Jenny Goodwin led the meeting with many great ideas.
Shine leaves with milk front and back. This also preserves ligularia leaves for a long while.
Supporting stems with wire and bind with tape to match, then use chopstick for strength
Bending with wire support, wire and tape then bend in safety.
Refreshing leaves and flowers -dunk in water head down.
Japonica – bend and crack, doesn’t matter if it breaks it still holds.
Iris – pinch under the head to make them last.
Roses – wrap the bud in tissue and gently secure with a rubber band to keep safe and stop opening.
Willow – to make more flexible leave it out of water for a couple of days.
Xanthorrhoea spear grass -put a bundle in stocking and bend and twist for a few days-will retain the twist for arrangement.
Marbles, clear or coloured look very good in glass. They help to hide stems in glass.
Plastic or bubble wrap also good in glass , hide stems in tissue wrapped and hidden in the plastic.
Chrysanthemums to last longer – break the stems not cut.
Hydrangeas – refresh by dunking heads in water, burns stems and add salt to water. Also dip in Alum (aluminum sulphate powder).
Kleenex box lid under a kenzan to protect the container. Make it invisible.
Wire kenzan with a hook and hang on side of bowl then arrange.
Pump water up the stems of lotus leaves to make them stand.
Extend a weak stem by inserting it into a stouter stem and insert into kenzan.
Sandy Marker showed how to do push wire up the centre of a jonquil leaf, then gently bend over a bottle for a great swirl.
Sylvie Collins showed wiring a gerbera. First roll the stem to straighten it, then push the wire down from the top. Then you can bend as you wish , and it’s invisible.
Hiroko Prado showed clear sticky tape on glass to hold material as you wish. Make sure it’s invisible when arrangement is made.
Such a wealth of information was shared, it was a great meeting.