Purple Flower Dreams
The color purple has long been associated with royalty - going back in time to the 15th century and earlier - and because of the expense to create the dye was often reserved for the rich & ruling classes only. In this Flower School How-To Video Leanne takes you through the creation of a stunning design fit for today's kings & queens in tints, tones, and shades of this regal color, featuring hydrangea, scabiosa, and veronica blooms. Enjoy!
Video Transcription
Purple dreams. At Floral Design Institute, we have so many purple flowers, I just decided the entire design is purple today. Let's get started.
The vase, a heavy ceramic head. It is watertight. And I filled it with floral netting. Now it wedges in so tightly, I don't need to tape it, so I don't have to worry about trying to hide it. I just tuck it in. Then filling the vase with water pre-mixed with flower food. The flowers, all my favorite purples, hydrangea, eryngium, more of a bluey purple, scabiosa, Veronica, and nigella which is actually more white, but with just a very light lavender blush to it. Tied together, going to be fabulous.
First, the hydrangea. They're so big and heavy. I want to tuck them in low so that they're close to the water source. And they help to break the line of the container, giving myself a nice base to work in. Just cutting it short. And then I go back and cut it a second time, and then placing it down in. Repeat that with another stem. We're moving the leaves. We're going to do a lot of foliage this time, really focusing on the purple.
Eryngium. So stickery. Luckily it doesn't really sticker, but it adds nice texture and breaks up that color a bit. We can cut it down short or leave it a little bit longer, and just feed it in between the blooms of hydrangea to create interest and contrast.
Now comes the fun, just adding some height, some more flowers that make you happy. The Veronica, feeding it down in. Some shorter, some even a little taller. Scabiosa. And repeat. Some of the stems have natural curvature. Leave that, use it, because it makes it look so much more contemporary, casual. And then little bit of the nigella to brighten. It, too, has some natural curvature. Go ahead and work with the curve. Let it extend. And repeat. And then turn the vase and look at it from all angles. Make sure it looks beautiful front, back, and side to side.
The recipe, the base was three stems of hydrangea and then five stems of eryngium. Then for the design above, I have five nigella, five scabiosa, and five Veronica. So, working in fives most of the time.
Purple is such a fun flower color. There's so many varieties available. You'll find more inspiration and more purple designs on the website, Flower School .com. Now it's your turn. Gather your favorite purple blooms, find a fun vessel, and create a way. Be sure to take a picture and post it on social media, hashtag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.
