Birch Bark Garden Roses

Video Transcription 

Welcome to the Flower School .com Video Library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute. And today, I'm here to share with you a contemporary design, featuring garden roses, the ever popular bloom, and the Pantone Color of the Year, one of them ultimate gray. 

The container, a pre-made birchbark. Pretty cool, but I customized it, I wanted to pick up on that ultimate gray, so I added a bit of color enhancement, using the color tool, in gray flannel, and just dusted across, then inside to be able to hold flowers, water tubes. You can get them in so many different sizes, that way you pick the one that works and just slide it right down in so they'll stay put. And I've done that all through on this one, then filled them with water premixed with flower food, using a test tube filler, so I didn't spill water all over the place. Now, the most important part, the flowers. Look at these amazing roses, they're from GardenRosesDirect.com. This is Edith, an incredibly long lasting rose. It's best to get it in about four days before you need it so it opens out fully and fabulously, you can see it's a beautiful color and mixes well with that gray from Pantone. Then to enhance, some brunia, kangaroo paws and a bit of succulent that I will cut off the plant. 

I'm going to start with the roses, they're the most important bloom. They're so fabulous. Removing the lower foliage, anything that could go into the water. Some we'll cut very short and then just tuck them down low, even go a little bit shorter than that, so it just nestles in. Some I might leave a little bit longer, giving it a cut, bringing it in, analyzing where I want them to be. Maybe another short one right down in front, and then another tall, determining how many roses fit in well to make sure that it really fills in nicely, but doesn't overpower and cover up the container, I want to make sure that it stays part of the design. I think five is going to be about perfect. 

Now, to compliment the roses, adding in the succulents. I can just reach in, cutting it very close to the soil line, removing lower bits, and then tucking it right down low. It'll drink, and then later, if the person is a gardener, they could actually plant these, root them, and continue them growing. Adding in the brunia, adding wonderful texture. And the kangaroo paw, for additional texture, finding the perfect little hole. And then repeating succulents, brunia and Kangaroo Paw, until it's full and lush. 

One final step. I've got a beautiful design, but I'd love to have a little more movement upward, some dynamic line. So a single stem of quince, whittling down the edges to make sure that it will drink, and it will bloom out in that same coral color as the roses, and just nestling it in to the last little tube on the side, locking it in place. And then a single succulent tucked in beside it to finish off the back, and we're ready to go. 

The recipe. It starts with the five garden roses, the variety is Edith from GardenRosesDirect.com. Then I filled in, cutting from my plant, five pieces of the succulent, five brunia, five kangaroo paw, and then the single stem of quince waiting to bloom out. 

Designing differently, not thinking about a vase, not thinking about foam, but just letting the flowers talk to you. Many times it's a container, other times it's the rose that gives you the inspiration. Today it was the container that led to the beauty of the roses, which led to the beauty of the design. For more creative inspiration, check out the website at Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there, or give us a call on the telephone at (503) 223-8089. Now it's your turn. What interesting container are you going to find? Which fabulous blooms? Make an arrangement, take a photo, post it on social media and be sure to hashtag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.