Submerging Flowers

 Want a different way to display your Valentine roses?

I have seen pictures of elegant dinners where the party planner/floral designer had submerged flowers

in vases but I have never seen good instructions on

how to accomplish the look. 

 What follows are

my attempts at sinking flowers in various vases of water.

I had heard that pet supply stores had "sinkers" to weight

 aquarium plants down but I was not able to find any of

 those locally.   To try to make an attractive weight, 

I wrapped wire around a rock but the wire kept slipping off. 

 I finally glued the wire on with J.B. Weld adhesive.

This adhesive works great but allow several hours or overnight for drying. 

The most surprizing thing about this experiement of submerging flowers is how much weight it takes to sink the flower and keep to under water.

One Rock

Two Rocks

Three Rocks

Five Rocks

Five rocks to sink ONE Fugi mum!

I learned to be a little mean and push the flower down into the water

to help it sink.  The weight of the water in its petals aids in keeping it down.

I wasn't sure I like the look of all that wire, so I had

the idea to glue several rocks together and tie a single

wire around the rock bundle to keep the flower down.

The J.B. Weld adhesive had worked well underwater

but it was grey when it dried.

Since I also wanted to try sea glass and clear pebbles as weight possibilities, I got a glue I thought was a cousin of the "weld" 

but dried clear.

  It was a "weatherproof" glue. I learned later that 

"weatherproof" does not mean "waterproof".

 I'm passing that life lesson on to you 

(you might have already known that).

I'm sure this glue has good applications but underwater adhesion is not one of them.

I'm trying E-6000 glue at present to make bundles, and I think it is going to work .

Another sinker material I tried was big washers from the

 hardware store.

It took three of them to sink a rose.

Attach one end of a length of wire (or clear line) to your sinker

 then wind it up the stem of the flower.  It helps to wind the wire past a leaf stem (or stump) to give the wire something to pull

 against as the flower tries to float up. If you have a short stem, 

you can wrap the wire around the base of  the head of the flower. 

Here is a contraption for you.  Four washers wired together

with three roses wired to the washer bundle...

...and sea glass to cover the contraption up.

Also attempted was a combo of rocks glued on top of a washer.

This hid the washer and supplied a base for the rocks to 

be attached to. Be sure to leave the center open so that the

 wire/line can come up out of the center.

A big fat "fail" as a weight was to put clear weights (like 

sea glass or glass pebbles) into saran wrap or a cut down 

sandwich bag...even uglier underwater than before submersion.

So here is how some of the sinkers worked:

This reminds me of the rose in "The Beauty and The Beast".

The glass vases not only magnify the flowers but create interesting

effects like the flowers being reflected on the surface of the water.

This vase used the washers as sinkers and then hiding them with sea glass.

I tried silver floral wire and gold floral wire to wind up the stems of the

 flowers  I think I liked the gold wire better.

 Other colors of wire (found in the jewelry section of craft stores) could be used also.

I finally got the clear elastic to work but it was a lot harder to tie the knots, have the flowers

the correct height, etc. than the wire was.  I originally was going to try fishing line for this

same effect but it was too thick. This is the rocks-glued-to-washer sinker.

Sometimes air bubbles would be caught on the rose petals...they looked almost like

 little diamonds underwater.  This rose is held by the original one-rock-one-wire sinker...

it took three to hold it down.It's not a bad look; it just has more wire around the stem of the flower.

This container is not big enough to fully submerge a flower but it could also serve

a purpose in a situation where you need a smaller arrangement.

The smaller vases could be clustered together for a bigger effect.

With the flower being weighted, it will stay where you want it in the vase

and not float willy nilly around like a similarly close cut rose in water might do.

Here is an example of where the glue did not hold the rocks together (my fault) and the flower is

free floating now.  Its neighbor is still weighted down and has a more intentional look.

I moved the vases over to the dining room table

to see what they would look like maybe at a dinner.

To light or not to light...that is the question.

A contemporary look I have seen with the submerged

flowers is to also add submersible lights.  I got a pack

to try them out...what do you think? 

I had run out of sea glass to try to nestle the lights down so maybe they would not be so bright

(or maybe they are supposed to be like that?)

I took the submersible lights out and then just tried

good old candle light...it was a softer look.

Some random thoughts/tips:

I liked leaving some greenery on more than I thought I would.

Maybe too much greenery?

Maybe just right?

No greenery looks more contempoary (but maybe stark?)

If you use the J.B. Weld glue and want to cover the gray color

you can use finger nail polish to paint it.

This actually is a bad picture...the polish is not so shiny in real life.

  I got this tip from a fishing TV show...fisherman use fingernail polish to paint sinkers on 

fishing line. You could choose better colors; I wanted to buy the cheapest brand I could 

find to test this out and these were the best colors I could come up with...

even the cheap brand stayed on underwater.

Other types of flowers can be submerged.

Orchids are one of the most popular

but I wasn't going to buy orchids for this experiment.

On the opposite end of the cost spectrum from orchids are mum-type flowers

so if you are on a budget, these might be a consideration.

The flower does have to be strong enough to stand up to the water pressure.

This daffodil's petals just collapsed when it was tested.

If you already have the glass containers (or can borrow them)

submerging flowers is a very cost-effective way

to get a lot of bang for your buck.

The water bends the light and causes very cool effects through the glass.

Addendum...a couple of years after I did this blog post I

tried again to submerge flowers using other items to 

achieve the look. Here is a link to the second blog post

How To Submerge Flowers.

