Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Weaved European Bouquet Class..........

 This summer we offered a European-weaved bouquet class.  The above design was done by Laken who is 14 years old.....  Not bad at all, she always goes for the blues.  The point of this class was to create a design in your hands where you would begin with some greenery and then weave in material from the top so that your bottom would "spray out".  And the final test, to see if you passed, was that it should stand on its own.
If it didn't you would have to weed a 150' row before being able to leave the farm.


Here Eden is giving a demonstration of the technique starting with a bit of greenery to help get the design going.  She has all her elements stripped of extra foliage and layed out, waiting to be added.


 Here everyone is back from the field, prepping their flowers and beginning to work their designs.



 We offered bran muffins, raspberries and coconut bars.  I think our bran muffins are some of the very best.  They are made with whole wheat flour and this recipe calls for a serious amount of bran which is what I want.  Here is the recipe: 1C. WW flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 cups bran.  Mix this in a bowl and set aside.  Then in separate bowl put in 3 Tbl. olive oil, 2 Tbl. brown sugar, 2 Tbl. molasses, 1 egg, 1 1/2 c. buttermilk.  Whisk this and then add to the dry ingredients.  Add 1 cup of raisins if you like, (which I do.).    Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes.  I promise you will like these, very healthy, delicious and not too sweet.  Put them in your freezer and have one frozen with coffee every morning.  You'll be regular for the rest of your life.




Eden is giving support as students put their bouquets together.







One trick is to not hold that bouquet too tight.  You must keep your hand somewhat loose so that material can be added.  It gets easier after a good amount of flowers have been added but that first part can feel a bit awkward.



These guys have got it, they are dutifully weaving in from the top and deciding where there is a "hole" and filling it.  Notice the loose hand and the nicely spraying stems at the bottom.






Fortunately everyone passed the test (some did require some creative cutting on the stems) and so I was left to weed by myself.   Thanks for coming, we had allot of fun, and everybody did a fantastic job.


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