Flower Arranging at Garden Club

 My garden club has a May luncheon and members bring arrangements they have made to share with nursing home occupants. For fun, judges are appointed to select a winner.

 Most arrangements are from garden flowers but this year our meeting followed Mother's Day and Wal-Mart had marked the Mother's Day flowers half price.

This arrangement won first place. I didn't get pictures of all the arrangements and missed the announcement of the other place winners.

 

We bring the arrangements in containers that will not be returned and will be easy to transport. Many are very clever. The rocks were attractive and anchored the container as well. Pretty iris with two shades of purple.  A colorful ribbon tied around the jar added just the right finish.

I like the contrasting foliage used in this arrangement.

 I love this arrangement with pink spirea, hosta leaves, asparagus and leatherleaf ferns.

This is my arrangement that I used roses from Walmart on clearance from Mother's Day and foliage from my garden. Just because you are in a Garden Club doesn't mean you  know or follow all the correct techniques. This is just what I threw together with what I had.

 This was a great price to buy a dozen roses for $4.90. 

The first step is to strip the foliage and cut the stems at an angle. Then condition in water. 

I used half a block of oasis that I had soaked overnight and taped to a shallow bowl. Oasis comes in blocks and can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Michaels, Hobby Lobby and some grocery stores. The turntable is handy for turning the arrangement as you place the greenery and flowers.

Two strips of tape will anchor the oasis and keep it in place. Begin with the foliage and cover the oasis. Florists have greenery in oasis done ahead of time especially for holidays that they will have large orders to complete.

 Begin with the center flower at the height you desire. Adjustments are easily done by cutting the stems shorter. I cut this rose shorter as I started filling in with the other roses.

Pittosporum and holly fern were cut from my garden so this arrangement  only cost around six dollars if you figure in the cost of the oasis which I already had.

Completed arrangement. If I did another arrangement using this foliage I think it  would look better to buy a bundle of baby's breath to add some softness and a pop of white color.

It was fun to see everyone's arrangements and special to see the faces of those that received them.

I may not be able to do much blog visiting in the coming weeks because I have grandchildren visiting. I am very blessed and looking forward to their visit.