Flower Clubs

I'm in! Hurray!
Zen garden, wow, that is hard. I'll give it a try.

I don't think I have any Oriental vases. Hummm, that is strange. I bet I do have SOMETHING Asian that I could use. I'll have to dig around the house.

Are you sure? I thought I came across something asian in one of your posts. . .guess not, oh well.

I used a teacup that is Asian. Maybe that was it. I also used small platters that had an Asian motif to put the vase on.

Here is the teacup

Must've been what I saw. You already produced your asian arrangement! Very nice Traci!

Hey Adele, your fruit and flowers is beautiful. I've been out gathering material for the Zen arrangement. Mmmmmm. I can't wait to see everyone elses!

Can't wait to see yours Sue. I hope to get to mine today.

OMG, I've been at it for hours! Mostly trying to get the pics right. I've got lamps with tinfoil directed at the arrangement and tried with flash, without flash and with different light measures (although I don't know what I'm doing there!) This is the best I could do, but I think it looks nicer in real life. It is made of Tall Cyperus papyrus at the back, White flowering chives, Malay pygmy bamboo (Pogonathum paniceum or something like that) and a couple of tortured willow peices.
I'm still using that horrible piece of oasis until i can get to the shops. Theres hardly any body left to it at all! You's would die laughing if you could see it!
Anyway, here goes. Its supposed to look simple, elegant and oriental.
Sue

Good morning everyone!
Hi Sue, I think you acheived your goal. It's wonderful!

This last weekend my husband and I went to the Hawaii Flower and Shippers Assoc 60th Annual Shinnenkai banquet held at the University of Hawaii Hilo "Imiloa Centre" - doesn't that sound rather grand! At this event shippers and growers of tropical flowers enter their prize flowers into the "People's Choice" competition.

We have a protea farm and so entered my prize pincusions a basket full of pink protea
and consequently won 1st place for my prize protea. That is the greatest feeling to know that the flowers that my husband and I grow WON first place.

We live in Hawaii on the Big Island and we wonder if any of you use protea in your floral arranging - we would love to see some of your arrangements.

Aloha for now -

Sue, what a beautiful arrangement! Adele, you have to add her on the guru list.

Aloha to you Annemaree! Congratulations on your award. I wish I could afford proteas in my arrangements. They are about $5 a stem down here. I believe terriculture has used it in one of her arrangements. She will be along to post a pic for you, I'm sure. Do you have pics of your proteas? I bet they are really cool.

Lana

Your arrangement is lovely Sue! You really did achieve simlpe elegant and oriental. Thankyou for joining in with the theme this week.

Aloha Annemaree and welcome to cut flowers!
Congratulations on your award for Proteas, they are such special flowers , we don't see them much here.
I have only used them once to make a wreath, there is a picture of it in the ' Belles florists' thread. Sorry iI don't know how to do the link!
I would love to see some pictures of your proteas if you have any.

I will be late with my Zen arrangement, I won't have time to make it until Thursday!

Guess what? I actually made an arrangement! Sorry my participation has been so low. Here's my zen arrangement. This is soooooo less is more LOL! And I used a cereal bowl. Ignore the background. The kitchen was the only place I could find black.

Aloha Annemaree and congratulations! I'm very new at arranging flowers. I had to look up what proteas look like. I would love to use them in a flower arrangement. Have you ever used proteas in a flower arrangement?

Hey Karma, I think your arrangement is very zen, simple and elegant. It's very good.

