ROMANCE WITH FLOWERS

Astrid Mayer, florist.

Astrid Mayer picks up three Amaryllis stems. She deftly binds them with black moss, stands back and beams. “These can swim lying down in a water vase, stand loose in a tall vase or be tied together and embellished in an architectural form”.
Once her fingers touch flowers, her creativity swells to the fore. Vines; pine cones; nuts; apples; evergreens; hellebores; twigs, in short, traditional winter plants close at hand, are turned into new floristic creations for the festive season.

Inspired by nature and keenly aware of tradition, Astrid Mayer reworks the symbols so important for the early Europeans. Mid-winter for them (Astrids explains) was different, long days of darkness and little light. Plants were extremely important. Evergreens were collected for their magical protective powers. They were brought into the house as swags and wreaths. The wreath for the Celts was a symbol of the eclipsed sun. “Would the life nurturing star reappear?”, their ever fearful question. Mistletoe particularly revered, symbolised for them the continuation of life. So too the seed bearers: pine cones, nuts, apples (Christmas balls are nothing more than an apple stylised with Celtic origins). All held promise of new life.

Astrid strokes, fingers and preens branches and blooms about her “I can’t stop touching”, she smiles shyly, noticing I have noticed. This year, she’s worked gnarled twigs (trimmings from pruned apple trees) into exquisite "nests" and holders for apples and candles. “Light is very important!” and candles are everywhere in her winter creations. There is no fixed style in her floral work, each customer and each situation is individual. There are no fixed rules or trends, though the colour red is inseparable from Christmas. From Christmas day on, Astrid turns to white, exotic flowers like orchids and scented jasmine to ring in the changes for the coming New Year.

The young Upper Austrian florist with a remarkable reputation for her breathtaking romantic bouquets is modest about her work. She diverts all compliments waxing eloquent at the shimmer of amaryllis buds, and rushes to a light source to point out their astonishing satin glimmer. These exotics add touches, but her main love is flowers from wood and meadow. Her enthusiasm and passion is infectious we too should look closer at our natural environment for our festive inspiration.

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