Theme - Candee - Sticks n Stones

I love it! Good job, Terri. I want those cores.

Wow, Terri, I think we all agree the wait was worth it? Your usual talent and flair are radiating from this one. I too, love the cores! what a great idea. Mmmmm, where can I get me some of those?
Hi Adele, yes your geostones are what they call thunder eggs over here (more Aussie slang I think)
It was a fun one wasn't it? Have we got a new one? Never mind, I'll go and check it out now!
Sue

Thankyou Adele and Sue.
Next time you see guys doing roadworks, ask the site Investigator for some cores!!!!
I really didn't have a clue what to do for this theme for a long time!

Sue, there isn't a new theme yet, anyone got a theme in mind?

There is a new thread by Flamingo Carole who has asked for some help and ideas for making table arrangements using vegetables as the containers.

Looking forward to seeing what other sticks n stones arrangements turn up!

Candee, your theme was a hit. Look at all these creative arrangements. Sue, I have to have that African fountain grass! I was gonna ask if that's an Australian native, but duh. . .it's called african fountain grass.

Hey karma, Its botanical name is Pennisetum setaceum 'purpureum' and it comes in a giant form (up to 1.5m) or a standard size (about 1m) http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.magnoliagardensnursery.com/productdescrip/pictures300/Pennisteum_BurgundyGiant2300.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.magnoliagardensnursery.com/productdescrip/Pennisetum_BurgundyGiant.html&h=400&w=300&sz=107&hl=en&start=19&tbnid=sZxpaHeETX_jDM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3DPennisetum%2Bsetaceum%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DWZPA,WZPA:2006-10,WZPA:en It looks crap in winter, but comes good in spring after a hard prune!

oh, oh, I have another idea, ru interested. I don't make arrangements that well but do have great ideas, may I take another turn please?
Candee

Thanks Sue. I think I have red fountain grass seeds which look similar, but the flowering part may look different. May give those a try.

Candee, saw your new theme. . .sounds exciting!

Here's my sticks and stones. . .late as usual. Curly willow sticks, japanese maple, flowering quince, and faux stones (they're actually votive holders).

2nd view, closeup

Hey Karma, better late than never! Beautiful! I love the urn/vase. Very egyptian shape.
Is the maple from your garden? I would love to have a maple, but its a struggle to keep them looking nice in our humid climate.
Do you get many fruit from your quince? Are they edible?
All in all, a lovely arrangement, and I think the placing of your branches gives a new dimension, as without them, it wouldn't be nearly as striking!
Sue

Magnificent - I love the placement of the branches and quince is so pretty.

Thanks ladies. Sue, my garden is very new. I bought the flowering quince about a month ago and the maple 2 weeks ago. Took a lot for me to snip those. . .gritted my teeth while doing so. Thanks for the critique. Candee, some of the petals on the quince came off as I was "arranging". I'm sad to see the flowers starting to fade on my the plant as well.

Lovely arrangement Karma. nice earthy colours and perfect balance. I agree with Sue, better late than never!

Oohhh, Karma, I can't believe you snipped your new plants! At least you used it wisely, and we are able to share your new plants too. Thanks Karma!

sorry to butt in but thought y'all might be interested in this
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/827116/

Thanks for the link, you are not butting in, but welcome here!
Are you going to try a sticks n stones arrangement?!!!!!!!!!

i'm not very talented, but love lurking here and seeing all the lovely arrangments. hope y'all don't mind

Dont mind at all, nice having you around! bet you have got talent, you just don't know it yet!

thanks. i think i'll stick to wht i know- gardening

Hey I don't have a clue what I am doing either, but have some professional help here on these threads. The idea is to just have fun, least that is my thoughts on it. As far as my knowledge there is no absolute right or wrong to flower arranging, if it looks good to my eye, then away we go!

well said Candee! we are just having fun. There are some 'real' florists with experience lurking, shame they don't come and help us!!

LOVED all of them!! I hopefully will get the time later to add mine. I really want to do this theme.

Karma, you are soooo zen!!

Hey Traci, just jump in whenever you get an opportunity. That is the beauty of a new thread for each theme, we can keep better track of what is what!

