Obviously, such a rose will first ge used in a boquet with other flowers, since at the begining its stem is the longest. So step 1 is a bouquet such as this:
If you've visited my blog before, you know that I'm a florist-in-learning. So today I'm going to tell you a story of a bunch of pink roses, which I've got my hands on, and how I've used them over and over again, to practice as much as possible... I guess your average rose - once it's cut - usually ends up in one arrangement or bouquet, and there it stays till the end of it life... Well, my roses have a much more intensive and exciting existence ;-) Obviously, such a rose will first ge used in a boquet with other flowers, since at the begining its stem is the longest. So step 1 is a bouquet such as this: Once I'm satisfied with practicing bouquet-binding, step 2 for my pink rose is to shed its leaves while still keepeing the stem long, and to be used in a graphical arrangement - such as this: Step 3 - shorter bouquets, with unusual shapes, such as e.g. an arch-shaped one: Step 4 - the stem gets shortened, and my rose gets to pose for photographs in a number of average-sized arrangements, in various containers: Step 5 - the by-now-slightly-tired rose gets even shorter, and acts as a focal point in a number of tiny arrangements: Step 6 - and yes, there is a step 6, since cutting off almost the entire stem is not the final step in this story of rose-reduction - my rose must shed its petals, which are perfect for a variety of interesting projects - such us these original wedding arrangements: And that's how interesting a life of a rose can be in the hands of an aspiring florist ;-)
1 Comment
I guess I'm not the only person on this hemisphere who by now impatiently awaits first signs of Spring. And since March has already started, I went to look for them this past weekend. I admit, it was rather optimistic of me to expect to actually find something, but I did! First, small, very few and rather tentative buds, but they were there, defying the still-frozen and snow-covered soil, as well as the still freezing temperatures! So yes, it's hard to spot as yet, but Spring is definitely coming - although slowly - and here is the proof:
In Poland, there's always the danger that you'll spend the entire Christmas holidays eating and sitting in front of a TV. So I'm glad to report that I have another option for you, perfect for a cold and hard winter like this one - bird feeding. You're certain to get some exercise while hanging and filling the feeders, and then have a lot of fun watching a variety of birds which come to visit - they're are ferocious eaters! And of course it's a perfect opportunity for some bird-hunting with your camera - here are a few shots which I took during the weekend preceding Christmas, while visiting my grandparents. Cute, aren't they? And who would've thought that even woodpeckers will come to visit! :-) Our visit to the Christmas Markets in Berlin this past weekend was unfortunately accompanied by some nasty rain, so taking photos was quite tricky. One place when I could do it without any problems was the Magic Winter Wonderland created in the middle of KaDeWe, one of Berlin’s most luxurious department stores.
The entire place was set up to look like a winter park, with snow-covered trees, fountains, lanterns and sculptures, with a huge and lushly decorated Christmas tree in the middle. It acted as a background to the numerous shelves and tables with all sorts of decorations – fantastically-shaped glass balls, candle-holders, figurines and many, many others. See for yourself – a piece of Magic Winterland it was indeed! God, it really is winter, isn’t it… The temperature hasn’t risen above -10oC for over a week now, and snow is lying everywhere. And to think that I spent 5 years of my life abroad explaining to everyone that contrary to the common believe and stereotype, Poland does not lie close to the Siberia, there are no polar bears roaming the streets and that there hasn’t been a severe winter in years… Well, it seems we have one now – and every morning I observe a lot of very unhappy drivers busy digging out their cars – and it literally is digging out, and I have photos to prove it! A few days more of snowing, and they’ll be looking for their cars under uniform heaps of snow… These photos were taken the day before yesterday, so it's actually worse now! This is how cars in front of our building looked yesterday morning: Some of the snow has melted during the day, but this morning it started snowing again - it's practically a snow storm out there right now, with heavy clouds and strong gusts of wind which push the snow in every imaginable direction. So this is how the first snow of the year in Warsaw looks like:
It’s only the middle of October, and the temperature outside has already dropped below zero… People on the street are walking around in scarves and gloves, and I’m asking, what has happened to the famous golden, cool-but-sunny Polish Autumn?! We had a taste of it some two weeks ago, but don’t tell me that was it?!
So today I have for you a short series of photos which will remind us of sunny, Autumn days. During a visit to the Botanical Gardens in Powsin we discovered a pretty big flower bed with dahlias, which I consider to be one of the most cheerful and original flowers out there, especially this time of the year. And nothing makes those pompons look better than a bit of Autumn sun. So let’s hope their season is not over yet… And it’s official now – the Autumn has arrived. Not only does the calendar say so, but the signs of it are everywhere – the leaves are turning gold and red, pumpkins of all kinds have become ubiquitous, wild flowers on trees and bushes have turned into fruits. Here are a few picturesque examples spotted with my camera - for inspiration :-)
I think I haven’t had a new hobby for quite a while…. And it’s definitely high time to find one, especially that once I moved from Holland I’ve lost access to the Dutch hobby shops. So I came up with something which I always wanted to try, but never got a chance to do it before – floristry. I’d like to do a course on it, but before I commit, I decided it was a good idea to try if I had an affinity for it. So I got some basic ingredients – foam, wires and, of course, flowers – and using a number of original Dutch bowls, plates and trays etc, I spent a few happily creative hours making a series of autumn flower arrangements. I have to say, I totally loved the process – even though it left a dozen nicks on my hands – and I do love the result. I have a vision of what I want to create in front of my eyes, and, surprisingly, I manage to turn it into reality – it simply clicks. Not to mention that the result is something perfect for a photo session – and those things are not plentiful in Warsaw. So it’s a win-win… And here I proudly present one of my first flower arrangements – a touch of Autumn in bold-coloured capsicums. What do you think? And why not try some simple flower arranging by yourself? Trust me – it’s not only creative, it’s also satisfying, challenging and, simply, fun! Innsbruck – the capital of Tirol - is a world-famous winter sports city which in the past hosted quite a number of Olympic Games and other international competitions. But as it turns out it is also a treat to visit it in Summer. You’ll find here a sizeable Old City part with picturesque narrow streets, colourful merchant houses lining the squares, an impressive castle, imposing old churches and much, much more – all this set against the majestic backdrop of Nordkette, the so-called Insbruck’s own mountain range. But enough words – pictures are much better at conveying what Innsbruck is like, so visit my new Innsbruck Photo Gallery – enjoy! |
Categories
All
Archives
August 2012
AuthorA fiery red head, a writer and a photographer in love with beautiful design and all things creative |