I'd been asked to do the flowers for the reception of two friends of mine getting married tomorrow. The wedding will be at St Luke's Hungarian Reformed Church, in St Georges Road, North Fitzroy. Mind you, none of us is Hungarian, but it's a very cool sort of sanctuary to be married in!
On site, here's what I'd got up to half-way through. It'd taken the morning to find all the foliage I needed. I wanted to use natives as much as possible ( as did the bride, and the bride's mum ), with some succulents thrown in for their steadfastness. Colours were silver-green, with some lime. Here I've used some Banksia, olive, Centaurea, Pittosporum, 3 different Eucalypts and Dusty Miller ( Jacobaea maritima ). There were people everywhere, people doing tables, people doing food, people doing a sound system, people wandering in and out, putting up bunting, people getting exhausted, people willing.
The bluestone church was built in 1879 as St Luke's Church of England. Quite impressive. It was re-established in its current denomination in 1949 by the Reverend Francis Antal, presumably a Hungarian refugee. You can see that the autumn dusk is rapidly falling. Though it's been a mild day, tonight, the rain is coming down softly; there is thunder and there is lightning.
A true king serves his subjects, as I must do. What a lark, to be making up flowers for people you love. I could do it all day. But it's night now and I'm glad the preparations ended and I got off on a tram.
It may look a little forbidding, but inside, the church is wonderfully inclusive, exuding a rounded air, with tiered seating. Fingers crossed, tomorrow is a day of beginning new for Antony and Alica. This is my bouquet for them.
What a lovely thing to have been asked to do, Faisal. I'm glad you used banksia - I do like that shrub/tree/flower.
ReplyDeleteI find that arranging flowers is a very relaxing thing to do - but to do them for such an occasion would be a little stressful!!
Well, knowing very well what I like and what I don't, my biggest concern was having my ideas compromised by other florists in the vicinity of what I was doing. Fortunately we didn't come to blows and I was able to proceed unimpeded.
ReplyDeleteBanksia is my favourite flower.
Cheers Kirk.
I am sure that the occasional brandishing of a stout pair of secateurs would have kept any invading florists at bay haha.
DeleteHaha! The real problem is you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings when you're being creative. Expressing yourself is key, but expression is meaningless if you've had to force it.
DeleteLovely!
ReplyDeleteThankyou Schava. It all has been lovely to be involved with.
Deletehi faisal, I like Banksia too, but knowing Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, I try to keep my distance - just in case! antony and alica are very lucky to have you as a friend.
ReplyDeleteOh no, no, no. I was very lucky to have been invited. There were no big bad beings there, vegetable, animal or human!
DeleteYou are multi-talented. I love the bouquets and the colors. I hope all went well. Now rest! Bonnie
ReplyDeleteYes, Bonnie, rest is needed after a big couple of days. The wedding was smashing...relaxed and natural, love visible and felt. Thanks for the compliment - blush!
DeleteWhat a lovely friend you are Faisal. Antony and Alica must have loved your arrangements. There's nothing like a Banksia, Big Bad Banksia Men notwithstanding. I like having masses of greenery in my house and I can never resist hauling in huge stems when I'm pruning. Last week I accidentally moved in a leaf-curling spider and she happily set up a web in the bowl of leaves. Each day she moved her web until I became concerned that she may not find enough to eat in my house so I carefully moved her outside to an azalea, where she immediately chose another leaf and made a web, to my relief.
ReplyDeleteI'm just like you Carol - I marvel at insect life, and if I find it inside and I feel it's not going to survive, I'll take it out to wherever looks best.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you that pruning offers a great opportunity to put together some very effective arrangements. I usually have a lot more foliage in the house than flowers.
dear faisal, thank you for letting me know about Kyneton, as such a beautiful place to put on my list to visit. I had no idea the bot gdns were so special. We are lucky to have so much beauty around us. And I (and your other blog followers) are fortunate to get to see things through the eye of your camera and your words.
ReplyDeleteDear Catmint,
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, the parts of the garden that are looked after as a botanic garden should be aren't as large as might be hoped.
The adjacent river is disappointing. There's been some work recently, removing elms or whatever weed-tree has taken hold there, but it's in a bit of a sorry state, despite the so-called river-walk. I saw two shopping trolleys in the water. That aint good.
The town itself is well worth wandering around in - still very much a country town despite its increasing popularity.
I always love it, when you go to the country, that everything slows down. It's therapy, for me!
me too - I have a fantasy about one day moving to the country but I don't know if I ever will.
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