Arranging Everlasting Flowers [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONThe pleasure we find in decorating our homes with flowers need not be restricted to the growing seasons of the year; it can be continued and enjoyed throughout the months when most gardens offer only a limited supply to pick from and when fresh flowers can be very expensive. By the time the early winter arrives, the knowledgeable harvester will have a store of attractive and inspiring bunches and boxes full of contents waiting to be turned into everlasting arrangements.These enthusiasts will need no encouragement; others may need convincing that the dusty grasses standing on a window sill or sad arrangements, standing forgotten in corners, are of the past. The aim of this book is to suggest ideas to please both the committed and the unconvinced.With the dry, centrally heated and sometimes air conditioned atmosphere in today's homes everlasting arrangements do have a special place, but it is important that we should not take the word everlasting too literally. With this title goes the message that every arrangement does, indeed, have a limited life. If it is to give pleasure it must be in pristine condition, never faded, dusty, battered or badly assembled. It is not and should not be thought of as an apology for a fresh arrangementeach has its place.Using some fresh material mixed with everlasting increases the scope for designing arrangements which have a comparatively long life, and the replacement of fresh within a dried framework can be helpful to those whose time is precious. It is interesting, also, to experiment with textures and colours in this way. A number of examples are included in a special section of this book. Both 'Proteas' and 'Art Nouveau' show how a dramatic idea can become a quick-change outline for a few fresh flowers. The 'Hogmanay' arrangement emphasizes the interesting use of contrasting textures. A colour theme has been developed in 'The Midas Touch' within the framework of the preserved leaves.In the Thanksgiving and Christmas section, the emphasis is sometimes on fresh material and sometimes on everlastings and the result is a selection of easy-to-follow ideas for the festive season.The sizes of the arrangements and the styles and methods used to produce them vary greatly but here are suggestions to suit many settings. Some demand space, not only as finished arrangements but when harvesting and storing all that is included. Others, in complete contrast, are small; little pictures full of charming detail, tiny flowers used in gifts and posies for a bedside table.6