How's this for sticks and stones.

Hodge Podge Container
3 Japanese Maples
1 wisteria with the leaves on the top (my stick is the trunk)
4 hycynthia foliage
2 unknown bulbs foliage
the stones are the lining the back porch beds.
Dried oak leaves provided by mother nature

HAHA!! This is my crazy pot! Mom planted the wisteria and 3 maples for ease of bringing them here. Luckily, I never took them out of the pot. She didn't know the hycynthia bulbs were in there. I have found random bulbs, rooted but just laying on the dirt under TONS of leaves. Talk about a surprise container!! ROTFLMBO

Love this one Traci, quite an abstract idea! sticks and stones achieved in a natural setting. Land Art!!!

Very nice Traci, you did well to leave it alone in the pot, I really like the maples the color is just the addition needed to the greens. The bulbs take on the appearance of rocks not to mention the stones in the setting. Bravo!

Niiiice suprise container Traci. I love japanese maples. Were they cuttings? If so, how were they done?

Ya'll are cracking me up!! I figured I would use this picture so I can catch up on some of the threads :^)

Karma, they were seedlings my mother planted in there last fall. They were about 8" tall when she put them in there. I just let mother nature do everything else and thought they were goners (as well as the wisteria, which NEEDS to be staked) when they just became sticks. LOL. plants will never cease to amaze me. Remember my car accident? I had to empty my truck and just threw things in bags. One was a vodoo lily and I completely forgot about it. When I was going through the bags a couple of days ago, I found this. When I first got it, it was just a ball. Need to pot this up!!

You better get busy then Traci, don't let them in the bags too long or lord knows what you'll end up with. Perhaps your next theme will be "grab bag"!

LOL, Sue!! If people only knew how easy gardening can be (as far as your everyday plants go, that is) I think we would see a lot more beautiful flowers out there. I am doing a fire loss at an apartment building and started speaking with an older gentleman there about it. He has never had one, but loves flowers. I bought him a "wildflower mix" of seeds and he cast them out on a little strip of grass between the apartments and a fence. He now has TONS of seedlings and is so excited about it. I KNOW not all gardening is easy and don't mean this disparaging, but throw out some blanket flower seed and let it go!! Next thing you know, VOILA, instant flowers.

On a side note, I was at the same loss and doing coleus cuttings on several new plants I had bought. I ended up giving all my crew cuttings!! They do not speak English very well, but they are either thinking I am nice or CRAZY. Probably a good thing I don't speak their language. One did tell me as best he could that his wife LOVED them!! If one out of eight is happy, I can live with that number. ☺

Don't even ask about the pansies!!

I am sure they are thinking you are nice and they would be very right! What a selfless gesture to share your beautiful plants with others. I am sure they will quickly get the "garden bug" when they see the results of your generosity.

Finally!!! Sticks (dogwood branches) and stones (river rock).

First.....

Second....

Together with the stones. I love the way the branches hang. Not much arranging at all.

Fabulous darling - I love the dogwoods and those are lovely - they do seem to arrange themselves with your helping hands. I love the double vase, great job and well worth the wait!

Beautiful, love the two arrangements with the stones. Cutting edge in floral design is our Traci!
As candee said, well worth the wait. well done!

Wow. are they real flowers pupil? I've never seen them before. They look very oriental.
Nice job and thanks for sharing.

Hey Sue, yes, they are real. They came off a dogwood tree. Do ya'll not have those? I have always loved them and they come in a pink shade as well. It is a beautiful site in the south to see these. I liken them to the cherry trees in Japan.

Here's a pink one http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/3617/

The pic below is in my neighbor's yard.

Editted to say THANK YOU!! LOL!

This message was edited Apr 8, 2008 10:33 PM

They are a beautiful, but fragile tree. Mine will be blooming soon if we just could get a bit of warmth and sunshine.
Until you posted yours, I never really thought of them in an arrangement, they are stunning and I will try them myself when they come on out.

Wow, i think they are awesome. I'll have to ask at the local nursery if they have them here or can be grown here. I hope so!