814-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 27, 1995
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
If you love flowers in your
home, but feel intimidated when it
comes to arranging them yourself,
you’ll be happy to hear that
natural-looking arrangements are
in vogue.
No more stiff, artificial
appearing arrangments that need
each flower to be positioned exact
ly the same distance between flow
ers. Instead, arrangements that
resemble a growing flower garden
are gaining in popularity.
Natural-looking arrangements
have no hard and fast rules. But the
more an arrangement resembles
growing plants, the more attractive
it is.
Spikes or cyclinder-shaped
flowers work best in giving height
to an arrangement To insert fragile
stems in Oasis, hold stems near
base and poke sporadically. Round
flowers are tucked around the base
and to give depth in an arrange
ment
Generally, natural-looking
arrangements combine numerous
types of flowers in a variety of col
ors. The flowers are arranged as if
they are growing in a garden.
Choosing Foliage
Foliage is used to cover the base
and provide interest throughout the
arrangement. Combine several dif
ferent greens from the fine nee
dles of pine to the complicated lat
tice work fronds of fem and the
feathery leaves of mountain ash—
to add importance in arrangements.
Arrange foliage so that the
greens appear to be growing out
from the center and the edges of the
container are covered. Greenery
should spill over the edges in the
front and sides of container. Fol
low the shape of the foliage and
work from the base up.
Many farm wives and those who
live in the country have access to
wildflowers and free-flowing
greens found in meadows and in
woodlands. Don’t be timid when it
comes to combining many diffe
rent varieties of flowers.
Early summer is the best time to
find a wonderful array of flowers.
Enjoy them all from the deli
ciously sweet fragrance of old
roses, peonies, and sweet peas to
Queen Ann’s Lace growing along
the roadside.
Flower Arranging Made Easy
Gone are the days of strict color
rules of combining colors that are
close on the color spectrum. Few
colors look terrible together. Col
ors on the opposite end of the spec
trum such as as orange and blue
look stunning and daring.
Choosing Containers
Decide what type of container is
best suited to the flowers gathered.
Use containers such as sprin
kling cans, ornate dishes, watering
cans, baskets, cups, mugs, jugs,
casserole dishes, terracotta, clear
glass, ceramic, metal, stone, and
even cracked pieces of china.
Baskets complement rustic, twiggy
arrangements.
Allow the form of the vase to
dictate the shape and-style of
arrangements. A tall, straight
sided vase demands tall-straight
spires of flowers. A round bowl
looks best with a generous curved
arrangement.
Line baskets and other porous
containers with plastic containers
similar in size. Use fully-soaked
Oasis to hold the flowers in
position.
Containers provide the bed that
must be in harmony with the flow
ers. The general rule is that the
overall creation should be about
three times the height of the con
tainer and twice as wide but
many delightful arrangements
break this rule.
Choosing the Setting
Before beginning to arrange the
flowers, consider where you will
place the arrangment.
Will it be viewed from all sides
or placed against a wall?
Consider the space for an idea of
the scale and size of the arrange
ment. Coffee table arrangements
should be appealing from above
and all sides.
Elaborate arrangements are
found in Victorian styles, which
may use tremendous mixtures of
flowers and foliage. Extravagant
arrangements are ideal in a large
room of a farmhouse, but might
seem overpowering in a small con
temporary room.
Caring for Arrangements
Crooked stems and hanging
flowers offer an informal free
growing look, but wilted flowers
look terrible. Here are some tips to
follow to keep your arrangement
fresh and long lasting.
• Add a few drops of bleach and
a teaspoon of sugar, and stir or use
flower preservatives according to
directions.
Replace the water in a vase
frequently.
• Remove dead flowers, leaves,
and stems. Replace with fresh
flowers if necessary.
• Use a warm detergent-bleach
solution to clean everything that
comes in contact with fresh flow
ers. This prevents the spread of
bacteria.
• Metal containers corrode easi
ly and can contaminate the water
and shorten the life of flowers.
• It is best to use distilled,
reverse osmosis or deionized
water.
• Remove foliage from stems
below water line. Foliage in water
creates bacteria and causes flowers
to deteriorate. Remove damaged
flowers and leaves because they
can cany bacteria and produce
ethylene gas that destroys flowers.
• Cut stems under water. When
flowers arc not cut under water, air
gets into the stem and blocks the
flow of water, causing the flowers
to wilt. Place the stems in warm
water preservative solution.
» Use preservatives to enhance
the quality, colorand lasting ability
of flowers. Follow instructions for
measuring and mixing
preservatives.
• Never leave flowers out of
water.
English Country Design
English Country is an interior
design style developed from the
rural cottages of England. These
cottages were minimal in space and
were usually builtof stone or brick.
The use of repetitive flowers, birds,
or trellis patterns on dark back
grounds produced a busy, almost
indistinguishable pattern.
Containers should be either
simple glass vases, silver, pieces of
china, porcelain or baskets. The
flowers should be a combination of
garden materials. The individual
flowers are not the most important
element, but the overall display
should convey a feeling of warmth
and elt ince.
French Country is doing what it has done in France tor
centuries; evolving. No longer anchored in the 18th cen
tury, today’s informal French style is more appealing than
ever. Their Interiors reflect the bright blue skies and rich
colors of the Van Gogh Country. Fabrics from the French
countryside have historically contributed guileless charm.
Now a more softer mood prevails. Look for the new style
fabrics to be more expressive In movement and scale than
the more expected tiny patterened wood, block prims first
refined in the mid 1700 s In France.
The traditional colors such as ochres, silver green, terra*
cotta and cerulean blue pulled from the earth, the sky and
the fields of provence still appear. Also, they take a sunlit
yellow from a palming, a fuchsia and a tangerine. Country
French is eclectic and less cluttered than other country
styles. Containers are varied, rustic baskets, terracotta,
copper, wrought Iron. Flowers are usually grouped In a
strong European style. The design Is natural and loose in
feel. Country French, by Intent, Is never perfect.
Instead of rules, It asks for freedom and spontaneity,
which combined with a discriminating eye, yields true
ments of American Country are inspired by the traditions of
Europe. Thus the Cape Cod cottage was patterned after the
English cottage, while the southern plantation homes were
reminiscent of English estate homes. Function and eco
nomy are important factors In the American Country style.
Fabrics and wall coverings are typically of natural materials
such as cottons and wools. Prlnts were more often plaids,
checks or wood block prims. Floral designs typically In
American primitive homes are dependent on seasonally
available material. Great bouquets of wildflowers are com
mon in summer time, and changes In weather encourage
the drying of materials so that arrangements can be
enjoyed all year. American County tends to reflect a more
rustic environment. Baskets, wooden containers, crockery,
pewter are appropriate container choices. Woody vines,
dried materials and natural weedy grasses are often incor
porated within the arrangements.