Floral Arrangements All The Year Round

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30259, 11 October 1963, Page 2

Floral Arrangements All The Year Round

“Pot-et-fleur,” an arrangement of suitable flowers within a potted plant, is a type of decoration that has become very popular in Britain recently, particularly when flowers are scarce. Flat-dwellers, who have no garden but an assortment of house plants, find that a few bought blooms arranged in the growing greenery will make a most effective display. The flowers can be replaced as they wither, while the plants live on.

In her latest publication, “Decorating With Flowers and Plants,*’ the well-known English floral artist, Violet Stevenson, explains the simple mechanics of “pot-et-fleur” and its vast possibilities for the home-maker with imagination.

The plant must be placed in a pot forward or to one aide, to that a small container may be sunk in the soil for holding the flowers. In a wide pot a tell ptant should be placed at the back with smaller ones growing at the side and the floral container sunk somewhere near the centre. The choice of flowers will depend on their blending with the plants. Scnooth-etemmed flowers, such as arum lilies, daffodils, and irises, are usually the moat suitable, she aa>w Hearth Gardens The author also gives many ■ttractave suggestions for arranging plants on the hearth and in the fireplace during the summer months, when that particular area of a room usually looks vacant and dull without the sparkle of a fire. One of her many bright ideas is a varied arrangement of cool green plants in front of a draught-proofed fireplace with a vivid centre of scarlet nidutarium. Many of Violet Stevenson’s sophisticated arrangements are surprisingly quick and easy to do, and for this reason her book will appeal to anyone who has never done anything more with a bunch of flowers than drop it in a vase of water. To eyes which havs become accustomed to Japanese floral art. some of her arrangements among the

16 colour illustrations and more than 40 line drawings, may look rather heavy. But even these would probably be very effective with and space around them in a large room.

Preserving leaves and helping flowers to kve longer in waiter are other aspects which Mrs Stevenson deals with in her friendly, informative style. Her advice on preserving decorative foliage will be well worth remembering in the autumn toe winter decorations.

Branches should be preserved by picking them before the leaves begin to fall and by standing them in a solution of one part glycerine and two parts water which, when mixed together, should give at least two inches of solution in a container, she says.

This fixes the leaves, changes their colour and texture, usually turning them darker and silkier. Individuality This writer, who has published a dozen or more books on growing and arranging flowers, passes on many useful hints she has picked up in her professional life. She is no stickler for rules and believes that the individual should express her own ideas in floral decorations, working from a few basic principles. She encourages the use ot unusual containers and in Short, makes flower arrangements a delight for anyone given anything from an armful of wild flowers to a box Of orchids. The book, which has 96 pages, including an index, was published by Odhams Press, Ltd., London.