A Bunch for the Weekend - # 32 - Amaryllis

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring some stunning cream and light green Amaryllis with some very simple foliage.

Amaryllis or Hippeastrums as they are also called - have for a long time been a very popular bulb to grow for Christmas. Lately it has also started to become popular as a cut flower. 

I love how you can get a lot of impact from just a few stems and you will not need any other flowers - just a little bit of foliage.   

You'll need:

- 2 stems of amaryllis with multiple buds or flowers on each stem

- a bundle of long narrow steel grass

- 3 stems of small leaved eucalyptus

- a large clear glass vase or container

- some small candle holders with tea-lights, a plate or saucer and a piece of fabric with a Christmas theme. I have used a black and white fabric with snowflakes and a black plate for the tea-lights.

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- a sharp knife and cutting board

- elastic bands

- small garden canes

- cotton wool

- a small jug of water

- a florist bucket

If you buy them as cut flowers from a florist, market or flower stall they don't come with any leaves. Look for flowers that have not yet opened up fully with no pollen showing. 

As soon as they open up remove the yellow pollen from the top of the stamens with your fingertips. Have a tissue or paper towel ready to collect them in. The pollen will stain the petals and your tablecloth. Make sure your hands are dry when you do it and wash your hands afterwards. 

Measure the Amaryllis stems against the side of the vase and trim them so that they sit a bit above the edge of the vase. In the case of Amaryllis I like to trim the stem straight across. To make sure the stems will support the heavy flower heads you can insert a small garden cane in the hollow stem.

While holding the flower upside down - insert the cane - fill the stem up with water and plug it with cotton wool. 

To prevent the bottom of the stems from curling up - put a small elastic band around the bottom - close to the end. The bottom of the stems tend to split and curl outwards - the elastic band will prevent that from happening and by cutting the stems straight across you'll have a neat finish.    

Place immediately in a clean container with tepid water and leave in a cool place over night or at least a few hours before making the final arrangement.

Place the Amaryllis stems so that they are leaning on the edge of the container - place the grass and the Eucalyptus evenly all around the flowers.

The black Mexican pottery plate has three little candle holders with tea-lights and some more of those dark mini Christmas tree baubles - all sitting on a black and white fabric with snow crystals.

This is some more inspiration for another 'Black and White Christmas' - where you just keep it simple and stylish. 

Have a Happy Floral Friday and a Great Weekend!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and Photography © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer.]