UNUSUAL FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29051, 13 November 1959, Page 2

UNUSUAL FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS

Imaginative Use Of Materials Broad beans, onion heads, unripe plums and grasses were used in an imaginative arrangement which won Mrs R. Elcock first prize at the Horticultural Society’s display at the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Show. Mrs Elcock’s .floral artistry and fine colour sense also won her the society’s premier award, afid two other first places. AU her arrangements are crowded with interest and it is possible to scrutinise them for minutes and still see some new flower, leaf or fruit not noticed before. Mrs Elcock has a feeling for the shape and texture of growing things. She was attracted by the’ curling stems of Scandrens scelestra, so stripped them of their leaves and incorporated the twisting, knotted stalks into her prize-winning arrangement in shades of green. Like the famous British flower arranger, Mrs Constance Spry, Mrs Elcock is attracted by the decorative qualities of fruit and seed pods. In her prize-winning arrangement in white, cream and yeUow she placed three creamytextured banana passionfruit near the base of the design, contrasting them with the smooth whiteness of the vase. In another arrangement she used eucalyptus pods and green fir cones. Mrs Elcock said yesterday that she is completely self-taught and has been entering shows competitively for only seven and a half years since her. family grew up. Flower arrangements do not take long, says Mrs Elcock, but they require a tremendous amount of forethought in deciding what to incorporate in the design. Mrs Elcock uses materials from her own garden almost exclusively. She is a very keen horticulturist.

Apart from using flowers readily available, Mrs Elcock looks for flowers and leaves which will create interest and stimulate the people looking at them to closer inspection.

Mrs Elcock’s designs at the show were on a grand scale and the flowers she used were tall and stately, but at home she prefers to make smaller arrangements, creating tiny scenes with figurines, sticks and stones.