In-Season for Mother's Day

Video Transcription 

Welcome to the Flower School .com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute. Today we're here to chat about Mother's Day, combining fabulous seasonal flowers, a few luxury blooms, and rustic curly willow. 

The contrast from rustic to seasonal to luxury makes it so interesting, and then the use of natural mechanics makes it on trend. So starting with the curly willow, winding it together, add a few more, just tucking it in your hand. And then as long as it's fresh and pliable, bringing it back down, and once you have what you want in your hand, using bind wire, take a small snippet, lash it together. Go around two or three times, make sure that it's nice and tight, and twist. Cut down so it will fit into the vessel. You can shorten the bind wire. Then just set it in place, and add water already mixed with flower food. 

You can leave the tips extended, or if you'd rather, you can tie them together, bringing it in to a more rounded format. Really up to you, bringing them around. It doesn't matter if it's perfectly symmetrical, because it just becomes an armature to support everything else. And yes, it adds beauty, but you won't notice if it's leaning one way or the other. It just doesn't matter. That's the joy of this style. 

Then starting with my seasonal blooms, the lilacs. Now their woody stems need to drink well, and I find it's best if you break it down, and then also whittle just a bit, taking off some of the bark. Remove the lower leaves, then feed it right through the armature and down into the water. Again whittle, then place it in. Viburnum is the same. It has such a woody stem. If you take it, give it a cut, then whittle then place it in. 

As you're placing your stems, everything is radiating from a central binding point, so it looks beautiful all the way around. As you're working, turn it occasionally so that you look to see if there's a hole someplace, maybe a bare spot. And go back, add in another stem, giving it a cut, whittling, then placing it down deeply into the water, making sure it's going to drink well. Don't be afraid to let it come out a little taller over the top of other things. Then come back and add in your luxury blooms, maybe a lisianthus, so fully and fluffy, giving it a cut, placing it down in. The armature will hold it right into place, just finding the perfect little hole. There we go. Coming back with a Piano rose. It's Pink Piano. It's a beautiful garden rose. Again radiating towards that central binding point. The ranunculus in a soft blush, tucking it in, and then turning it so that you get it all the way around. 

I saved my foliage for last, because I wanted it to be an accent, not a center of the design. Using a stem of Italian ruscus, pulling it back a bit, and then placing it in so that it extends outward. So the foliage becomes one of the flowers as opposed to a basing mechanism, because the armature of the willow is enough to support. And you can see just adding a little bit, still everything radiating from that central binding point. Add some more, adding even some lily grass. Again, a little touch of softness, placing it down into the armature. Make sure it's nice and secure. That's one not in, so going back and placing it again. Then turning it, looking for holes, and adding in a little bit more foliage just where you want to accent. 

I saved the best for last, the addition of cymbidium orchids. Now the whole stem is not really necessary. It's too big and bulky. But the individual blooms, super fabulous. Just pulling them off. Now the stem, too short in get in there, so just re-flexing the petals, then using water tubes and wood picks, taping them together so I have a nice extension. Give it a cut, give it a cut, then just place it right down into the bouquet. 

Let's review what I used so that you could create this if you would like. I started with one bunch of curly willow, and then I enhanced it with the lilac and viburnum. I used a full bunch of each. Now you could do bunches of everything, but I didn't quite do that. So I started one curly willow, one lilac, one viburnum, full bunches. Then I used eight ranunculus, eight Pink Piano garden roses, five lisianthus, five blooms of cymbidium, just two stems of Italian ruscus, and 10 blades of lily grass. The combination of rustic, seasonal and luxury makes an absolutely fabulous arrangement, perfect for spring, summer, Mother's Day. 

For more creative inspiration, check out our website at Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach me there or pick up the telephone and give me a call at 503-223-8089. I hope I've inspired you, because now it's your turn. What are you going to create with fabulous seasonal flowers and luxury blooms? Take a picture, post it on social media, and tag Floral Design Institute. That way, we all can see as you create and do something you love.