I came across a reference on a Digital Photography Review forum about a technique for photographing flowers against a piece of black foam core board. This material ensures that the background will not be a distraction and allows for easy digital manipulation, including darkening the background further or replacing it altogether. This is an Allium Bulgaricum blossom, from a spring-flowering bulb in the onion family. It towered over the tulips and seems suspended in time both in the garden and cut for an arrangement (more than two weeks and counting indoors, and it had been blooming outside for several weeks before that). For other examples of arrangements of my own flowers that I’ve photographed this way, see this online gallery. Since the Foam Core Addicts Society takes their art very seriously, I will take this opportunity to state officially that I’m not applying for membership until I’ve worked on my technique some more!