Exploding Tulips

My husband is not one for giving Valentine's Day gifts

so to make myself feel better about being

(most likely) flowerless on February 14th,

I purchased myself a container of tulips.

I thought these were a good buy at Costco for $10. 

Not only do I get flowers now but a nice glass vase and

bulbs to plant to hopefully bloom Spring 2013

In the warmth of the sunny window,

those flowers started opening up pretty quickly.

\

Maybe I should have moved them to a darker location

or maybe once a tulip starts to open, it just goes quick.

Full blown here...

...and then exploding to hardly even looking like a tulip...

...but still pretty even in this stage.

Well, the tulips didn't even make it to Valentine's Day

but I enjoyed watching them open up day by day.

I'll plant the bulbs see the pink tulip blooms again when they

spring from the ground in about 12 months.

Terrarium Tips

I'm not pretending to be an expert on terrariums

but I have learned some interesting tips on making

terrariums since I attempted a few for my

entry at the January Magazine Copy Cat Challenge.

I thought you might like to make a terrarium too as

a way to bring the outside in during the winter months.

This is the photo that I originally tried to copy

in the January issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

The expert inviewed for this article is Tovah Martin.  She shared good ideas for making terrariums.

I couldn't find the original article online but here is a link in which she shares good plants to put in terrariums.

Another place for good basic instructions is

the E-How Terrarium Video by Willi Galloway.

Here are my favorite tips I gleaned from those sources:

Start with a clean, clear glass container that is big

enough to get your hand down inside of.  Put a layer

of pebbles in the bottom of your container for drainage.

Put a 1/2 inch layer of horticultural charcoal on top

of the pebbles to keep the moist soil smelling "sweet".

Add 2-3 inches of light potting soil such as African violet mix.

Try not to get soil on the sides of the containers.

Tamp it down to remove air pockets.

Dwarf plants that like low light and high humidity are best

for terriariums. Select plants that have the same growing

requirements to go in the same container.

I was able to find tiny pots of plants at a local nursery.  

(Disregard the big tattered fern in the background...it is staying outside.) 

 The orchid in the photo above was purchased to try 

to mimick the picture in the magazine.

Make a planting pocket in the soil with your finger.

Remove the plant from its pot.  Remove some of the

soil from around the roots to make is easier to plant.

Set the plant in and firm the soil around it being

sure to cover the roots.

After the plant is in the container, you might break a leaf

or stem if you have to put your hand down inside.

Here are some "tools" to help to garden from above.

A funnel made from paper and tape is helpful to get more 

soil down near the base of the plants without getting the

  soil on the sides of the container or the tops of the leaves.

A paintbrush is useful for getting any soil off of the

 leaves and the sides of the container.

Use a cork on a bamboo skewer to tamp down soil.

After planting, use a watering can with a

 long spout to spot water each plant.

Tovah says that misters make more a mess 

than they moisten the soil.

Water an open terrarium when the soil looks dry...

about every 7-10 days. 

A closed terrarium can usually go for two weeks

 between waterings.

If too much condensation forms, give terrarium less light

or open the top a little for a few hours.

The NUMBER ONE reason that terrariums fail is

OVERWATERING.

The plants thrive in a terrarium with almost no help from

outside their little world.  That's why they are great for

folks that don't have a lot of time to care for house plants.

You can add decorative elements to your terrarium

such as pebbles or stones...

...mosses...

...and decorative objects. 

Succulent terrariums only need watering every two weeks

so they are good for very busy people.

Here are some tips for succulent terrariums:

Be sure to use a container that has a wide opening to prevent accumulation of moisture.

Put two inches of gravel in the bottom for drainage.

Use fast draining soil to plant succulents in then add a layer of sand.

Give 5-6 hours of sunlight a day.

Water every two weeks. Water should drain to bottom of container and there should not be more than an inch of water in the gravel.

So what started as a copy cat challenge project...

...evolved into even more terrariums for my Winter garden.

My favorite new one is the planting under the cloche.

Its base is a terra cotta saucer with soil, plants, mosses

and stones added to fit within the confines of the glass dome.

I enjoyed adding pebbles and mosses to the terrariums to give them a little more color and interest.

Terrarium Book Give-Away

I had never even been interested in terrariums until

I tried to copy a picture in a Better Homes and Gardens'

article for Debbie Doos Magazine Copy Cat Challenge .

I learned so much from the expert on terrariums who was

interviewed for the magazine's article.  Her name is

Tovah Martin and she has written a very informative

book on the subject of terrariums (and all their many forms)

called "The New Terrarium".  The photography in the book,

by Kindra Clineff, is beautiful. 

If you would like to see a peak of the book,

here is a link to Amazon's website to see some of the book.

Grab the blue button on the right side of the Amazon page to scroll down to see quite a few pages.

 I have gotten a copy of the book so that I can share it

with one of you if you are interested in how to

make terrariums too.  If you would like to enter to win

this copy of "The New Terrarium" just leave me a

comment below.  I will use the random number generator

on Friday, February 10, 2012 at noon CST to pick a winner.
UPDATE:  21 folks entered the giveaway and the
random generator picked  #8 which is Nana Diana.

 I made several more terrariums

after the ones I made for the copy cat challenge.

In a  blog post, Terrarrium Tips, I list the
basics from Tovah Martin on how to make a terrarium.

Terrariums are a great way to bring gardening indoors

during the colder winter months.

Sharing this post over at
Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Anything Goes Party @ Type "A" Decorating
Mother Nature Party @ Grits and Glamour