The magical time of Christmas is once again upon us. The time of year for Conifers. The cut green has been around for years in floral design, but it is certainly not boring.

While the "known varieties" have been popular for years, there are also several innovative varieties, ready to be discovered.

Exactly what Conifer supplier Andromeda was thinking. Together with the WBE group, cut greens wholesaler, they came up with a way to highlight the special species of Conifers in an interesting way for florists.

The different species of Conifers each have their own wonderful characteristics, from a different color to a particular shape. Each species is wonderful to incorporate into an arrangement, or better: creation. As florist Flora Lisa prefers to call it.

To her the challenge to inspire fellow florists with the different Conifers. She made four creations, filled with Conifers, ready for Christmas. Each of the creations are easy for florists to recreate, made as green as possible (literally & figuratively) and thought about the place.

 

A CLOUD OF GREEN.

A beautiful Christmas centerpiece on the table is always great, but then comes the food....

Where do we leave the piece? That's what Flora Lisa came up with the green cloud for. This amazing piece can just hang around while eating. This way the consumer can enjoy it to the fullest.

 

The cloud can be called dreamy, floaty almost magical. Different materials have been used in the cloud. The variety in materials, textures and colors adds depth to the piece. Glitter, balls and extra decoration is possible, but the cloud doesn't really need it.

 

Flora Lisa started with a number of lilac branches tied together. Between the branches are attached pieces of chicken wire. Into this the cutting greenery is tucked. Close to the hydrangea, the cut foliage is kept short, but more to the outside the branches are left longer. This creates an airy effect.

For the cloud, Flora Lisa chose to work with the following products:

• 6 bulbs of green hydrangea
• 7 branch Amarantis
• 10 branch Eucalyptus Populus Berry
• 10 Branch Cape Green Stoebe
• 8 branch Thujopsis Dolabrata
• 10 branch Blue de luxe (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
• 10 branch Filifera (Chamaecyparis pisifera)
• 5 branch Thuja Plicata (- atrovirens)
• 5 branch Lycopodioides (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
• 4 branch Asparagus copper

 

The Conifer Filifera, like the Amaranthus, creates a waterfall effect. The green branches undulate down along the cloud. This creates a fairy-tale image.

You can actually use any product you want in a green cloud, but a big advantage of the Conifer species is that they last a long time. This allows the consumer to enjoy the cloud for an extra long time.

Tip: Want a hanging piece but don't want to drill into the ceiling? No problem! Several stores now sell table stands, ideal for lights, but certainly also for a hanging piece. 

 

 

CENTER OF SOCIABILITY

By the fireplace, around the mantel or by the TV. Every household has its regular gathering place. Time to get this central point into the Christmas spirit, too.

This piece is easy to move and is not too heavy. This way, the piece can move with the coziness.

 

Thanks to the green base of the piece, it is possible to incorporate basically any trend color into the piece. Flora Lisa chose the trendy rust colors here in the piece, which we see in many households. But the different conifer species also combine beautifully with other colors.

The blue-gray color of the Conifer Blue de luxe stands out especially well in this Christmas arrangement. The color combines beautifully here with the gray Dateberries. Besides the beautiful color, the Blue de luxe branches also provide volume to the piece and a nice green base.

 

Green is not only the base of the piece, but also the way it is made. The base of this piece is a foam-free surface: a water dish with chicken wire. The chicken wire is rolled up and then adhered with waterproof tape. This is easier to work with than floral foam; in fact, it doesn't need to be eliminated as much, since it is already airy by itself. Also, this method makes the piece less heavy. This makes the piece easy to transport throughout the house with it.

Between the base of Conifers, Flora Lisa made use of:

• 3 branch Asparagus Copper
• 3 branch Eucalyptus Populus Berry
• 3 Pine cones
• 10 Orange slices
• 2 Date branches
• 3 Anthurium
• 8 branch Wisselii (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana )
• 4 branch Blue de luxe (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana )
• 4 branch Filifera (Chamaecyparis pisifera )
• 4 branch Thujopsis Dolabrata
• 1 ball of hydrangea green

 

 

A MINIMALIST CHRISTMAS

No room for Christmas centerpieces in your home? That's no problem with this diptych.

During the Christmas season you can easily replace an existing something on the wall for these two Christmas frames. The paintings don't look out of place on a shelf either. And let's face it, you'd rather leave these paintings up all year.

 

The shapes in the paintings created by Flora Lisa are totally in keeping with current trends. By making the arches on the two paintings blend into each other, the two paintings are connected, but the space between them keeps it airy.

 

Flora Lisa made her frames herself for this creation. According to her, ready-made frames can be used, but make sure the backing plate is strong enough.

In fact, the cutting greenery is pasted on this. The base of the paintings is made by sticking leaves of Eucalyptus on them. The gray color of the Eucalyptus creates a calm base.

Please note that the Eucalyptus leaf is not glued but pasted. This is because the leaf reacts to the heat of the glue.

 

The arches and shapes in the paintings Flora Lisa created with different conifer species. The nice thing about these different species is that you can play with the colors.

In this piece, Flora Lisa made use of:

• 2 picture frames
• 10 branch Eucalyptus Populus
• 3 branch Blue de luxe (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
• 2 branch Thujopsis Dolabrata
• 4 branch Lycopodioides (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
• 8 branch Ballerina (Cryptomeria japonica)
• 4 branch Nana Gracilis (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

 

 

THE ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS TREE

A Christmas tree feels like a must-have during Christmas, but it doesn't always fit in the house. Therefore, this alternative Christmas tree is perfect for when you don't have that much space but want to enjoy a Christmas tree.

The alternative Christmas tree is narrow and flat, this ensures that the piece can be placed almost anywhere.

 

As a base, Flora Lisa used a lamp. She easily and quickly ordered a standard floor lamp from a well-known wholesaler. She removed the shade and light source. She covered the rest of the lamp with chicken wire. At the top, this was secured extra tightly to prevent sagging.

 

It is wise with this creation to start at the bottom. This is because the bottom is often forgotten and later you can't get to it properly.

The cut foliage is built up in groups with a striking product like an Anthurium, Cotton branch or pine cone as an alternation. By building it up this way you get a playful, moving effect. The Asparagus Copper enhances this effect.

The greenery in this piece has no water supply. Like a real Christmas tree, the greenery will dry out and turn orange-brown after a few weeks. Want to use fragile produce in the piece? Then insert water tubes into the chicken wire.

Flora Lisa chose to use some longer branches at the top on one side. Totally fitting the trend that we also see a lot at weddings.

You can also go wild in terms of colors in this piece. Like in the earlier piece, Flora Lisa chose the Rusty trend colors, but thanks to the green base of the conifers, any other color will actually fit into this creation as well.

 

In this piece, Flora Lisa made use of:

• 4 Anthurium
• 5 Cotton branches
• 5 Pine cones
• 6 branch Asparagus Copper
• 6 branch Eucalyptus Populus Berry
• 5 branch Cape green Stoebe
• 5 branch Cape green Silver Brunia
• 8 branch Blue de luxe (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
• 8 branch Thujopsis Dolabrata
• 3 branch Nobilis
• 10 branch Thuja Plicata (atrovirens)
• 1 branch of wild Asparagus

 

 

GETTING STARTED

So there are plenty of options with the different Conifers. Whether you get started with the old familiar or the innovative species. In fact, a green base is always a good idea.

So what are you waiting for? Get yourself started for the Christmas season too!

 

Photo location: Finch Katwijk | https://finchkatwijk.nl/

Florist: Flora Lisa | https://www.flora-lisa.nl/

Conifer nursery: Andromeda | http://www.bladgroen.nl/