Resin flowers
The Lily Rose Room is the home of Australian Flower Series. Resin flower beads have been skilfully created and incorporated into our Holywares including Rosaries, Rosary Bracelets, Prayer Crosses and Catholic Jewellery. This resin art form celebrates our beautiful Catholic faith in the context of God's creation in Australia.
In our workshop we capture the beauty of Australian flowers. The three stages of preserving their wonder for a lifetime are:
- Sustainably picking them.
- Drying them and preserving their natural colours.
-
Encasing them in resin using moulds.
The flowers we artfully and lovingly encapsulate to give glory to God in our holywares include:
Acacia
Commonly known as Wattle, Acacia species are some of Australia’s most iconic flowers. Golden Wattle is the National Flower Emblem of Australia, and gives Australian sporting teams their traditional Green and Gold colours. Different varieties of Wattle trees had many uses to the indigenous peoples such as wood for weapons and tools, medicines, edible wattle-seed, resins and tannins, and even soap. Here at The Lily Rose Room, we have used a few different species of Wattle flowers in our resin products and iconography.
Baeckea
Baeckea is a genus of flowering shrubs which tends to have arching or weeping branches and a profusion of tiny white five-petaled flowers in spring. There are a few different cultivars that include dwarf forms, and they are ideal in coastal cottage or rockery style gardens. The leaves can be used to make an aromatic tea, and some species that are also native to Southeast Asia are used in a variety of natural medicines there. The flowers are very similar to Leptospermum, but much smaller, and in some instances, we have used both together in resin pieces. The tiny flowers are used in our beads and smallest resin drops.
Callistemon
Known as Bottlebrushes for the shape of the flowers, Callistemon species comes in a variety of shrub forms and flower colours. The flowers, like many Australian natives, have highly visible colourful stamens and insignificant petals. The shrubs are common in Australian gardens and their nectar-rich flowers attract honey-eaters. There are many different cultivars of Bottlebrushes, including one named in honour of St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint. We have used a variety of seasonally flowering red and pink bottlebrush flowers in our resin work and iconography.
Corymbia and Eucalyptus
The iconic Australian Gum Trees have been divided into different genera: Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia. There are over 700 species of Eucalyptus and about 100 species of Corymbia. Gum trees had many uses to the indigenous people’s of Australia with timber for tools, weapons, and shelters; bark for rope and shelters, and a variety of bush medicines. Today Gum trees are grown in many parts of the world as plantation hardwood timber. Eucalyptus Oil is also in commercial production as a highly effective natural antiseptic and decongestant. Even the smaller cream coloured Eucalyptus flowers are too large for our resin beads, but we have used them in some other resin products. The large bright pink Corymbia flowers have been incorporated into some of our Christmas decorations.
Hardenbergia
Hardenbergia violacea, or Purple Coral Pea, is a scrambling vine or groundcover with abundant sprays of tiny purple flowers. Flowers and leaves from the plant were used by the indigenous peoples of Australia for mouth ulcers, tooth ache and sore throats, and a dye obtained from the flowers was used to colour grasses in basket weaving. We have used these tiny purple pea flowers in our resin
beads.
Leptospermum
Leptospermum species are often called Tea Trees, due to the early European settlers making tea from some varieties of the leaves. Honey produced from some species of Leptospermum is known as Manuka Honey and is popular for its antibacterial properties. These plants are widely cultivated for use in Australian gardens for their abundance of white, pink, or burgundy flowers. After flowering, a small round seedpod with a five-pointed star-shaped opening is produced. At the Lily Rose Room we have used both the flowers and the seedpods in our resin beads and other resin products. The flowers also depicted in the icon of Mother Mary.
Melaleuca
Melaleuca species are commonly called Paper-bark or Tea Trees. Australian Tea Tree oil, an antiseptic essential oil, is distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia. Tea Trees are so called because the swampy water they typically grow in naturally is turned a translucent brown tea colour from tannins released by the trees. Most Melaleuca trees also have iconic papery bark which peels in strips from the trunk
and branches. Some Melaleuca flowers are bottlebrush shaped, like Callistemons, and others are like small buds of lace. We have used a variety of cream, mauve, and deep purple flowers at the Lily Rose Room.
Westringia
Westringia species are endemic to the coastal heathlands and are commonly known as Coastal or Native Rosemary. Westringia species are popular garden shrubs and hedges in coastal gardens as they are hardy, salt-tolerant and drought-tolerant. The shrub and flowers are similar in appearance to Rosemary, hence the common name, but the plant does not have the aroma of herbal rosemary. The flowers come in shades of white and mauve, and we have used both in our resin beads.
It is our prayer, here at The Lily Rose Room, that these unique creations enhance your time of devotion and give you an opportunity to share your faith with others.