Even as colorful a country as Ecuador where there’s so much else to see, a garden-lover can’t help ferreting out interesting flower scenes. I didn’t have to look far my first day in Quito. It was July 14, Bastille Day, and great floral offerings were being prepared for the French Embassy.
As I wandered into the Jardin Colomo, Ecuador’s most fashionable flower shop, the perfume from masses of flowers greeted me. Behind the glass wall directly in front of me, women were grouping flowers and making arrangements. To the right, bouquets in rainbow colors displayed against the all-white walls of the showroom awaited delivery to the embassy. Instead of counters and commercial accessories, the room had inviting chairs, a large table and shelves set in an arch recessed in the wall. Through an arched window. I could see a small inner patio, bright with green lawn and a white fountain.
But the flower arrangements had even more old-world charm. I was pleasantly surprised by their prim quaintness. The color combinations were daring yet subtle with a “theme” of constrasting blooms spaced at regular intervals.
The two sisters who own and manage the Jardin Coloma flower shop are considered quite unusual for having a career. In this small South American country, women are still quite sheltered. “We took up this work because we love it,” said and of the sisters. “Our whole life centers about the shop – our garden is behind and our apartment upstairs.”
Flower arranging, I learned, is one of the traditional skills in Ecuador. It is handed down and preserved in pretty much the same form as it was hundreds of years ago. Most everyone in Quito. I was told – and in all of Ecuador – from the youngest Indian girl to the most renowned floral designer – likes to make flower arrangements.
My eye caught a softly glowing mountain of pale pink hydrangeas in a straw basket. Between the blooms, small bouquets of lavender and purple sweet peas were placed at precise intervals, with a few green leaves added for emphasis. The basket handle was decorated with a cluster of purple and salmon sweet peas and a perky bow. Instead of babys-breath, tiny yellow orchids gave a soft touch to the arrangement.
Nearby a basketful of deep red roses was dotted regularly with copper-colored pernetiana roses. Misty yellow orchids, two coppery roses and a pale yellow ribbon bedecked the handle. The depth of the reds contrasted delightfully with the delicacy of the yellows, and the copper tones strengthened the effect.
A great basket of yellow-throated rich pink gladiolus was ready for the French ambassador as a gift from the president of Ecuador. A single splash of white from three snowy flowers and a sudden touch of yellow from one lemon bloom gave a surprising and original effect. to this arrangement. A handle spray of tuberoses, two golden roses, some miniature yellow orchids and a gold ribbon echoed the yellow of the gladiolus.
Lace-paper holders were used. They are used in both hand bouquets and larger arrangements, a number of which were in the shop. The colors of the paper box containers had been carefully chosen to complement the bouquets.
The refreshing charm of these flower arrangements immeasurably enriched my trip to Ecuador and only echoed the quaint, old-world charm that is typical of this out-of-the-way country.
by A L Hill – 64787
