A Bunch for the Weekend - # 20 - Gladiolus

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring some Gladiolus in an amazing light green colour. 

It's a flower that I will forever associate with the Australian comedian Berry Humphries and his alter ego Dame Edna Everage. The Gladiolus was the character Edna's favourite flower and she would bring out big bunches on stage and during the finale throw the flowers into the audience. 

Gladiolus was for many years not a flower that I would ever buy. I associated it too much with being old-fashioned and for a long time it was hard to find. I'm now glad to see that it has made a comeback. 

I found these lime green beauties at my local farmers market. I made two arrangements - one large in a vintage zinc container and a very small one in a little contemporary Danish vase.  

It's such a wonderful structural flower - tall and slender so perfect for an arrangement in a tall vase. But I also wanted to see how it would work cut down and used with a very short stem.

You'll need - for the large arrangement:

- 7 stems of Gladiolus

- a tall container with a not too wide opening

You'll need - for the small arrangement:

- 1 stem of Gladiolus - cut down so that only 3-4 flowers remain

- small vase with straight sides

- small pebbles

As always - condition the flowers by removing any unwanted leaves - cut the stems at an angle - to increase water absorption. Put in a clean container with tepid water and leave in a cool place over night or at least for a few hours before making the final arrangement.

In the large arrangement - cut the stems so that the flowers sit just a short distance above the edge of the vase - showing a little bit of stem. I then simply arranged all the stems to just lean to one side of the container. It makes it all look a little bit less formal.

For the small arrangement start by trimming the stem so you only have a few of the top flowers left on the stem. Cut it so that the bottom flower sits just above the edge of the vase. You might also need to put a few little pebbles in the bottom of the vase to support the flower stem to stand straight. 

The little black vase is Danish and is called Lyngby Vase by Hilfling Design.

Gladiolus are available to buy during the summer and autumn. To be sure the flowers are fresh the leaves should be crisp. You also sometimes are given the advise to remove the tips of the flowers to stimulate the buds further down the stem - because the top buds often never open. 

Have a Wonderful Floral Friday!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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