My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Alstroemeria - Inca lily, Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas

Alstroemeria

Rocking around three candle trees floral art design with berries, dendrobium orchids, alstroemeria, cymbidium orchids and lisianthus flowers

Common name

Inca lily, Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas

Origin

South America

Varieties

There are 190 cultivars and many hybrids.

Colors

The flowers have spots and streaked markings on the petals and the colours range from green to white, golden yellow, and orange to a light apricot, pink, a dark red, bluish purple, and lavender

Vase life

Up to two weeks as a stem but the flowers last a bit shorter if cut as individual flowers

Scent

Slight floral fragrance

Uses

Long stems are great in line work and the individual flowers are perfect for body flowers. The small flowers look great combined with lilies.

Conditioning

Choose stems that are just opining with all its colour showing but only a few petals turning. Look for undamaged stems and healthy green foliage. If the foliage is yellow it is best not to purchase the flowers as it is a sign of stress caused by flower preservative. Cut the white lower portion of the stem and remove the lower foliage from the stems. Condition in warm water with flower food. Do not remove all the foliage when conditioning because the green leaves help with the uptake of water.

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Related Designs

12 October 2022 Corn-o’leaf mummy-o'lantern

Wrap and tie a fishbowl vase with corn foliage to craft a lantern for autumn... almost... Halloween.

12 October 2022 Ahead

Oh my... a corn leaf mummy head for autumn... looking ahead to Halloween styling.

1 September 2021 Above and below eucalyptus curve butternut cradle

Suspend a heavy butternut over water in an early Autumn design.

1 September 2021 It’s butter… nuts!

An it's not too early to decorate for Autumn, Autumn design

23 June 2021 Submerged vine wreath armature to beat the summer heat

Water... lots of water- that is the answer to designing flower arrangements that survive the summer heat.

23 June 2021 Over Easy

A cooling design to celebrate the summer solstice.

11 November 2020 Kenzan peg bark curls into a hollow and bottomless log vase

Craft a bottomless vase out of bark so that the floral stem is supported but can still stand in water to remain hydrated.

11 November 2020 What goes around

Display a single stem flower in an Autumn leaf twirl

14 October 2020 On the edge grid for a decorative twig and reed armature

Place the floral details strategically on the edge of sturdier parts of the armature to keep the reed grid from collapsing under the weight of the floral details.

14 October 2020 Stick it out… the creative spirit version

Soft minimal Fall armature making it easy to replace the flowers as the season progress.

8 July 2020 Adding tendrils to an already fluffy papyrus puff ambel

There's no need for a quick and easy summer design to be boring... look closer!

8 July 2020 Super Cute!

A simple placement of bud vases... with the tiniest of lemon coloured twist that makes them unusual.

1 July 2020 Crafting a Hornet of Tranquility (you know… the one with the sparkle butt)

Let me explain myself: it’s got a blue sparkle stinger… or you wouldn’t have noticed the little wasp.

1 July 2020 Oh yes, The Hornet of Tranquility

A minimal... but then with a tiny bug detail... design that is perfect for warm summer designing.

2 October 2019 Cross hatch Twig Armature

Add a bit of shadow and dimension to a flat armature by using the sketch technique of cross hatching.

2 October 2019 Cross-hatch a Shadow Bright Autumn

A clever trick borrowed from art techniques to add dimension to a bright and colourful Autumn floral design.

28 August 2019 Hula skirt for a glass vase

Hawaiian Hula skirt for a Luau inspired flower arrangement.

28 August 2019 But... what are you Like?

A fun design... with a hula skirt (...for the cool summer breeze to arrange and rearrange)

9 March 2016 Take your time

My article and Japanese paper flower armature design featured in the March issue of The Academy Leader- Academy of Floral Design, published by the The Floral Art Society of New...

8 October 2012 Making an effort to appear effortless

Effortless is hard work! Effortless is difficult to achieve! Effortless takes years! The reward is exactly that; your work will be without effort. My article in the Canadian...

15 December 2011 Rocking around Three Candle Trees

Wire spirals twisted around candles to make small Christmas trees for the Christmas Eve dinner table