Summer Zest

Ahhhhhh....... summer.......sigh........ A time for beaches, quaint picnics in the park, backyard barbeques and lemonade; the unofficial drink of summer. Home made lemonade from fresh squeezed lemons of course! The secret to perfect lemonade? It's all in the sweetening. Use sugar syrup and you won't have any granular "guck" in the bottom. Go ahead, get your lemons (buy extra for the arrangement) and make up the lemonade. We'll wait. Then, pour a glass and get creative with the Summer Zest floral design.

STEP ONE: 

Choose your favorite flowers. About a dozen stems plus a dozen stems of foliage. We used roses, feverfew, veronica, ruscus, plumosa and salal. Look through your kitchen cupboards and you're sure to find a container or two for your arrangement. 

An old Fiestaware pitcher and juice glasses are bright and colorful choices. Add wood picks, Oasis Floral Adhesive, Oasis Uglu dashes and of course, lemons!

STEP TWO: 

Now to prep the lemons. You will want to remove the top ¼ of the lemon. Next just take off the bottom tip, being sure not to expose the inner flesh with this cut. The goal is to create a flat spot so the lemon will stand on its own. 

Once you have completed these steps remove the inner flesh creating a space for a small piece of floral foam.

STEP THREE: 

Salal leaves, commonly called Lemon Leaf (we must to stick with our theme!) enhance the base of the lemon. This will help seal in any lemon juice or water that may leak from the cut and also add extra textural interest to the design. 

Secure the leaves to the lemon using UGlu dashes - fast, efficient and no waiting for glue to dry!

STEP FOUR:

Add leaves until you are satisfied with the look. Then place pre-soaked floral foam in the niche of the lemon and you are ready to add flowers.

STEP FIVE:

Sizzling summer roses are offset by breezy feverfew, creating an adorable accent to the larger arrangement. Be sure to choose flowers that are smaller in head size to accommodate the scale of the lemon.

STEP SIX: 

Just one more step to complete in preparation for assembling the arrangement. Using UGlu add a collar of leaves to the base of each whole lemon. 

Insert a wooden pick into the bottom and seal the insertion point with a drop of Oasis Floral Adhesive.This will stop decay and prevent the lemon from dropping off of the wood pick as it dries.

STEP SEVEN: 

Now for the grand vase arrangement...Start by filling your container with water and Floralife flower food. Choose a variety of greens - at least two, three is better. Here we are using ruscus, lemon leaf (salal), and just a touch of plumosa fern. 

Place the stems in a radial format creating a strong supporting weave for all your flowers and the lemons.

STEP EIGHT: 

Flowers and lemons oh my! Add the roses and lemons sprinkling them throughout the nest of greens. Place the bottom blooms first angling strong from one side to the other for a full rounded look. 

Then, work your way upward in the arrangement placing the center flowers very last.

STEP NINE: 

Now that you have the main flowers placed, it is time to add the finishing touches; breezy feverfew and a touch of purple veronica offset all the fiery hot color of the roses and lemons. 

Choose accenting blooms that add a gathered wildflower look perfect for an evening barbeque or early afternoon brunch.

STEP TEN:

All finished! Time for some fun in the sun with friends gathered around a table bursting with life. And don’t forget to keep a pitcher of lemonade at the ready. You'll definitely want a nice glass of refreshing lemonade to accompany all the summertime fun!

Thank you for sharing this vibrant and colorful citrus-inspired Summer Zest floral design. If you would like to lean more, join us in the Classroom or Online and study the theories and techniques of design with the Floral Design Institute Instructors.