Julia and the Garden Group made poppies a few weeks ago, cutting the bottoms of plastic bottles, fitting wire stalks, spraying them red and sticking the bottle tops in the centres.
It’s not a very complicated process, though the step I missed out (smoothing the cut edges using a candle flame) does have the occasional interesting moment. Julia tried making leaves using green plastic bottles, but they turned out a bit see-through. She doesn’t have enough money in the kitty for green paint, in case you were wondering.
With the addition of some scrim netting (because it’s slightly military) and some rosemary (for remembrance) it is now forming an art installation in the garden. See how easily I slip into the language of the aesthete – art installation indeed. It’s some plastic flowers on a fence post. It also includes some sedums (because they are still in prolific flower) and some chicken wire (because there wasn’t enough scrim).
One of the group has printed out a suitable poem too. It’s the Moina Michael poem “We shall Keep the Faith“. I’ve left a link rather than displaying it in full. To be honest, I don’t really like it . Apart from the sentiment I don’t like the way it rhymes red and dead twice in seventeen lines.
As she’s the originator of Poppy Days I will cut her some slack and say no more. After all, my view may not reflect the views of posterity.
Poppies and Rosemary
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I remember the poppies. Very good project!
She’s getting better every year! 🙂
Wonderfully inventive
Yes, it’s strange to see how a pile of plastic bottles becomes a bunch of flowers. 🙂
That’s a lovely end product!
Thank you – I will pass the message on.
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I do admire your Julia in managing to make something quite lovely on such a small budget! I’m not that keen on the poem either. Too sentimental. For war poems I expect to read something a little more realistic and shocking perhaps. I too will forgive her because of poppy days 🙂
Poppies are a good project for the group to work on, as they demand concentration without being too difficult. They also give a chance for work around remembrance.
There are some good You Tube clips showing how to build plastic lilies but they are quite complex and don’t seem such good value for the time invested.
It looks arty to me and it has definitely been installed.
That is true. I may have to withdraw my objection to the term.
Really good.
I will pass the message on, Thanks.
All in small case