Hi and Aloha to all. Annemaree, my friend (Annmarie also) down the road grows proteas , they do very well in our climate apparently. She does a lot of dried flower arranging and uses them. They are also used regularly in store bought Dried flower arrangements here in Australia.
Thanks Adele for your kind words. I spent literally hours last night trying to get a good photo as I'm not here during the daylight! I've arrived home to see it all dried out because I left the doors open and a nice strong breeze has been blowing through all day, not to mention that scungey piece of Oasis I keep using! I really must throw it away.
I actually did 3 arrangements last night, because I cut wayyyyyyy to much material. There is such a variety of foliage form and colour in my garden! At least the place is looking very decorative now, with arrangements in almost every room!
Hey, Karma. Your arrangement is exactly what I thought a Zen arrangement might look like! Well done.
And TC, can't wait to see yours!
Whats next?
This is in my bathroom, an arrangement of Croton spp at the front, then Cordyline fruticosa leaves, then Giant African Fountain grass in behind

Sue, Fantastic! I think Karma is right, I will add you on to the floral guru list.
Here's my zen garden

Excellent, excellent arrangements everybody!!!!!!!!

Pupil.. Love your tea cup and the way you have the flowers going up the side like that.

WeedWoman... very nice presentation. it really has an oriental feeling and movement to it when I look at it.

Karma... Glad to see you finally got to play. Simple but elegant. Nifty idea using a ceral bowl.

Digger... Very peaceful and relaxing. All ya need now is a bit of a tiny water fountain runing through it and I would think I was in a Japanese thought garden for reflection. Looking at the pebbles, makes me realize that I need to relax a bit and breath.

I hope next week maybe I cna get to store and get some flowers or something. Got exams coming up so cramming for them.

Welcome AnneMarie! Would like to se e some of your flowers.

Hi all,
Very interesting arrangements this week, Thanks everyone!
Adele, love the use of stones.
I will try to bring mine in tomorrow!

We're all waiting in anticipation Terri! You've got all of ours to learn from, *chuckle*
Hi Adele, just like a bonsai! Where did you get your dish?
Star, what are you studying?
Me, a guru? Nah, I'm just lucky to have so much material to work with!
How is everyone?

Good Morning All,
Thank you Sue,Star and Terri. The dish is just an old shallow basket.

Hi everyone! Well here's my Zen Garden!

The stones and rocks represent the Islands and the raked sand represents ripples in the water surounding the land!

A place for quiet contemplation!

and meditation!

The placed rocks should unconsciously form a tree shape.

Oh, very nice,Terri. It is zen and tranquil.

Thankyou Adele, it took a whole bag of granulated brown sugar!!!!!!!!

Brown sugar!! A whole bag! I would have never known.

It was cheaper than flowers!

Hey, maybe we should make sugar art for the winter and save some money:)

Cmon, how about the next arrangement to be native plants from your country? Is that too hard?

It's a little hard being winter and all but I'll give it a try.

I love your zen garden digg! Love the contrast between the rocks and the green moss. Terri, "sweet" Zen garden. I don't exactly understand the rock placement in Zen philosophy, but it looks very calming.

Thanks Karma!

Well, this being my favorite type of arrangements, they are all fantastic. Terry, no flowers? Always original!!

Karma, I knew you would nail this one.

Weed, LOVE IT! the fan is perfect.

Digger, I think you are fibbing to all of us and really are a floral master.

annemaree07, nice to see you and now a new flower to go look up!!

Natives? Well, if the weather hadn't decided to turn brutally cold, I would have had some in my yard, but I think all my buds froze their little buds off!! I will see what I can do.

I was wondering what I could find too but it raining and sleeting again here, so everything either soggy or froze for the moment.

Aw shucks pupil, you're embarrassing me. Thanks for the compliment.:)

Hi everyone!
Sue, The problem with 'native' for a theme, at this time of year, is some of our gardens are still asleep! Please suggest something easier!!!
Thanks Karma, for saying my zen garden was calming!
It was very difficult for me not to add flowers, but I did it!!! , Thanks Traci!

I can just picture you with one in your hand going, "but it would look good right here". You showed restraint lol.

Funny!, it was a bit like that, how did you know?!!!!

O.k, o.k, no natives. I get them all year, so we can do that agin another time. No, I'll leave it up to you to suggest another theme, as I can't think of any, and not knowing what you may have access too makes it tricky also. (i.e Tropical)
Sue

Good morning all,
Karma, Please nominate someone to choose this weeks theme!