Silver Tree Composite Bouquet
Apr 8th, 2009 by janet
Great foliage is an underutilized resource in the cut flower world. Maybe I feel this way because my favorite color is green, or because I am a sucker for textural items, but I get just as excited about interesting foliage as I do for an unusual flower. Silver tree (Leucadendron argenteum) is one of those amazing foliages that the general public just isn’t familiar with. It is an evergreen native to South Africa. The silver shine on top of the blue/green foliage comes from a dense coating of silky hairs. Each leaf is unbelievably smooth and luxurious.
Two weeks ago I called my wholesaler to tell them I was itching for some silver tree. The next Tuesday I had five perfect stems in hand. I could hardly wait to finish my quotes for the day so that I could start arranging the foliage!
That evening I removed the leaves from three stems of silver tree and went to work reconfiguring them into a composite flower. It’s amazing what you can make with a few stems of silver tree, a half tube of glue and a couple hours! This hand-crafted bloom is twelve inches across and would make a great bouquet for the bride looking to make a statement!
The underside of the bouquet is finished off with more silver tree foliage, an espresso satin wrap and a few pearl-headed pins – simple and clean.
The top of the bouquet looks like one giant blossom, or maybe a single large echeveria.
The simplicity carries through to the matching boutonniere. Silver tree foliage creates a shimmering backdrop for two perfect uluhe fern curls.
I was having so much fun with the silver tree that I just couldn’t stop there. Here are a couple other personal flowers that I whipped together.
To create this corsage I mounted a pair of green mini cymbidiums on a base of silver tree foliage. Then I attached the whole assembly to a pearl wristlet. I echoed the pearl wristlet with pearl accents in the throats of the cymbidiums.
Here is the matching boutonniere.
If you want to see more work with silver tree check out the Kuga Designs blog to see their amazing entry in the Bouquets to Art 2009 fashion show.
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
Isn’t silver tree the best??The leaves are so soft, too. I bet that bouquet of yours will look great for about a week or two. Our dress is a little crispy but the color is fantastic. Thanks for the link, I will be sure to check in on your fabulous bouqets:)
Love love it.. Very nice!!
This is so funky!!!
Very beautiful work. I’ll have to see if I can’t get some to work with!
Silver tree that is.
[...] Speaking of props, what about the bridal prop (other than that handsome guy by her side) – her bouquet! I think the composite bouquet is a stunning and unique idea. It’s an arrangement of petals from multiple flowers combined to make one large bloom. They are also known as glamelias – Kuga Designs shares the process of making a stunning rose glamelia. Here is a beautiful white composite bouquet or a darling pink orchid bouquet. Or a truly unique idea, this simple silver tree bouquet. [...]
[...] an accessory that ranges from simple to sumptuous, minimalist to maximalist. (Illustration via Floral Verde LLC) For a rather spectacular display on the minimal side, I love this bouquet of silver tree with just [...]