My modern flower arrangement

I went on a workshop Friday afternoon, and made a modern flower arrangement

As you can see it is a large semi circle which I made using three Oasis foam blocks glued together, then cut up to shape.

The other ladies were lucky as they had seen the arrangment before, but I had no idea of what it would like like. 

I had to collect 100+ leaves all the same.  Everyone except me brought ivy leaves to cover the sides.

Silly me picked bay leaves from my tree, and took a great deal of time trying to get them a uniform shape and size.  Instead of just placing the leaves on at random - as you can with ivy, those being all different shapes and much bigger too - I decided that the bay leaves would look nicer following the line of the semi cirle, and made a 'fan' shape.  Patrick says that it reminds him of Roman 'things'. (They were made out of laurel though, but I didn't tell him)  I had both sides to do and each one is pinned into shape, and I used more than 100 leaves - and I was the slowest!  Why do I make things hard for myself?  It just comes naturally he he.

The next bit usually makes people gasp when you do it.

To fill the middle of the 'sandwich' I used roses - just the tops -

so the long stems were snipped right off!

It is infilled with tips of yellow conifer and pittosporum

With carnations, dried pink berries

and creamy pearl beads.

The flowers and rosebuds are all opening up in the warmth of the room making a really striking display.  And oh those bay leaves - they do smell wonderful.

It was quite a challenge doing a 'modern' arrangement, and I was surprised that I had the patience to pin every single leaf symmetrically - not like me at all!