EDITH BLAIR'S FLOWER SHOW
The clear bright yellow of french marigolds brings a sunny glow to your room
troughs of marigolds
IN Audrey Watson's small house at Stoneleigh in Surrey there are always flowers from the garden; a welcoming bunch in the hall, a posy ring on the landing windowsill a bowl on top of the fridge, even a bunch in the bathroom. Lying relaxing in a bath, Audrey thinks, is the ideal time to enjoy flowers. Small flowers are Audrey's favourites though she's always been fascinated by orchids, at a distance. She confesses she's never owned one, but there’s still time. Her husband Richard does buy her flowers occasionally and an orchid would be easy to conceal. Richard simply won't carry flowers for all to see. He does them up carefully into a brown-paper parcel with plenty of string, but they still arrive home in pretty good condition.
Knowing Audrey's love of small flowers, we invited her to be a guest at our flower show and asked her to bring the container she found most useful. Audrey brought these two small troughs, which she uses as table decorations, to be filled with french marigolds.
On a table flowers are seen from all angles, making the outline very important. Betty Massingham, flower expert, showed Audrey how to vary the height of the marigolds to get a good outline, cutting some very short to place in the centre of the troughs.
Unless you're deliberately making a posy, clustering the flowers tightly together, the thing to avoid in a small arrangement is a crushed look. Each flower should show up clearly.
Housewife AUDREY- WATSON asks flower expert BETTY MASSINGHAM to plan a table decoration
Key shows order in which flowers are put in trough
A versatile yet simple decoration admired by Audrey
ARRANGING FRENCH MARIGOLDS
Even very small containers need a piece of crumpled up chicken wire to hold flowers in exact position, or they slip and spoil the outline. Get the length of the arrangement first, putting in the end flowers and leaves, then the short flowers that make the body of the design. Afterwards break the hard edge of the troughs with leaves and flowers
Marigolds are sturdy flowers and last well in a vase
If you've bought them from a shop, though, cut an inch or two off the stems before putting in water
Cutting flowers very short to put in small vases doesn't shorten their life, in fact they often last longer as the water gets up the stem quicker
These marigold leaves are very pretty so leave as many as possible on the flower stem when arranging
NEXT WEEK: a copper jug of summer blooms
The clear bright yellow of french marigolds brings a sunny glow to your room
troughs of marigolds
IN Audrey Watson's small house at Stoneleigh in Surrey there are always flowers from the garden; a welcoming bunch in the hall, a posy ring on the landing windowsill a bowl on top of the fridge, even a bunch in the bathroom. Lying relaxing in a bath, Audrey thinks, is the ideal time to enjoy flowers. Small flowers are Audrey's favourites though she's always been fascinated by orchids, at a distance. She confesses she's never owned one, but there’s still time. Her husband Richard does buy her flowers occasionally and an orchid would be easy to conceal. Richard simply won't carry flowers for all to see. He does them up carefully into a brown-paper parcel with plenty of string, but they still arrive home in pretty good condition.
Knowing Audrey's love of small flowers, we invited her to be a guest at our flower show and asked her to bring the container she found most useful. Audrey brought these two small troughs, which she uses as table decorations, to be filled with french marigolds.
On a table flowers are seen from all angles, making the outline very important. Betty Massingham, flower expert, showed Audrey how to vary the height of the marigolds to get a good outline, cutting some very short to place in the centre of the troughs.
Unless you're deliberately making a posy, clustering the flowers tightly together, the thing to avoid in a small arrangement is a crushed look. Each flower should show up clearly.
Housewife AUDREY- WATSON asks flower expert BETTY MASSINGHAM to plan a table decoration
Key shows order in which flowers are put in trough
A versatile yet simple decoration admired by Audrey
ARRANGING FRENCH MARIGOLDS
Even very small containers need a piece of crumpled up chicken wire to hold flowers in exact position, or they slip and spoil the outline. Get the length of the arrangement first, putting in the end flowers and leaves, then the short flowers that make the body of the design. Afterwards break the hard edge of the troughs with leaves and flowers
Marigolds are sturdy flowers and last well in a vase
If you've bought them from a shop, though, cut an inch or two off the stems before putting in water
Cutting flowers very short to put in small vases doesn't shorten their life, in fact they often last longer as the water gets up the stem quicker
These marigold leaves are very pretty so leave as many as possible on the flower stem when arranging
NEXT WEEK: a copper jug of summer blooms
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