Floral Design

What is the history of floral design

and what are some techniques
used by florists?
Key Questions
 How were flowers used in past civilizations?
 How can you increase flower vase life?
 What are the rules that control correct color
use?
 What are the four major wiring techniques?
 What are the different types of permanent
flowers?
How were flowers used in past
civilizations?
 Classical flower arranging
 Egyptians
 Used flowers to beautify homes
 Used flowers as offerings to gods in
ceremonies
 Created simple designs
 Used roses, narcissus, water lilies, bachelor
buttons, violets
 Greeks
 Scattered petals on ground during festivals
 Made floral wreaths to be worn or carried

 Romans
 Floral garland- a rope-like arrangement, similar
to a wreath without the circular form
 European Floral Design
 Rooted in Greek and Roman cultures
 Design periods
 Renaissance
 Baroque

 Flemish

 Victorian
 Oriental Floral Design
 Buddhist priest used flowering shrub
branches in ceremonies
 Chinese priests used large pottery urns,
rather than placing the branches directly on
the altar
 Ikenobo design
 Developed by Japanese
 Had specific written rules

 Each flower has a specific meaning and exact

location in an arrangement
 American Floral Design
 Victorian design style- pattern of early
American design style brought from Europe
 Williamsburg design style- American version
of Victorian style.
 Large round floral arrangements using different
kinds and colors of flowers
 Corsage- small bouquet for a woman to
wear, became popular in the 1920s
How can you increase the vase life
of flowers?
 Most cut flowers imported from South America
 Conditioning cut flowers
 1. Remove excess foliage and thorns
 Remove any leaves below water in bucket
 Bacteria will quickly decompose leaves
 Thorns may damage other flowers
 2. Re-cutting stems
 Bubbles of air in stem block water uptake
 Make fresh cut removing ½” to 1” of old stem
 Make fresh cut under water to prevent new air bubbles
 3. Flower preservatives
 Chemicals added to water to increase vase life
of cut flowers
 Prevent bacterial growth

 Vase life- period of time after cutting flowers that

they can be held and look good

 Always use plastic buckets

 4. Water for flowers

 Use warm tap water (100-105 degrees)
 Place in 34-38 degree cooler
What are the rules that control
correct color use?
 Color is the most important element in
visual arts
 Primary colors
 Red, Yellow, Blue
 Secondary Colors
 Green= blue + yellow
 Violet= blue + red

 Orange= red + yellow

 Red and yellow
 Warm colors
 Advance to viewer
 Blue and green
 Cold colors
 Move away from viewer
 Hue- pure color without adding black or white
 Tint- white added to hues
 Shade- black added to hues
 Analogous colors- hues next to each
other on the color wheel
 Analogous color scheme- combining
three touching hues
 Complementary colors- hues directly
opposite each other, one primary the
other secondary
What are the art principles used in
floral design?
 Proportion and scale
 Proportion- pleasing relationship in size and
shape
 Scale- deals with relative size among things

 Height of arrangement to container size-

 Tall containers- 11/2 to 2 times as tall as the
height of the container
 Low containers- 11/2 to 2 times as tall as the

width of the container

 Balance
 Physical balance- actual stability of plant
materials, will not fall over
 Visual balance- perception of arrangement
being in balance in appearance
 Symmetrical balance- two equal halves
when vertical line drawn through center
 Asymmetrical balance- two halves not
equal- informal
 Rhythm
 Related, orderly organization of design
elements
 Dominance
 One design element is more prevalent than
other elements
Ten cardinal design rules
1. Create arrangement height with placement of
first flower
2. Work down from top of arrangement to the
container
3. Place small flower or buds at top of the
arrangement
4. Place large flowers near the container
5. Use light color flowers near the top of the
arrangement
6. Use dark color flowers near the container
7. Place flowers at the top of arrangements
farther apart.
8. Place flowers near the container closer
together.
9. Start at the back of the arrangement and
work toward the front.
10. Establish the focal point at the top
edge of the container.
What are the four major wiring
techniques?
 Florist wire is 18” long with diameter fo
#18 to #30
 Smaller #= larger diameter
 Larger #= smaller diameter
 Number 18, 20, and 22 wire used for funeral
bouquets and other floral arrangements
 Number 24 to 30 used for corsage and
wedding bouquets
 Floral tape- floral stem wrap to cover wires
 Pierce Method
 Works best on flowers with large calyx
 Ex. Roses and carnation
 Daisy Hook Method
 Works best for corsages and boutonnieres made of
daisies
 Wrap-around method
 Used to make a small cluster of filler flowers for
corsages or wedding bouquets
 Splinting method
 Helps support weak flower stems
 Roses and carnation usually need support
What are the different types of
permanent flowers?
 1950s- manufactured plastic flowers
became popular
 Silk flower- artificial flowers made of
polyester, introduced in the 1970s
 Natural material- dried flowers and
weeds used in arrangements