THEFLOWERSHOW.co.nz
News release from the Auckland Flower Show 18 November
2008
A fusion of flowers
Professional florists designing for the Auckland Flower
Show admit to a few late nights and dramatic dreams
before their ideas came to life. The florists were charged
with designing to the theme of fusion flowers,
and it seems many visualised their creations at night,
either asleep or awake, as the case may be.
Cambridge florist Dellene Hunt dreamed of Charlie &
the Chocolate Factory, and the idea of chocolate fusing
into flowers was born. A few sleepless nights later,
wondering exactly how the creation would take form,
Dellene says she is satisfied with the results. Long
liquid-like strands of kelp represent the chocolate,
which flows along a conveyor to become a
delectable ball of floral colour using lilies, anthuriums,
carnations and orchids. You have sleepless nights
designing it in your head, but its not something
you can practise until the time comes to put it together.
I dont really know what its going to look
like until its finished.
Pukekohe floral designer Carol Laloli has been burning
the midnight oil on a cultural representation of fusion
flowers. Over the past few weeks, many metres of blue
hemp have been laboriously covered in a patchwork of
fabrics to create an oceanic base for her display. With
New Zealand as a centrepiece, the floral accompaniments
are designed in the shape of the koru and celebrate
cultural diversity roses for English migration,
proteas for South Africa, and orchids for Asian cultures.
Carol won the Supreme Award for her Remembrance
creation at the 2006 Ellerslie Flower Show. Thats
part of the reason I wanted to convey meaning in my
design for this years show. To watch people being
moved by the remembrance display was just fantastic.
Floristry students from the Academy New Zealands
North Shore and Otahuhu campuses have also adopted a
cultural approach to the fusion theme. The display fuses
the work of eight students, and includes leis for Pasifika
nations, and chopsticks within an Asian-flavoured bouquet.
Lisa Germon, owner of Scent stores in Papakura, Pukekohe,
Waiheke, and Devonport, represents fusion in a luxurious
bathtub. Among bouquets of peonies, carnations, and
roses are chocolates and bath bombs in what must be
the ultimate bubble bath for women.
The North Shore is represented within the professional
florists design hall with creations by Milford
florists Sue McFadzean and Andrea Faulkner of Colleen
Murphy Floriste, and Judi Ball-Guymer and Julie Williams
of Starz Floral Stylists Studio in Glenfield.
The professional florists design hall also features
a large 8m x 4m display created by acclaimed designers
Mark Pampling, from Australia, and New Zealander Iain
Stephens.
Continued >>>>