You are My Family- Clerodendrum

Arrangement # 115

This is a tale of two clerodendrum species which I have ready stock at my garden.  First the climbing species with its white calyces and blood-red corollas called the Bleeding Heart Vine ( Clerodendrum thomsonae). 

In the above display I have included the slightly older calyces which appear dull pink in colour but nevertheless attractive to me because they stay for months on the stems before they die away looking brown. The Bleeding Heart vine comes from West Africa.  In the above presentation, I have teamed up the orange  bracts of the parrot flower ( heliconia psittacorum ) and the red hibiscus ( Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) to the bleeding heart for variety, colour and contrasting form. As usual I employing a simple trick of wrapping the stems of the flowers in Red Ti ( cordyline terminalis) leaves such that they appear neat in the glass vase.

I would like to name the above composition ....Torn Between Two Lovers.

Arrangement # 116

There is no competition in the above display.

There are from the same family.  Here I placed the pagoda flower ( clerodendrum paniculatum) overtopping the bleeding heart. The pagoda flower has a conical flower head that displays hundreds of small red flowers.  It is native to South East Asia and that means Sarawak, Borneo.  Thus it really surprises me why people do not use this plant in urban public landscaping or homes. Its flowers are frequently visited by butterflies.

I have attempted to display a gradation of colour in the above presentantion.

For being rather forgotten ( because we take it for granted) and now seldom seen I would like to name the above composition as .....Love Me MORE.

Red Ginger, Bleeding Hearts and Red Ti

Arrangement # 108

I thought I have successfully utilise the beauty of the red ti ( cordyline terminalis) leaves in the above display.

For one thing,the leaves when wrapped around the flower stems or stalks of the red ginger ( alpinia purpurata) and the bleeding hearts (  clerodendrum thomsonae) makes the presentation neat especially through the transparent glass container or vase.

Secondly, the top end section of the sword-like leaves when bent add an interesting feature and artistry to the show.

Here the bleeding hearts flowers, the just recently plucked ones appearing more whitish than the slightly aged ones in mild red colours, breaks the symmetry of the display in a refreshing sort of way.

The height of the compositon is achieved by the exotic tiered formation of the red ginger's petals which I think provides much zest and appeal to the whole show.

All the Reds, please stand up!.....for that's the title of today's composition.

Parrot Flower and Warm Delights

Arrangement#51

Three types of flowers struck my senses today and they come in various tones and hues of bright yellow, orange, light pink, pale red and blood red.  Such an interesting array of warm colours fill my heart to the brim of joy.  The parrot flower ( Heliconia psittacorum) was my top tier choice , the middle rung was filled with slightly older inflorescences of bleeding hearts ( Clerodendrum thomsoniae) and the foreground was a crowd of hibiscus hybrid.  Would very much like to name the composition....Parrot flower and warm delights.