One late summer day, I received a request from a client asking me to design for a surprise birthday party. This birthday party was for someone very dear to the client, her husband. Just goes to show, florals/botanicals aren’t just for girls although we tend to lean that way. This presented a bit of a challenge. This very sweet man was a hard-working guy. He had driven truck for a number of years and had also spent a great amount of his life in a tractor or combine. He was a farmer.
So, what does a designer do for a farmer/truck driver on his 80th birthday? Well, I can’t speak for others, but we went ditch pickin’ -- also known as foraging. This farmer’s birthday celebration was at the perfect time of year. The ditches were at their peak with strong, manly botanicals. My cohorts had been keeping their eyes peeled for the ditches with the best product, so we knew right where to harvest.
With the foraging spots in place, my friend and I donned our grubbies and gloves, grabbed buckets, water, and clippers, and off we went. We gathered loads of cattails, fox tail grasses, and a ditch grass that is plentiful in our area, especially in the deep, drainage ditches. This grass has a plume on it, resembling pampa grass. And, as I love texture (and variety) we also cut these wicked pokey, spiney thistle like balls. These suckers had those brutal stickers on their stems even. Great deterrent but we prevailed and grabbed them to complement the masculine design.
After a few hours we had gathered enough flowers and botanicals to create all the pieces the client requested. Then it was back to the studio to process it and begin designing.
To create a natural, masculine feel, I used clear cylinder vases with polished river rock in the base. Twine was wrapped around the cylinder and knotted. We placed rough edged squares of burlap under the vases to complete the centerpieces.
The client provided a decorative bird cage on which she wanted botanicals as well. The birdcage was to be used for cards, so I needed to leave an area for guests to insert the cards.
I was really pleased with the finished product. A lot of work; I think we may have gotten stuck down in a ditch at least once (those things are steep and muddy!) Enjoyable though and a wonderful tribute to a sweet, well-deserving man.
Florals and botanicals, bouquets, centerpieces, and the like, can be used for any event, any occasion.
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