forage cover

Foraging for Home

To forage; is to search widely for, hunt or search for provisions.

It’s not a new idea by any means, but foraging is back in vogue.  Often the concept centres around collecting food supplies, but what I am referring to here is foraging for unique materials that can be utilised when arranging florals.

Wholesalers throughout the Sydney and Interstate markets provide us with a wonderful array of flowers and foliage, as do our local growers BUT sometimes there are reasons for us to look elsewhere. You may need several different texture elements in an arrangement and it simply doesn’t make financial sense to outlay the expense of buying a whole bunch of each. Plus you have to remember that growers provide what the market is asking for; DEMAND drives SUPPLY. Therefore, if something is simply not popular (as opposed to being ‘unpopular’),  fewer people (if any) will choose to grow it.

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Image; A little Terroir

The problem is that the stock variety on offer at the market declines based on what is profitable, and what is popular, and therefore it is hard to get your hands on quality produce that sits outside of the box! The result? You have to grow it yourself, or find someone, somewhere that does!

For the more bespoke arrangements, unique materials are required. It is the intricacies in that details that makes the design speak so loudly, so going that extra mile to find the perfect material certainly pays dividends. Like the gorgeous bouquet below from Botanica featuring so many different elements, sometimes just single stems, which creates so much interest and movement throughout the arrangement.

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Image; Bespoke bridal bouquet from Botanica

But the concept of foraging is something that you can incorporate at home too- by foraging just for foliage you can save yourself a lot. Tropical leaves are often sold per piece, which can quickly add up. Even bunches of green leaves like camellia, laurel, vibernum or magnolia can be quite costly to add to your vase of flowers, especialy if you have a tree in your backyard where you can get what you need for free.

 

Many plants will love having a good hard prune once a year, so chopping the tops off your Cordyline plants or Dracenas will do them the world of good. You will find that fresh foliage like this will last you several weeks if not months, so purchasing some fresh cut flowers weekly to make your display more colourful and eye-catching is still good value! It might even allow you a little extra $$$ to play with!

I am a massive fan of foraging for foliage. We regularly collect Philodendron and Monsteria leaves locally, and I’ve been enjoying whole heads of cordyline plants from our garden for weeks teamed with spiraling Corksia ginger foliage.

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Image; Foraged supplies from Hej Doll

It’s important to remember that not all plants are ideal for using as cut flowers or foliage. Some simply do not have a long vase life, or are not happy submerged in water. In addition to that, some plants are poisonous, so it is important that when you forage that you are not using the flowers on food items, and that you always wash your hands. Reactions can be mild rashes and itching, but can also be severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. If in doubt, cut only what you know is safe to use/touch and seek more information.

It’s a lovely winter activity for the family to go out and collect things together, and is a nice substitute for collecting shells along the beach in summer.

Fwf x

 

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