Floral designer shares tips for flower arranging

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Floral designer shares tips for flower arranging

March 05, 2008

Today I’m traveling to the Philly Flower Show, where I hope to gather lots of news and great ways to incorporate flowers into your life.

One of the first things that springs to mind is flower arranging. So, to get the ball rolling on that topic, I asked Beth O'Reilly, AIFD, of The Flower Studio in Austin, Texas, to share some of her tips.

The Flower Studio creates strikingly elegant and highly original arrangements. See for yourself at cobyneal.com. Here’s what Beth recommends:

Keep your designs clean and uncluttered. Overstuffing and using too much greenery and filler flower can make the design too busy. Strip off any foliage on stems that hit the water source. This keeps the design from looking messy and will also make your arrangement last longer by cutting back on the amount of bacteria that can grow in the water.

A casual bouquet of loosely designed flowers is always appealing. Cut stem lengths gradually until you’ve achieved the right height for your design. You can even design this kind of arrangement in your hand as if you had been out picking them in the garden.

Create a focal point. Try to incorporate a focal area within the arrangement by utilizing larger flowers or grouping smaller flowers. This creates interest and draws the viewer into the design.

Care for your flowers properly. Before arranging flowers, it is important to hydrate them properly. A fresh cut with quick insertion into the water along with at least 45 minutes of drinking time is a good rule of thumb. When designing, always give each stem a fresh cut before insertion. Changing the water daily and re-cutting the stems will make your arrangements last twice as long. Flower preservative can also be used in the water to keep your blooms lasting even longer.

Good designs take experience and practice. Try following the principles and elements of design. Principles are: scale, proportion, balance (symmetry), rhythm (pattern and movement), emphasis (focal point), variety, contrast, and unity. Elements are: shape, space, line, texture, direction, value, and color. Keep these in mind as you work toward more complicated designs and techniques.

If you've recently designed a great floral arrangement, send a picture to Flower Blog. We'd love to see it!

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