Crisp and Clean with White and Green

Video Transcription  

Welcome to the Flower school .com video library. Today, we're doing beautiful designs but keeping it crisp and clean, focusing on rustic, green materials and classic white. 

When choosing the flowers, I started on the Florabundance.com website and I sorted by color so that I can see what was out there and I started with the green. And with summertime, so many fun things, bunny tail grass, poppy pods, and oats, giving me that bright, vibrant green, then Italian ruscus for a darker green. Then I searched by white, that was fun. Beautiful clematis, tulips, but there are lily tulips, they have a little different head shape. Some tweedia, scabiosa, and then I popped over to Garden Roses Direct, and I bought some roses. The white garden rose, Princess Miyuki, soft and subtle fragrance, and a beautiful, beautiful head. 

For the mechanics, I went to the green and white and a watertight ceramic. Then I wanted to be organic, foam free, little more eco. I started with floral netting, tucked that in, then filled it with water premixed with flower food. That gives me a nice base so that I can start tucking in flowers, and foliages, maybe a bit of the Italian ruscus, just letting it feed into the wire, hold it in place. And bringing a piece up through the center and repeating that coming back out the opposite sides. I have a nice flowing movement that starts the design. 

I start with the larger and heavier things. So, the Princess Miyuki it’s got a nice big head giving it a cut, setting it down in, repeating that maybe doing a couple of them grouped together. Making sure it gets to the bottom of the vase, so it drinks well. The poppy pods are quite heavy, so giving them a cut and then tucking them a little lower. You can see the floral netting anchors them in place nicely, grouping, and then coming across from one side to the other, drawing the eye through the arrangement. 

With the larger flowers in place, I can come in adding the softer things. The scabiosa, again placing a few together, giving them more visual value. Coming out for the opposite side. Maybe some of the bunny tail grass, nice and delicate. Letting it come forward and repeating. Don't want that bit on there, pulling that off and again to the opposite side, drawing the eye front to back. The oats coming up a little taller. The delicate look, tweedia. Finding the perfect spot to tuck it in and repeating. Oh, so beautiful. Don't you love it? Tucking that, and then repeating, bringing in a few more roses and a few more of each of the blooms.

As you finish the arrangement, it's the combination of the wilds and rustic. Thinking of the outdoors with the greens and then the beautiful clematis thinking about a luxury bloom along with the beautiful roses. Go for that contrast. Think about letting it be casual and drapey. And at the same time organized and planned so it does look like a beautiful professional arrangement, leaving some things taller growing over the top, others, especially the heavier items, keeping them low, tucked in to add weight to the design. Then turn it looking at it from all angles to make sure there are no holes that are shouting out saying, "I need a flower, right here".

I wish that you could be in the studio here with me now, or that we had moved forward to smell-a vision. This design is so fragrantly wonderful. The Princess Miyuki roses add the perfect touch. The recipe, the Princess Miyuki was from GardenRosesDirect.com and I used six of them. Then everything else is from Florabundance. I did 10 of the oats and 10 of the bunny tail, 6 of the scabiosa, 7 of the tweedia, 5 of the lily tulips, 4 of the clematis, and then 5 of the poppy pods. The very beginning, I started with two stems of the Italian ruscus. So, you can see it's a mix and match design combining luxurious fragrant flowers with rustic field grown weeds that are wonderful. 

Thanks so much to GardenRosesDirect.com and Florabundance.com. They made shopping so easy. You can check out their websites, sort it by color, see how it works. If you'd like more creative inspiration, you can find it at Flower School.com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there. Or give us a call at (503) 223-8089. Now it's your turn. What are you going to create? Hunt for the most wonderful green and white foliages and flowers and design away. Take a picture post it on social media and hashtag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.