Simple Tropical Flower Arrangement

Last night I found myself with the inexplicable urge to create a flower arrangement using flowers and leaves in my garden... so I got up from the dinner table while everyone was eating and took some scissors outside.

This exotic arrangement took maybe two minutes at the most, was very easy, and will be fairly long lasting too.


Here's What I used:

1 White hidden ginger flower
3 Orange heliconia flowers
1 Alocasia leaf
2 Ti plant or cordyline leaves

Of course you can use what you have growing in your own garden too, but these are great for their durability and shelf life.  You can also substitute the alocasia leaf with one of a split leaf philodendron, white bird of paradise or a palm frond.  The waxier and glossier the leaves the better, as they retain moisture longer!

The Alocasia "California" leaf was placed in the rear to form a striking backdrop, while the cordyline "Willi's Gold" leaves  were simply stuffed in the vase to hold everything in tightly and serve as a foil.

For flowers I used heliconia "costa flores" and curcuma ginger, since the bracts last a long time even after the flowers have faded. The heliconia stems were cut at different heights to create a tiered and layered look.  To get the ginger flower, I had to cut the whole cane down, peeling the leaves from around the flower stem.  It was actually quite fun!  Here are some photos, and I apologize for the grainy cell phone quality.



If you were to get an arrangement like this at the florist it would cost you an arm and a leg, but hopefully either you or a friendly neighbor has the ingredients in the backyard!  Don't let your valuable resources go to waste, and be sure to post pictures on The Rainforest Garden Facebook Group to show me some of your own creations.

For some other creative ideas, check out some of my other posts.

Floating Flowers
A Thai Style Dinner
Floating Gardenia Blossoms
Tropical Terrariums

13 comments:

  1. I've cut Colocasia leaves before only to have them turn limp within the hour. Any suggestions?

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  2. Gotta love those inexplicable urges!!! I have to say well done on your arrangement ... it is just terrific. I love everything about it! I myself have never thought to use Alocasia leaves ... but now I'm thinking about the beautiful Amazonica leaves ... hmmm!

    Thanks for visiting my Flower Flaunt on Friday post ... and I just have to agree. Palm flowers are nearly always overlooked ... I find them just as beautiful as any others! I'm always taking photos of palm flowers but rarely add them to my blog ... will have to change that.

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  3. Isn't it cool how a creative idea will just come over you, and you HAVE TO act on it??? Very pretty little bouquets! They remind me of little poseys!!!

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  4. The Alocasia leaf look so superb!
    Even if you just have that alone as a stand alone - it will still look exclusive.

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  5. That arrangement is giving me some ideas for what I could do with my garden fare. It is quite nice. Be careful with those Alocasia leaves though. I cut some once and got the sap on my hands then wiped the sweat off my face - OUCH!

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  6. Love this exotic arrangement (and your photo editing is quite artsy as well). I only wish I could use heliconia blooms for cut flowers. I've had all of one bloom scape the entire summer long!

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  7. Very exotic arrangement. I like the white ginger against the huge green leaf.

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  8. Very simple and exotic looking. Sometimes less is more! Have a great weekend.

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  9. Beautiful arrangement! Yes, it is very simple, but definitely exotic and tropical looking!

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  10. Nice arrangement Steve. Nice contrasting colours and the big leaf does make quite a statement.

    ps. Thanks for your comment re my capillary watering. Much appreciated - Will certainly try water above plants when I need to use the method again.

    Have a nice weekend, Ev

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  11. Very nice! I love the Alocasia for the background.

    Jake

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  12. Only 2 minutes? That's so fast you probably had time to get back to the dinner table before you even swallowed your last bite!

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