FLONZI - Florists New Zealand Incorporated

The American poet, Clement Mark wrote “A visit from St. Nicholas” for his children in 1882 -

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot

And he looked loke a peddler just opening his sack

His eyes – how they twinkled, his dimples so merry

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bowl

And the beard on his chin was as as white as the snow

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath

He had a broad face, and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf

And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.

By MARTY SHARPE – The Dominion Post

A florist is facing a possible prison sentence after allegedly changing her competitors’ details on the Google Maps website.

Google says it is the first report of “editing with ill intent” in New Zealand and is warning business owners to register as the verified owner to stop others hacking their details.

Napier florist Kendra Drinkwater, 40, has been charged with using the Google search engine to dishonestly, and without claim of right, cause loss to seven Hawke’s Bay florists.

Drinkwater, who runs Napier Florist from her home in the suburb of Maraenui, has been charged over accessing the search engine on dozens of occasions between November 1 and December 4. The charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

Click here for the full story on www.stuff.co.nz

Marion College students visited the Academy NZ venue in Christchurch for a two days a STAR course, to discover the world of floristry. Being Christmas one of the items they created was a floral wreath.

STAR (Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource) offers students a chance to gain practical skills relevant to the industry and assist students to gain some insights into and explore potential career and further education options.
Please contact your local Academy Campus for further information on the current STAR courses on offer.

It was a privilege to be invited by the Christchurch club to hold a workshop on behalf of Academy NZ floristry class with the Christchurch Club Lady members. Here are some of the beautiful floral arrangements constructed in this inspiring heritage building at 154 Latimer Square by the students of the Academy, encouraged by their tutors Jenny Burt and Joy Knight

The gentleman’s room:

This design was to compliment this masculine room and use the area of mantle piece allowing the painting to be seen and admired. These asparagus ferns, black sticks, flax, banksia and interesting foliages did the trick. With the rustic warm orange, browns, golds and black that the room exposes.

The Lounge (or green room):

This is a delightfully relaxing room in shades of green. We chose to break out into something very modern and experience a different effect by showing off the two extravagant mirrors. These king proteas grown by John and Penny Trubshaw at their blooming  nursery in Katikati. John and Penny export these blooms around the world.

The main entrance:

Main Entrance

This welcoming entrance way was complimented with a traditional Constance Spry inspired design. The tasteful English furniture and the many original watercolour paintings encouraged us to work with light greens, creams and blues. Very country garden.

The main dining room:

Main dining room

Again yet an other magnificent mantel piece surrounded dark mahogany furniture and furnishings and panel Persian carpet. We worked together to create this formal arrangement in a gorgeous silver punch bowl. We worked with the illustrious lilium longiflorum, attractive foliage and bare branches in this regal room.

Thank you once again Merida Hales the lady members of the Christchurch Club along with the students of the Floristry Class at Academy NZ for participant in this workshop. I believe we all had a jolly good time, and look forward to an other invite.

The enterprising floral art ladies have once again brought the mastery of the floral and fauna carpet display to the FESTIVAL of FLOWERS.

The Christchurch Cathedral floral carpet is a premier event presented by the floral art group in Canterbury and the floral art group North Canterbury.

This was the 20th anniversary of the Festival of Flowers. There is no doubt the floral art ladies along with their fellow floral artist and designer Jan Leaper pulled out all stops.

The planning, the designing, the ordering of the flowers. These delightful ladies were on to it with many months of planning.

The logistics to prepare this mammoth task were assisted by the Academy NZ offering their facilities at the school of floristry in Manchester Street, Christchurch, along with the recent intake of 11 floristry students.

Quickly the teams from the floral art groups assisted by the Academy NZ floristry students began to assemble the foundations for the floral carpet by wetting the floral foam and cutting it to size to fit the very large trays in which the floral carpet sits.

Each of the 25 trays are filled with wet floral foam were then marked out with the design. By this stage, two days out from the assembly of the carpet in the cathedral I asked one of the floral art ladies, Margaret when she estimated the carpet would be completed she confidently replied Tuesday at 3pm. Wow ! two days from the time the trays arrive at the Cathedral. This was going to be a challenge.

The students studying horticulture at the Academy were the helpers required to convey the heavy large trays to the Cathedral, and set them up on trestles, the full length of the central isle. Prior to this the base of black polythene was laid on the floor. Then the plastic was covered with green artificial grass. This took no time to achieve with the experience of the floral art ladies.

Meanwhile the floristry students were assisting the suppliers, wholesalers and flower growers as the flower material arrived by trucks, cars and vans. It was a well oiled, organised procedure as buckets were filled with flowers, greenery, mosses, and fauna then all were placed in a regulated order.

It was quickly evident this was team work. The floral art ladies were taking the young floristry students under their wing and magical things were happing.

First every tray design was marked and covered with wet moss (dyed with green food colouring) leaving the design markings clear. Then each area in the design was given a little flag with the type of flower to be used. It was a very intricate pattern similar to a panel persian carpet with the plan set out like a generals war invasion.

The trestle tables holding the trays of wet floral foam with design markings, flags and the base of green moss were at a very manageable working height. In the old days I was told the designers sat or kneeled on the floor.

All through the cutting and placement of the flowers and foliage visitors from around the world and NZ came to view the Christchurch Cathedral and watched with avid interest as the floral carpet took shape.

The flowers used were green hydrangeas, blue gentians, hot red/orange celosia, cream and yellow chrysanthemums, hot pink gerbera, orange asiatic lilies, white lilies, succulent cacti in shades of green grey blue from tiny to enormous. Agapanthus dried and dyed a deep blue and silvered tipped, aspidistra leaves, conifer, ivy leaves, shells, sticks and coils of rope. Huge hand made paper mashie clam shells opened with pearls and sea urchins all intricately woven into the complex design of magical undersea world of flowers.

When each tray was completed the horticulture students held the trays as the trestle tables were removed then gently the trays were lowered on to the artificial grass mat to become the floral carpet 2009.

Thank you to the Festival of Flowers for the use of this amazing photo by Rodney Love. Please contact Marisa at the floral festival for more information www.festivalofflowers.co.nz or email festival.flowers@xtra.co.nz

Thank you the floral art groups Canterbury and North Canterbury, the students from Academy NZ floristry and horticulture classes and the many growers and suppliers of quality flowers. You have given so much pleasure to visitors and friends of the Festival of Flowers. I look forward to sharing this experience with you all again next year.

Joy Knight