Class title: Miniature using only Australian native plant material
Staging: more than 4cm less than 12cm overall
As we grow native plants on the farm I am always on the look out for special specimens I can use in competition work. There is a wealth of flowers of all shapes and sizes, some quite delicatley beautiful for competition work, however they don’t flower for very long and often are not suited to sitting in water (as would be required for competition work).
In this competition we can go slightly larger than many others – it is important to check your local Show rules when staging one of these size specific design such as miniature or petite.
The base/container of this design is a banksia cone that has a small turned top making it a candle holder or in this case a vase. I have a small piece of floral foam inserted in the top to provide water for the flannel flowers and melaleuca thymifolia (tiny white lace flowers a bit hard to distinguish in this image).
The grey foliage is eremophila browneii – one of over 100 varieties of “emu bush” all with grey foliage but very distinctive individual flowers ranging from bright green to purple spots.
A small round of bark adds backing to the design with some loops of kangaroo paw foliage to finish it off.
Judging feedback: A very attractive design with good rhythm and use of space. The variety of plant material is impressive. The design could have been emhanced by more of the eremophila foliage to soften the bark and container.
