This competition was in a rural town so my interpretation took into account the “rustic” nature of many of the buildings I remembered from around the town when I last visited.
I also had in mind the still life paintings that depict “rustic country life” settings so took my colour palette from these.
A dear friend left me a wonderful array of baskets when she passed – I enjoy using these and thinking of her, knowing she was always a great supporter of my floral activities.
The basket is the container for this design, placed at an angle on the bench to give the design some depth. Inside the basket is coconut fibre to hold the plant material – I don’t need a water source for this design as everything is either dried material or can be out of water for the duration of the show (grapes).
Seedpods, dried banksia and dried grape stems (without the grapes) are placed in and around the basket with a bunch of dark grapes towards the back of the design.
Judges Comments: A very interesting collection of plant material used to give a sense of the rustic.
More height is needed to balance the design with a continuation of the colour of the grapes through the design, perhaps a small placement at the front to hang over the edge of the basket.
Overall this design was too small for the space allocated, using less than half. Designs should take up around 70% of the space allocated – this gives you and the judge some space around the design to showcase it.