Tag Archives: Tropical

Although the weather is noticeably cooler, I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas, so it’s time for some tips on how to make your home look effortlessly festive.

I love poinsettia plants and although there’s a myriad of colours to choose from these days, I still love the ones with the red bracts. You can spice them up by putting them in a festive looking container or simply get a terracotta pot, paint it green and then when dry, daub some wood glue in patterns such as bells, snowflakes or Christmas trees around it and press on some contrasting glitter. Don’t forget to bung up the drainage hole before putting the plant in it or you’ll have a soggy mess on your table!

If you want to keep the pot plain, then a quick squirt of spray-on glue over the leaves, followed by a dusting of silver glitter gives an instant effect.

If you can get hold of any evergreen foliage, it doesn’t have to be holly or ivy, make up a wreath by intertwining the stems and tie in red or gold ribbon in bows, add small Christmas decorations or small sprayed pine cones – there are hundreds in Cyprus at the moment – then hang it on your door or over a fireplace.

Finally, if you can’t afford one of the really expensive real Christmas trees this year which, to be honest, won’t survive long in the Cypriot climate, buy an Araucaria, otherwise known as a Norfolk Island Pine, which looks exotically similar and which will grace your garden afterwards. A 1.2 metre specimen in a pot can be bought for around 20 euros, less than half the equivalent for a Norwegian Spruce. Check out Cosmea Gardens for their range of festive plants and have a Plant-astic Christmas this year.

All summer long I’ve been mesmerised by the sight of trees on the road past Coral Bay outside Paphos which have bright green frond-like leaves and vivid scarlet flowers with yellow centres. To say they’re striking is an understatement and I’ve spent ages trying to find out what they are.

I recently holidayed on my second favourite island, Cuba, and saw the same trees there. A local told me that they were called Flame Trees and when I got to a computer I found out that they’re also called the Royal Poinciana and they have been voted into the top five most beautiful trees in the world.

I looked at them in a new light once I’d returned from my holiday and find that each time I pass the tree I’m reminded of my holiday. I got to thinking about flowers that evoke memories and talked to my parents about flowers that brought back memories for them such as Montbretias that remind my dad of his mother and lilac that reminded my mum of her mother. For me, roses always remind me of my wife as they’re her favourite celebration flowers and I’ll be buying some more on Saturday for it’s her birthday. Try thinking about the flowers that bring back memories for others and stir up some with a bouquet from Cosmea Gardens.

I noticed recently that many florists are indulging their customers’ desire for ever newer blooms by introducing Proteas into bouquets.

Personally I don’t like them at all. I think they are shapeless, ugly flowers but many disagree.

The Protea is an amazing flower. There are many different forms and yet they hail almost exclusively from South Africa and then mainly from Cape Province. They are one of the oldest flowering plants in the world, possibly explaining why to me they are so ugly. The problem with arranging them is because they are either put in mixed bouquets, where their uniqueness makes them look like a misfit, or mixed with other Proteas, losing the uniformity of the design. The best arrangement I’ve seen is where one variety has been used and then with a simple backdrop of greenery such as bamboo or Phormium. Keep it simple and the ancient beauty of these unusual flowers will become evident.

If you want to introduce Proteas into your arrangements, call in at Cosmea Gardens where the staff will be pleased to help you.

Just discovered that even great beauty has a nasty side. I’ve got a beautiful Bougainvillea growing over my fence. It grows like crazy and I needed to trim it back. Easy, I thought and dug out the secateurs and shears and began work not realising that hidden beneath the beautiful bracts were lethal 5 cm spikes that soon shredded my hands and ruined the T-shirt I was wearing. After unsuccessfully trying to avoid injury I resorted to the electric hedge trimmer and really set about it. I still had the problem if picking up the clippings without getting impaled.

Made me wonder why, when breeders can develop thornless blackberries etc, why we can’t have a thornless Bougainvillea but then at least you’d hope you’d get a health warning when you buy one! Come on Cosmea Gardens, can you help?

I hope you all missed me! I went on a trip last week with some children from school and it meant that all week I didn’t have access to a computer.

What I did have access to was the most wonderful plant experience I’ve ever encountered. We took the children to the Eden Project in Cornwall UK and explored everything to do with plants.

We saw the world’s largest flower, the world’s most repulsively perfumed flower and some really unusual flowers that caught the eye with the way they didn’t seem to follow the way flowers normally look. All in all a great experience.

Anyway, now I’m back and I wanted to tell you that if you’re ever in Cornwall then the Eden Project is a must see. We all do flower arranging and think we know lots about them but what struck me most was when I could see them growing in a replication of their natural surroundings. From time to time I like to tell you a little about flowers you might use in arrangements and hopefully it will help you to understand the flowers a little more. The first one I’ll tell you about in my next post is Agapanthus.

Time for some more flower arranging now! It’s warm and sunny and a tropical 17c here in England and it’s making me want to do something bold and exotic.

When the weather’s sunny, the light is bright and so you’ll need big, bold colours to make a statement. Gone are the pale and pastel colours of winter and spring, we’re talking contrasts of orange and green, of bright whites, reds and deep pinks.

So what are we going to do? We’re going to be a little bit more adventurous with our presentation and we are going to work with different levels yet keep the design simple.

What you’ll need are two banana palm leaves, three Strelitzia Regina flower stems, three Protea stems, some Bear Grass and a spray of white jasmine flowers although sprigs of citrus flowers will do. You’ll also need a darning needle and a cylindrical vase about 30 – 45 cms tall.

First, trim the base of the banana palm leaves so that they are like the base of a rectangle, keep them wide or you’ll need an extra leaf! Overlap the bases, side by side and with the needle sow the edges together in a cross-stitch pattern. Now roll the leaves around a cylinder of oasis which will have a diameter slightly less than that of the vase so that they too form a cylinder and sow the join. You’ll now have what looks like a bulb planter with the leaves spreading out slightly at the top. Drop this into the vase and check the height against that of the Strelitzias. They need to be about 3 – 5 cms below the top edge of the leaves. Add water to soak the oasis. Now trim the Strelitzia stems so that they are all of slightly different heights and press them into the oasis. Do the same with the Proteas which should be just above halfway up the Strelitzia stems. Add Bear Grass to fill and give structure then finally add the Jasmine or Citrus sprig so that it intertwines the base of the stems just above the top of the sewn base of the banana leaves. Stand back and adjust as necessary.

I’d love to show you a photograph but, unlike Cosmea Gardens, my local florist doesn’t do much of a trade in Banana Leaves and Proteas so for now I’ll have to leave you with a diagram. Perhaps you’d like to send in photographs of your arrangement for us to display in the blog!