My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Freesia - Freesia, freesias

Freesia

White freesia buds and florets on my "Been there, Seen that" design

Common name

Freesia, freesias

Origin

South Africa (most species are available in the Cape Province),Eastern side of Southern Africa including Kenya

Varieties

Freesias are widely cultivated and new varieties are introduced yearly

Colors

White to yellow, pink, red, rust and blue-mauve

Vase life

7 to 10 days

Scent

Peppery floral scent

Uses

Vintage to contemporary designs depending on the style of the design. Beautiful in bud vases, great in corsages and wedding designs. Strong, graphic buds

Conditioning

Choose stems with at least seven buds per stem. The first few florets must be open with some showing colour. Remove any foliage that will fall under the water line, give the stem a fresh cut and condition in cold water. Pinch out any spent flowers to encourage more flowers to open. Freesias are sensitive to fluoride added to water and can cause the the flowers not to open or the leaves to burn to a pale yellow.

Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.

Related Designs

20 May 2020 A floral float… that floats

If you know my work you have probably seen me do this: I float flowers using a tiny bubble wrap skirt... this time I am floating an entire design on it's own bubble wrap raft.

20 May 2020 Whatever floats your boat

This is one of my best known and still my go-to core techniques for floating flowers.

23 January 2019 Zig-Zag fold plastic for a flower stem support

Zig Zag fold clear plastic for a flower stem support that looks like ice

23 January 2019 Do they have cold feet?

Keep flower stems upright with a folded cellophane plastic support that looks like cracked ice.

22 August 2018 Vein Veil For Freesias

Cut a slight veil to frame your flowers with

22 August 2018 FreestyleFreesia

Dutch floral designer Pim van den Akker, from Flower Factor invited me to participate in a FloraHolland initiative promoting the versatility of Freesias entitled ...

27 June 2018 Foliage tube armature for long stemmed freesia buds

Curl and pin a few leaves into a tube to create an armature for those "left over" freesiabuds.

27 June 2018 Look deep

Curl foliage to use as a natural armature for delicate buds.

28 February 2018 Marching winter frosted twig and freesia stack

Frost a few twigs to craft a delicate armature for fragrant freesias

28 February 2018 March Days

Line up a few frosted twigs to march across a shallow container

21 May 2014 Square

Glue a stick cube to fit a cube vase

26 February 2014 Hatching a plan

Early spring floral nest design

4 September 2013 Been there, Seen that

My article and woven heart basket design featured in the third anniversary issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

1 May 2013 An invisible line to cross

Weave a strip to slip around a candle

6 March 2012 Round and Round

Instead of weaving a platter try stacking the twigs from large to tiny small