Cane & Orchids

After a non-nostalgic mouthful of fibrous sugar cane, I set aside the remainder of the 6 foot stalk and had good intentions of using it as skewers for sate or pork barbecue. A few days later, it was obvious I was not going to have an edible use for the sugarcane, so I was mulling the quick chuck into the trash can… but it seemed a real shame to just dump it. I decided to experiment and pulled out a ceramic cache pot or planter and stuck half a block of oasis (floral foam) in it. I cut the remaining cane into three varying lengths and stuck them into the oasis. Next I lodged a small piece of water soaked oasis halfway up the stalks and placed 4-5 short stems of orchids I had from the market into the oasis. I tied the bunch with twine just to make sure it stayed in place. The base was covered with dried moss. Total cost of this arrangement? About PHP30 for the cane and PHP40 for the orchids (oasis, twine and moss I had lying around)…

The result? Hmmm… a bit ikebana-ish meets diabetic florist. It looks pretty good considering the total lack of precedent and I’m glad I didn’t just throw away the sugar cane. But it certainly opens up sugar cane as a material for floral arrangements. It was a bit too “shmarmy” for me but worth the 5 minutes it took to throw it all together. It’s perhaps best placed on a lighted side table, foyer, etc. A bit too much for the center of a dinner table. I am almost certain half of you will think it is ridiculous (folly!) and the other half will find it innocuous…