Floral design is becoming so popular that’s it beginning to be considered an art form by itself. In fact the first Floral Design as Art exhibition was held June 2nd, 2005 at the Floral Design Institute in Portland, Oregon. The event was quite a success and the displays were fascinating. One of the first displays in the exhibit was called the Power Tower. This piece of art represented the Eiffel Tower and man’s struggle for power as he climbs upward. A bright orb of flowers at the bottom represented man and a beautiful bouquet of flowers at the top of the Eiffel tower was the crowning jewel of the display.
When putting together your own display of flowers, fresh flowers are the best because they are full of life, unique and often have a wonderful aroma. To purchase flowers that are fresh, run your hand from the stem of the flower to the petal to check for a crisp feel.
To decide on which flowers to select, you can buy flowers that coordinate with the décor of your home or you can take it a step further and use flowers to convey meaning. The type, color and amount of flowers can actually speak volumes to a person because for centuries flowers have had their own language.
Asters, red carnations, chrysanthemums, coreopsis, forget me nots, honeysuckles, red roses and red tulips all convey love, but be careful because some of these flowers have slightly different meanings. Sweet peas mean departure and yellow roses connote friendship or jealousy. And speaking of roses, here’s a few more definitions. Black roses mean obsession, orange roses denote secret love and dark crimson roses represent mourning. To convey an additional message with roses, you can send different quantities for different meanings. For example, one rose means “love at first sight” or “I’m still in love”. Two roses mean that the feeling is mutual and three roses means simply “I love you”. Fifteen roses are for when you’re sorry and 108 roses are the symbol for “Will you marry me?”
To keep your cut flowers fresh, buy commercial floral food, cut your stems and change the water daily. If you don’t have commercial floral food available, then try this tip from the Floral Design Institute. Start with one gallon of water and add a twelve ounce can of clear lemon lime soda. The sugar in the soda will provide food and the citric will help lower the pH of the water. The institute also recommends adding one tablespoon of chlorine bleach to the gallon of water to act as a biocide for cleanliness.
To make a simple arrangement of fresh cut flowers for your table to use at a dinner, start with a wide shallow vase that’s not too tall so your guests can see over the arrangement and a set of candles with candlesticks or holders. Pick candles, candlesticks, flowers and ferns that coordinate with your table and lay these items on your work surface. Fill your vase about two thirds full of water and cut the flower stems short enough that they just peek over the edge of your vase. Remove all leaves and foliage that will be below water level to reduce the chance of rotting and start placing the flowers around the edges of your vase. Balance your flowers evenly around the perimeter of your vase and crisscross the stems to stabilize them and create an attractive arrangement. Fill in the middle flowers and make their stems slightly longer so that the flowers in the middle are a little taller. Next, begin to arrange your ferns or greenery around the sides of the vase underneath your flowers so that they appear to hold the flowers. Check your arrangement from all sides and trim down any stems that don’t flow in your overall arrangement. Then place your candles and candlesticks on each side of your floral arrangement and you’re done. You’ve created a beautiful simple centerpiece with little effort