HILL FARM HOUSE, DORMSTON. PAPER
Bed and Breakfast accommodation located in
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To advertise in this The Malverns, Cotswolds, Stratford upon Avon, Workshops(half/full day or evening)
Pershore and Vale of Evesham. Many National individual tuition/commissions. Travel
classified section please Trust properties and gardens within 20 miles. anywhere in the UK. Pictures of Angels,
Visit England: 4 Star Silver Award. Choirboys, Period figures etc. on my
call Georgina Humphrey Special Short Break offers available.
website www.papersculpture.org

on 07956 639714 *Our rooms have individual access from outside so social
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For more information:
or email Tel: 01386 793159 Email: enquiries@hillfarmhouse.co.uk Shelagh Wing 07713155416
georgina@nafas.org.uk Website: www.hillfarmhouse.co.uk

The perfect gift

for anyone who
Due to COVID-19
classes are much
2 and 3 day courses by Ohara master and author
Diane Norman, designed to suit all abilities.
loves flowers
smaller at the moment.
Only 3 in class max.
Please contact us for
Day workshops also available. Studio set in
delightful rural surroundings. Demonstrations
Why not buy a year’s
more information.
(Some virtual lessons for flower clubs. Moons, Kenzans subscription to
available) (including black ones) and Japanese containers The Flower Arranger
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FL WER
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Available worldwide via www.pocketmags.com
from 19 January
Don’t miss out. See page 66
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INSPIRATION

Five ways
Why not liberate your poinsettia
from its pot this Christmas? Here are
five ideas for you to try with the
country’s favourite Christmas plant,
which you can now buy in a range
of seasonal colours

Photographs: Stars for Europe

72 | W I NT ER 2020
British Flower
Growers

A family business with a

rich histor y and an eye
firmly on the future.
Five generations of expertise
has brought our business to
where it is today, special-
ising in growing premium
quality c ut flowers.

01406 363234
sales@smithandmunson.com
www.smithandmunson.com
 Discover inspiration across
Artificial Flowers & Greenery
Floral Supplies | Baskets | Dried
Vases & Glassware | Foam | Craft
Wedding | Christmas & MORE!

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