(Morning Advanced Class, 18.11.08)

The theme for this design was "An arrangement in an unusual container", and for this, I've used the cardboard tube which held a bottle of whiskey, and I've put a plastic container inside to hold the floral foam for the mechanics. For the height, I've made a construction using stems of the black bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra, fixing the pieces together using Oasis®Fix. I've made another smaller construction from thinner pieces of bamboo which have been fixed together at differing angles using copper bullion wire. I've also fixed some red Hawthorn berries from the variety Crataegus crus-galli, on the ends of the bamboo. The foliage I've used is Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart', Fatshedera lizei 'Anna Mieke', and Eleagnus pungens, used with the silvery undersides uppermost. The flowers used are red roses, grouped at the base, with more rising upwards through the construction, and lime green spray Chrysanthemums. For added interest I've also used some grouped Hawthorn berries. Some more berries have been threaded onto bullion wire to form two strings hanging from the construction.