This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' I'm featuring some beautiful Astrantia and the spectacular Nectaroscordum - an unusual bulbous perennial.
Astrantia is a very pretty, delicate star-shaped flower and in this case it's one called Astrantia major 'Hadspen Blood' - it has stunning dark red bracts and flowers.
Nectaroscordum is a bit of an odd flower - its of the Allium family and has leaves that smells of garlic. It has beautiful bell-shaped flowers flushed pink or purplish red with some green. As the flowers fade they become erect and they make very attractive dried flowers.
- 7 stems of Astrantia
- 3 stems of Nectaroscordum
- a neutral small vase
- three mini vases in similar colour to the flowers.
For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:
- a pair of florists scissors
- a florist bucket filled with fresh water
Condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase. This is to reduce any growth of bacteria from deteriorating leaves. Also remove any broken or bruised leaves.
Cut all the stems at an angle - this is to increase water absorption.
Put the flowers in a clean container with fresh water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours, to let the flowers absorb the maximum of water, before making the final arrangement.
You might have to re-cut the stems while making the final arrangement to suit the size of the vase or container to get the right proportions.
The Nectaroscordum has long, tall stems but I have cut them very short for this arrangement. I wanted to show off the inside of the flowers by cutting the stems short and putting them in a vase that would 'force' the flowers to point upwards.
The colour of the Astrantia is picked up on the inside of the bell-shaped Nectaroscordum flowers.
Two very different flowers that you might not usually combine in an arrangement but I think they make exiting and interesting companions.
Enjoy your flower arranging!
Have a Great Floral Saturday and a Happy Weekend!
I will see you next week with more Do-It-Yourself flowers from 'Of Spring and Summer'.
~ xoxo ~
Ingrid
[Styling and Photography © Ingrid Henningsson - Of Spring and Summer]
You can also find me on:
Instagram - https://instagram.com/ofspringandsummer/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ofspringsummer/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ingrid.henningsson
