Fulfilling floral fantasies for the festive season
WITH Christmas fast approaching, our efforts at cleaning up, sprucing up our homes, decorating and making them look almost brand new are in full swing. At this time of year, people will make choices for decorations. What will your choice be: Natural Christmas decorations, natural floral arrangements, or plastic?

Some people are opting for artificial Christmas trees, but quite a few are going for the natural Christmas trees, as well as freshly cut floral arrangements, particularly for their table tops.
Actually, the practice of cultivating and raising cut flowers springs from a branch of horticulture called floriculture.
The term ‘cut flower’ refers to flowers or flower buds (often with some stem and leaves) that have been cut from the plant bearing it, to be used for indoor and other decorative purposes.
Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths, and garlands. Floral design, or floral arts, is the art of creating flower arrangements in vases, bowls, baskets or other containers; or making bouquets and compositions from cut flowers, foliages, herbs, ornamental grasses and other plant materials.
Many nations and florists have their own style of floral arranging. The main three are Ikebana, English Garden, and High Style.
Ikebana is a style of floral design that originated in Japan. Best known for its simplicity of line and form, Ikebana is primarily practised for personal enjoyment.

The English Garden style is traditionally an English form of floral design in which stems are placed in a radial fashion, and feature abundant use of seasonal flowers and foliages. These designs are often done as low, tufted mounds, or taller vase arrangements that are all-sided (360°) and incorporate garden flowers like roses, delphiniums and peonies.
Many florists who follow this style of design do not use Baby’s Breath, Carnations or Leatherleaves. The term ‘High Style’ is a catch-all to describe contemporary linear designs that highlight unique forms of both individual floral materials, and of the designs themselves.
Arrangements generally feature negative space, and incorporate asymmetric placement of materials. The style stands in direct contrast to traditional radial arrangements such as English Garden.
High Style designs often incorporate unique, exotic or tropical flowers such as Bird of Paradise, Anthurium and Protea, but may also employ more common blossoms.
At least one city business place is catering for those who, in their Christmas décor, prefer the natural look and fragrance of cut flowers, as against plastic.
The Christmas centerpieces at Nesha’s comprise cuttings of at least eight different fresh-cut varieties of flowers.
The cornucopia includes large carnations, the eucalyptus, the poinsettia, the Douglas fir, the juniper, the holly, flat ferns and the myrtle.
Notable among the elegant pieces is the Douglas fir, a fir with the cones hanging downward.
Douglas fir has a sweet scent when crushed. It was recently voted the second most popular Christmas tree in America. This is, of course, in addition to the visual beauty of the poinsettias and the fragrance of the eucalyptus.
Proprietor of Nesha’s Flowerland, the florist Nesha Deonauth, has for years been making and selling the elegant Christmas centrepieces during this season. These flower stocks are imported from various countries, including the United States of America and Canada.
Nesha says the pieces are especially popular at Christmastime for those who prefer natural Christmas decorations in lieu of fakes. The pieces are kept fresh in a mixture of aqua foam, and will remain fresh for at least two weeks, once well cared for.
More information on the elegantly designed Christmas centrepieces as an option for your Christmas decoration can be had from Nesha’s Flowerland in Church Street, east of the National Library, telephone# 225-3315.