Wishing all our members a safe and blessed Christmas and New Year
and may 2022 be filled with new opportunities,
fabulous flowers and much love and laughter with friends once again!
Memories of Christmas 2010!
THIS MONTHS CHOICE OF OUR SOUTH AFRICAN FLOWERS
AGAPANTHUS
Family : Liliaceae
This is a genus of indigenous rhizimatous perennials bearing large heads of blue or white flowers above clumps of strap-like leaves in summer. These useful and popular plants will grow almost anywhere. The name is from the Greek agape, love and anthos, flower. Propogate by division of the clumps. In the KwaZulu Natal region, A.praecox (very handsome) and A. campanulatus are easy to grow with flowering stems approximately 60 - 65cms in height.
CONDITIONING
Fairly hardy. Make sure that the rate of transpiration (evaporation of water) does not exceed the amount of water entering the stem and that the conducting vessels do not become clogged with bacteria. When the stem is cut, the cells start to clog up, so the sooner the flowers are in water the better. Garden material should be put straight into a bucket of water. The best time for cutting is early morning or late afternoon -never in the heat of the day. Immediate placing in water will prevent wilting. Bought Agapanthus blooms need re-cutting before being plunged into deep water for several hours, preferably overnight. Do not put flowers in full sunlight or in a hot room. Commercial products for prolonging the life of cut flowers are excellent.
DESIGN USES
When using large showy Agapanthus heads, one should conform to good design using all the basic principles, but especially balance, scale and proportion. PROPORTION is the ratio of one area or one part of the structure to another and to the whole. SCALE is the size relationship of the separate units of a structure to each other, and to the whole. Try to create harmonious proportion and pleasing scale by adjusting the size of one area to another. If the design is to be set in a niche which is usually oblong, not square, the arrangement should be in proportion to the niche's dimensions.
Dried heads, with or without seeds, are a good standy-by for use when flowers are scarce, and may be spray painted gold, silver, red or white, for use in Christmas designs.
Florettes may be individually wired and used in bridal bouquets, corsages, sta-mobile, etc.
SPECIAL MECHANICS
are not really necessary but may include wire cages filled with wet floral foam and taped securely to the container/s. OR, the stems may be simply allowed to show in a glass cylinder, the top of which may have a grid of clear adhesive tape for better support.
Kindly submitted by Tania van der Watt
2021 SOUTH AFRICAN FLOWER UNION VIRTUAL SHOW -
WHEN FLORAL BECOMES ART (CLICK HERE)
SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS (CLICK HERE)
With all our meetings currently on hold, we are taking a trip down memory lane with
A BLAST FROM THE PAST (CLICK HERE)
Enjoy these memories.......