Description

Flower arranging is ‘painting a picture with living materials and The Flower Arranger’s Handbook displays page by page the full glorious range of the floral artist’s palette. It is a comprehensive
encyclopedia of plants listing all the most popular species according to their flower colours and including a large section on
shrubs and trees with beautiful and unusual foliage; an invaluable source of knowledge for the flower arranger, fully
illustrated throughout with colour photographs. Because there is a special satisfaction in arranging flowers grown in your own garden, every entry in the
encyclopedia not only describes the shapes, colours and textures of flowers and foliage and their uses in flower arranging, but also gives details of the propagation and cultivation of the plants.
As with any other art or craft,the flower arranger’s moments of inspiration need to be backed up by practical skills and an
appreciation of the medium’s potential. Introductory chapters provide the necessary advice on equipment and mechanics, and techniques of conditioning,maintaining and preserving plant materials. These are followed by
the all-important design principles: how to compose the overall shape and pattern of an arrangement.A valuable sourcebook for gardeners and flower arrangers alike, and covering every aspect of design and display work, The
Flower Arranger’s Handbook is an
essential guide for everyone with
a special love of flowers.CUTTERS Flower-arranging scissors come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They must have a good cutting edge and one blade will probably be serrated; this will be useful forbstripping the outer covering from certain stems. Handle the scissors before you buy them,making sure they are well balanced and that they fit your hand. Check the pivot screw -often the cutting arms are simply screwed together and will work loose with constant movement. Choose a pair that has the end of the screw knocked back in the manner of a rivet. They will slacken slightly with use but not fall apart.Secateurs have become a popular alternative. Longer handles give greater leverage to cut through thick stems more efficiently. The spring-loaded action, common to nearly all brands, allows the blades to re-open automatically. Further refinements, like pivoting handles, reduce the physical effort needed in a cutting action.A small sharp knife is useful for scraping the bark from woody stems prior to conditioning. Choose one that will close up-open blades become dull and can be dangerous. I favour the multi-blade type: the screwdriver blade is sometimes useful; the corkscrew indispensable.TAPE AND FIXATIVES There are two basic types of tape available. One is an adhesive tape, the other is made from latex and has a self-sealing quality. The chief use of adhesive
tape is for securing water-retaining foam. It is sufficiently narrow to be concealed by plant material. False stems, to extend the length of dried plant material, can be permanently fixed using adhesive tape.