Take Leaf

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday August 26, 2004

Judy Adamson

When it comes to floral arrangements, it's good to branch out.

Simple arrangements of blossoms are fine but florist and author Mariella Ienna is a big fan of foliage, and champions the use of branches and berries. They can be "beautiful on their own", she says, but are often underrated.

"I think foliage and branches and grasses and seed pods have suffered [because] people regard them only as fillers," she says. "Some clients I haven't continued with - I'd put some things in a vase and they'd say, 'Oh you're filling it with leaves; where are the flowers?' "

Ienna tries to explain to people "that those magnolia leaves cost me more than a bunch of flowers". But, she says, "It's a taste thing. If people say 'I hate it' there's nothing you can do. You have to pull it apart."

Gradually, more people are willing to experiment. Ienna says dried arrangements - with pods, palm husks and other elements - are becoming popular because of their longevity and flexibility. Customers update parts of the arrangement to refresh the look.

"People come in and say, 'I don't mind spending a lot of money but I want it to last and have some permanence'," she says. "It depends on the look you want. A lot of people hold a grudge against florists because they're perceived to sell things that don't last a long time. But you're dealing with natural organic things and they die."

Ienna has been in the floral industry for two years, after spending seven years studying - and five years practising law before realising she should have followed the creative pursuits she enjoyed at school.

"My art teacher said 'Why are you doing law?' " she recalls with a laugh. "I was always interested in design ... but when you come out of high school you do what your mark tells you to do. It's a very young age for people to make long-term decisions."

Her teacher knew what she was about: Ienna now owns and runs Verdant Flower Merchants in Glebe and has recently written a book with how-to tips for arrangements from the chi chi to edgy. She matches plants with vase types and has named all her creations: the tropical garland Frida; the exotic, rose-and-frond filled Ali Babar; Miss Havisham (camellias in a tea cup); Phosphorescence (a bowl of sunken lotus flowers); and the austere Pod (no explanation necessary).

In the past, she says, people were taught that the way to achieve good floral design was to have a "way-over-the-top combination of flowers". She believes in keeping things simple: choosing some "beautiful leaves" and two kinds of flowers - or one style of flowers - some leaves and berries. This can also save money because leaves and bare branches last longer than a floral arrangement. All you do each week is change the blooms.

While there are the daring types who make arrangements from pods, sticks and not much else, Ienna says most buyers still seek out "pretty" flowers such as lilies, peonies or tulips. Having said that, instead of simply mixing these with other flowers, they are now likely to add branches or leaves.

In Domain: Flowers at Home, some of Ienna's arrangements include branches tinted with gold and spray-painted carnations. But will the average home decorator go this far?

"I think they will when a special occasion requires it," she says. "For an occasion such as a wedding they might put magnolia branches down the table and go to the trouble of buying a little pot of gilding gold to rub on them, then scatter some orchids around the branches.

"A lot of people think, 'That's way too creative for me', but you find that you can do it - it's quite simple."

Another important tip, she says, is to move with the seasons. "Roses look stunning in summer when they're seasonal but the rest of the time they can just flop over and never open up," she says. "You don't have to know everything about the seasons, just ask florists what's good at the moment and they should be able to point you in the right direction."

Domain: Flowers at Home (Murdoch Books, $34.95) will be available from September 9.

© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald

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