Summer Days Gone By

Now that I have this fancy new blog, I am excited to start posting some images from some of the work that Green Dahlia did over this summer. Let us start with this awesome opportunity that found me, Yard Art for a local graduation party.

The clients home had an expansive back yard, and Green Dahlia was asked to do some sculpture like installations in one of the paths.  Let me just tell you, this yard is a dream come true for children! I found myself thinking of all the cool forts I would have built had I had the chance to live there growing up (not to worry, I did get to make a lot of forts on my own turf as a child!)

I had complete artistic freedom, and an awesome helper Miss Clyda.

Clyda helped me string and hang all these glass bubbles onto a frame I had constructed the previous day using some bamboo that was growing on the property, and my trusty iron spikes made custom for me from my favorite blacksmith – Falling Hammer Productions (I always go straight to them if I am ever in need of some fantastic ironwork.)

Detail shot of the "Wall of Bubbles"

the Bubble Wall

Down in the right hand corner, you will see one of the Peacock Ferns, we “fluffed out” her existing ferns with some (gasp) leather leaf and added the peacock feathers.  I gasp because leather leaf has such a bad rap as an overused green.  However, having trained at Datura, I was never allowed to use the “offensive” leather leaf….. Now, it’s a secret thrill to use it only because it was forbidden fern for so long…. But that sounds like a whole post of it’s own!
P.S.- The client’s pet dog had a real problem with these “Plants”

Eye See You!

Next we worked on this

The Egg Nest, in Full

We started calling it the Egg Nest as it took form… In full it stands about 10 feet tall, 2 and 1/2 handmade wicker globes decorated with foliage and garlic scapes from the yard. Here are some detail shots…

details of the"garlic knot"

The Egg

Lastly to show you is a concept we were trying out, we called it “over / under”

Over / Under

Orchids, As Above, So Below

This was very difficult to photograph, but a very cool piece, you will have to take my word for it. I am sure that the concept shall be revisited one of these days! It is a pane of glass, buried in the ground and standing vertically. Some of the orchids are fastened on the viewers’ side of the glass, with others attached behind.  I want to play with this idea some more….

Visually confusing designs give me much pleasure.

That will do it for this post, but coming soon a post on the European Master Certification program I am working on currently.  In about 2 weeks I will have permission to use some of the images from the class in order to create a post worth reading!

Stay tuned…

Cat
Catherine Epright, AIFD
www.greendahliaflorist.com