Flowers & Frogs

by Pat Binkley
Issue 59, March 1978

Floral arrangements with Cambridge Figural flower frogs take so few flowers and do so much to brighten up your home during these drab Flower arrangement winter days. Now would be the perfect time to try your hand at a few of the lovely creations that can be made without a large expenditure of money or effort.

My first efforts looked like perfect examples of what not to do! But with time and the help of friends, local florists and books on floral arranging, I can now put together a nice looking arrangement with my figural holders and very little money.

The lovely arrangement shown at left, was put together for less than 75 cents (prices will vary depending on where you live and the flowers that are in season). For this arrangement, I used the Two-Kid figural in Peach-Blo, with a crystal etched bowl. The flowers used were twelve sweet peas (7 deep coral pink and 5 white), and 5 small stems of babies breath. The sweet peas were 50 cents a bunch (used less than half the bunch) and 25 cents for the babies breath.

In the photo at right, I used the lovely 11", amber, September Morn (or Bashful Charlotte) in an amber bowl. Flower Arrangement Flower Arrangment The large daisy mums were an amber rust color and the small spider mums were a pale green. This color combination is pretty any time, but would be exceptionally lovely for a St. Patrick's Day centerpiece. The cost of this arrangement was just $3.50.

For the next arrangement shown at left, I used my crystal Sea Gull in a crystal lazy susan tray. The Flowers consisted of 7 purple iris, 3 white carnations and 2 iris stems with leaves. Total cost was just $2.50. (See the end of this article for tips on putting this arrangement together.)

The total cost to me for these three arrangements was less than $7. This, as you know, is a big savings over the price a Florist would charge, not to mention the pleasure derived from creating something special and beautiful for your home and family. When Spring does arrive and our gardens are once more in bloom, the savings will be even greater.

In putting together a flower arrangement with your figural flower holder, the following suggestions are some of the things I found to be helpful. Hopefully they will prove beneficial to you also.

  1. Keep the arrangement in proportion to your frog. Use the head of the figural as a gauge to the size of flowers you use.
  2. Don't bury the figural in the flowers, remember, it is the focal point of your arrangement.
  3. Keep the arrangement low. Think of your figural as a meadow, not a forest. If you use tall flowers in the back of the arrangement, use just a few and try to give it an open look.
  4. Keep the look of the arrangement light, your frog is glass and delicate in appearance.
  5. If the color of your frog is hard to match with the flowers you want to use, take white or light cream colored flowers and mist them with spray paint. Hold flower at arms length and spray lightly until you have the desired effect.
  6. Flowers such as glads, carnations and roses give a heavy look to these arrangements and should be used with care.
  7. Remember to add more water to your arrangement as needed.
  8. Wash and dry your frog and bowl after each use to remove water spots and lines.

Three Flower Arrangements A complete list of flowers that work well in these arrangements would be a long one but a few examples would be as follows: Diagram of Floral Arrangement irises, daisies, mums, babies breath, sweet peas, lilly-of-the-valley, fruit tree blossoms (apple, pear, peach, orange, and others), stocks, honeysuckle, pinks, crocuses, violets, azaleas - or try some of your favorites.

The arrangement shown above left, using the Sea Gull, is a good one to start on. If you would like to give it a try, here are the instructions. Good Luck and may all your arrangements be Works of Art and give you great pleasure!

 

Flowers Needed: 7 Purple Iris - 3 White Carnations - 2 Iris Stems with leaves.

  1. Purple Iris, three-quarters full on 2 1/2" stem.
  2. Same as #1, on 3 1/2" stem.
  3. Same as #1, on 4 1/2" stem.
  4. 12" Iris stem w/leaves behind a Purple Iris on 7" stem (both in the same hole).
  5. Purple Iris, three-quarters to full on 13 1/2" stem, behind a White Carnation on a 10 1/2" stem (both in the same hole).
  6. Same as #1, on 12" stem.
  7. Purple Iris, loose bud on 7" stem.
  8. White Carnation on 4 1/2" stem behind a Purple Iris, loose bud on 8" stem (both in same hole).
  9. White Carnation on 1/2" stem.