Winter bouquet
If a generous summer spoils us with an abundance of flowers, their bright colors and subtle aromas, then winter brings with it a different beauty - the beauty of snow-white expanses, frosty trees, frosty patterns on the windows. .. And still it's nice when summer suddenly reminds of itselfsuddenly blossoming flower of the Decembrist( zigokaktusa), amaryllis, Amazon lily, African violets and other plants that preserve the colors of the summer on the window of your room. But the lack of light and heat in winter limits the possibilities of nature even in the conditions of the room and, therefore, in the summer it is necessary to think about how best to preserve the memory of summer for the winter. And, it turns out, our possibilities are not so limited as sometimes it seems. It is only necessary to take care of this in advance, to spend a little work and time, and a bouquet of flowers.will show off at your table in the winter.
Winter bouquet of . .. There are a lot of materials for its compilation, and if you add to this fantasy, you can get a real work of art.
More often in winter bouquets use dried flowers - immortelles - akrolinium, helichrysum, gomfrenu that is plants that have in their natural form dry brightly colored flowers. Only the stalk is usually soft, and to maintain their straightness, dried flowers are hung in the shaded area with their heads down.
Many plants are known among annuals, perennials and field flowers, which, when dried in the air, retain color and the shape of flowers and inflorescences. It is a yarrow( in culture - pearl), blue-head( eringium), ama-rantus tail, gipsofila( lerecatichpole), tansy( wild ashberry), fizalis( lanterns) with red pericarp, lunaria, heather, clover, plow and a number of other plants.
The dandelion inflorescences, cut off on the wilting day, turn into fluffy beads in a few days, which are well preserved in winter if the wire is missing in the stalk.
You can keep the color and shape of some leaves if ironed through paper with a moderately heated iron. Even better - volumetric drying of flowers in dry sand.
Many flowers, dried in the usual way - under the press, preserve color well and can be used to compose colorful panels.
Grains: feather grass, decorative and planting barley, cotton grass, hedgehog, bonfire, cattail and others are good for winter bouquets.
The original form of the winter bouquet can be given with the help of branches of some trees and shrubs. Sprigs of evergreen plants - spruce, pine, and thuja - can be found throughout the year, they enliven the bouquet with their herbs. Bared branches of hardwoods in winter can serve as a material for creating silhouette bouquets, an elegant and bizarre shape that attracts attention just like the colorfulness of a summer bouquet. In this case, branches of oak, maple, hazel, birch, larch, thorn bushes - gooseberry, white acacia, barberry, hawthorn can be used.
The branches of some plants retain colorful fruits for quite some time. This is a dog rose, mountain ash, barberry, asparagus.
In the second half of winter, tree and shrubby plants, having completed the rest period, acquire the ability to dissolve in water, and some of them - to give flowers. Winter bouquet of blossomed branches creates a spring mood and is especially pleasant at this time.
Already in February you can use birch twigs for distillation;poplar, hazel, cherry, almond-bean, cherry, willow. In this case, one important condition should be observed: not to spoil trees, cut off branches carefully, choosing extra ones.
In winter bouquets, you can also use leaves, twigs and flowers of houseplants - they make small table bouquets or place plants in wall vases. For this purpose, the leaves of begonias, asparagus, ferns, cyperus, ivy, Tradescantia, etc. are good. Sometimes two or three leaves placed in an elegant transparent vase give more joy than a large but disorderly collected bouquet.
Where there is a greenhouse, and if desired, and in indoor conditions, in winter, you can get flowering pasturing;plants of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths. For this purpose, the bulbs are planted in September( in cans or boxes with soil), contain 45-60 days at a reduced temperature, and then bring into the room and put on a light window, where the plants bloom.
When composing bouquets and compositions, various plants are used in the most beneficial combinations, without being carried away, however, by the abundance of the material. Just like in summer bouquets, plants are placed freely, seeking their most artistic location. In contrast to the summer bouquet, in which the main role is played by colors, in the winter leading place is given to a form in which the vase is of no small importance. Vases should harmonize with plants in shape and color. Their form can be very different, including flat. Composition or bouquet, especially from dry material, can be made without a vase: they can be strengthened with a plate, moss, wire, a pile on a stand made of wood polished hemp, on a wooden, metal or glass plate.
In the composition on the plane, in addition to plants, various additional materials can be included: pebbles, shells, minerals, animal figurines, etc.