AEONIUM

Hello all,

My aeonium plant (aeonium arboreum 'velour') has grown very big very fast and, because the stems are very soft, pieces have been breaking off. I picked some up and started playing with them.

The very simple arrangement, above, still required some expertise to arrange. Firstly, I selected an interesting piece and trimmed away some flowers as well as some of the lower petals from the flowers that I kept. Then I used a stick wedged between the stem and the wall of the vase to hold the aeonium upright.

You'll notice that the vase has a very convenient slit a third of the way down, allowing for the New Zealand flax to fit through and reach the water.

The next arrangement didn't require much work at all, apart from the selection and trimming of the stems. Also, the choice of container was crucial.

In the next arrangement the vase has three holes on either side. Very handy. I put the stems on either side, meeting inside the container and pinned them together, thus holding each other in position.

Having finished the two nageire arrangements, I put them to the side whilst I worked on the next one. I noticed, then, that they look rather good together as one arrangement using two containers.

Sam was doing some work in the vege patch and rescued the garlic flower in the arrangement, below. There was a New Zealand flax leaf in the bucket, which I took and had a quick look at the shelves of containers. One of them seem to call out to me.

All my arrangements thus far seem quite monochromatic. This is not by design but a coincidence. So lets spice things up a little and add some colour.

My crocosmia are in full bloom, finally. At least one month later than others I've seen in the area. Still, I'm grateful for them now. This beautifully bent one happened naturally. I put a piece of wire through the stem inside the neck of the container to prevent it from resting against the lip.

The reason so many of the crocosmias are bent is because they grow tall and heavy and fall to the ground. As the flower stem grows, it reaches upwards towards the sun, thus creating these interesting angles.

My next arrangement is one of contrasts. The black and white containers, the bent and curved stems of the materials and the orange and blue colours, which are on the opposite side of the colour wheel.

More orange and blue. This time it's the agapanthus and the stem of tiger lily (lilium columbianum). I had manipulated the stem of the agapanthus to create a curve but not the tiger lily. It grew amongst rose bushes where it found an obstruction, causing it to bend.

Bye for now,

Emily