Winter 2011

Baking pancakes and drinking chocolate milk …

Winter is a very special season. The days are short and dark. Nature is at rest. The branches have lost their leaves, the annual flowers have disappeared, of all woody perennials only the structural elements are left. Snow and ice are creating fairylike landscapes. We are thrilled to discover some winter flowering plants now and then. A Helleborus adds an extra vivid touch, the Hamamelis shows its colourful flowers. Wrapped into a warm coat, you can enjoy a long walk along an abandoned winter beach or through a winter pine grove.

 

• Portrait and favourites of Rita Van Gansbeke

  

  I grew up in a plant nursery, horticultural farm ‘De gebroeders Van Gansbeke’ in Grotenberge, Zottegem (B), amongst hard-working people. Plants and annuals were cultivated and sold at markets in Flanders and Wallonia. My mother did the markets, together with her brothers-in-law. For All Saints’ Day she made the funeral wreaths. Onto a support of wrapped straw, she clamped chrysanthemums and foliage. Unfortunately, my mother died too soon and then I decided to follow in her footsteps...
  

• New Talent Els Vuylsteke

  

  Els Vuylsteke is 42 years old and a qualified hairdresser. At a later stage, she discovered her creative skills, especially in the field of flower art. She participated in some flower workshops, went back to school and got acquainted with the basic techniques at Syntra West in Roeselare (Belgium). But if it is up to her, this is not the end of the road. She would like to continue follow courses with Geert Pattyn, her major example, Moniek Vanden Berghe, Tomas De Bruyne, Marc Derudder, Herman Van Dionant ... She dreams about developing her creativity with flowers and creating new arrangements with everything she comes across in nature.

• International Designer Philipp von Arx 'The rose is really my favourite"

  

  Luckily we got to know Philipp von Arx during the IPM (Internationale Pflanzenmesse) in Essen, Germany. As a member of the Swiss ‘Trend Group’ he was working together with the German Manfred Hoffmann team. And we had a fascinating conversation about his work and love of flowers. Philipp von Arx is a master florist and has his own flower business ‘von Arx Blumen & Garten’ in Olten, Switzerland. He loves his profession, music and life …

• Daniël Ost International School

  

  Some students from the Daniël Ost International School created arrangements with flowers and vegetation from the undomesticated natural world: willow roses, cornflowers,
  cow parsley, blackberries, Astilbe, tansy, etc. These works were exhibited in the former workshop belonging to the sculptor Karel Aubrouck which acquired a new function as a home, workplace and events space after a thorough renovation by the interior specialists Massa-Liekens. Compositions that responded to the interior were also made by the students with roses, callas, hortensias, etc.