Herself's Houseplants

Wilsonara (Cda x Odm x Onc ) orchids are crosses between Cochlioda, Odontoglossum and Oncidium orchids.

Wilsonara orchids require more light than most orchids. I give mine several hours of very bright, indirect sun. No direct sun.

Keep moist but not sitting in water. You’ll probably want to plant this orchid in sphagnum moss or potting soil.

Temperature should be above 50′F

This is an easy to grow orchid.

Flower arranging is one of the things I have quite a bit of difficulty in doing properly. Usually I stick to growing plants and letting them arrange themselves.

Today I went to a demonstration of flower arranging using the construction, transparency and mono-botanical methods of design.

I post the images here as inspiration for myself and other interested souls.

Florescence Elements flower show

At the Houston Florescence show this year small was in, small landscapes, small water gardens, and wreath shaped dish gardens.

( photos of the more traditional arrangements are Herself’s Houston Garden, Florescence photos

I recently attended a talk on tiny flower arrangements by Iris Leon, owner of Pod Flower Design. All the flower arrangements in the photos are under 8″x8″x8″. If you look closely you’ll recognize, candle holders, tea light holders, sushi sauce dishes as some of the containers.

Here are some tips on small flower arrangements:
1. Herbs make great sources for small flowers. The flowers are small, many have small leaves and you have the benefit of the lovely scent from many of them.

2. Floral tack is a great help. You can buy it at your local craft store. It comes in rolls and is thin and sticky. You can mount your green foam on your container with it.

3. Floral tape comes in green and clear. Clear is good for glass containers. One or two strips across your foam to the container will hold your foam in place and the clear won’t show. Do not cover all of the foam, it interferes too much with flower placement. You need all of the space on the foam for small arrangements.

4. Soak your green foam first and then just spray your arrangement with water and it should last a week.

5. Use flowers in bud not open for a longer arrangement.

6. Use tweezers to insert the stems into the foam, your fingers are too large.

7. Do not poke holes in the foam first. You’ll need every bit of that foam space.

8. Work on your creations at the same level they will be viewed from.

9. When bending leaves and grass for the more modern arrangements warm them up first and they will be less likely to crack or break on you.

10. Needlepoint plastic also works well. You can cut it to fit inside your container and insert your stems into the plastic holes.