This is a class title that appears every year at this particular regional show. Pumpkins are in season and with it being a regional show, there is a large number of both attendees and competitors from semi rural areas.
As the class title appears every year, it can be challenging (for me) to do a different design to any I have previously staged. Of course, I could go with a similar design and use different flowers, but, as you probably know by now, I do like to challenge myself for these design competitions.
There are two designs here.
Design 1
I have used a whole pumpkin, cut in half and hollowed out to contain the floral foam for the other plant material. There was a mark on the skin so I have cut that away and placed the lisianthus flower in the gap, trying to frame the flower with the organge pumpkin flesh.
The pumpkin is placed on a terracotta dish to reflect the orange of the pumpkin flesh. By keeping the foliage to a minimum in terms of colour, the form of the lisianthus flowers reflect the form of the pumpkin, as does the placement in the complete circle of the halved pumpkin.
This design placed third.
Judges comments: Interesting interpretation of the title, not quite “in” the pumpkin. Good use of form and texture, bold colour combination all work well for this design. With such a strong container ( the pumpkin) more foliage is needed – there should be no gaps as the space created detracts from the fullness of the overall design.
Design 2
At this time I was experimenting with vegetable carving to add another dimension to my designs.
Here I have used a butternut pumpkin placed upright in a bed of coconut fibre. I have carved a single stem flower into the pumpkin as well as placing 2 vials into the top for 3 roses on one side and a single rose (almost can’t see it in the photo) on the other side of the curled aspidistra leaf.
Some foliage is alo placed at the back of the aspidistra leaf – this gives interest to the other side of the design and depth when viewing it from the front.
This design placed second
Judges Comments: Beautifully executed design incorporating a technique not often seen in floral art competitions. The design needed to be raised more from the bench to give it some space around the design and make us focus on the work. The white roses do not add to the colour palette of this design, it would have been improved by another orange rose to replace the white ones. some foliage or green needs to be brought down to the base of the design to keep our eyes in the design.