This is the last floral from my work with Government House, a centerpiece for the drawing room, with hydrangeas, calla lilies, orchids, ranunculus, willow, and viburnum. As with the music room, this floral owes its shape to Dutch still life paintings. Surprisingly, the hardest part was finding the container. Because of its prominent placement in the middle of the drawing room, this arrangement is the first thing you see when you enter the House, and it was important it be just right. Margaret Robinson, then Chair of the Foundation, and I circled @chintzedmonton @chintzandcompany at least six times before we found this green pedestal vase perched high on an étagere. She liked its resemblance to English majolica. If I were to do this arrangement today, I might construct it differently. Some tutorials suggest building the display over a foam cone to achieve the distinctive massed height of Dutch floral still lifes. I cut the foam level with the top of the vase, and coaxed each stem into place, weaving them through each other for extra support. My technique is probably closer to 17th-century Flemish methods, as they didn't have foam and may have used wet sand. Working with permanent botanicals is like Dutch still life painting, in a way. Every flower is always in season no matter what time of year. I can mix tulips (a Spring flower) with peonies (Summer), and fruit (Summer/Fall) with evergreens (Winter). The Telegraph published an interesting article on Dutch still lifes: https://bit.ly/2Qd4XIF Tomorrow, I'll start sharing my Christmas work. I am accepting a limited number of clients for Christmas decorating. If you're interested in decorating your home or business for the holidays, please DM me. Photo by @jessfernphoto #permanentbotanicals #silkflowers #historichomes #weddinginspiration #vintagewedding #lifeincolour #ihavethisthingwithcolor #colours #colorcolourlovers #colourlove #palettes #weddingflowers #floraldesign #flowermagic #flowersofinstagram #dsfloral #dscolor #yeg #yegwed #yegdesign #yegartist #igyeg #780 #exploreedmonton #edmonton #alberta #interiors #interiordecor #centerpieces (at Government House (Alberta)) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBM92EgBcG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pn5mg8oj334c