ADAPTATION. FLORAL DESIGN by ANN BENJAMIN

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Ralph Harvey
5 years ago
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1 Like an atom spinning around and around, steel grass encircles a focal vine ball. Visual color punch comes form vibrant yellow gerbera and ranunculus with fresh green bupleurum rambling around the circumference. Steel grass has the firmness and physical stability to create a much cleaner look than bear grass loops. ADAPTATION FLORAL DESIGN by ANN BENJAMIN photography by PAZ REINGANS You've spent the last three months planning a large corporate event. Everything has gone relatively smooth during the planning stages. A few changes along the way, but no big deal. You are quite pleased with the floral product that arrived. All of the centerpieces have been completed, the delivery van is loaded and on the way to the event for set-up. So far, so good. Upon arrival at the venue you discover that at the last minute your client added three more tables of ten, neglected to tell you about the addition - and they all need centerpieces! What will you do? Many florists have been in this situation and were forced to think on their feet, creating a centerpiece with spare flowers from the repair bucket in a serving dish found in the hotel kitchen! Adaptability. It's one of the primary characteristics that floral designers should posses. The ability to change, or change something, to suit different conditions or a different purpose is crucial to designers. After all, sometimes a designer has to find a >CONTINUED ON PAGE 21 flora May.June

A plain container doesn't necessarily warrant a plain design. Dress up the vessel with square colored pins found in the scrapbooking section at the craft store.

2 A plain container doesn't necessarily warrant a plain design. Dress up the vessel with square colored pins found in the scrapbooking section at the craft store. Birds of Paradise are accompanied by their own foliage and dressed up with decorative bands of fuzzy yarn. Papery orange ranunculus combines with bright green brunia baubles to nestle two vine balls and a sweep of bear grass. 18 flora May.June 2005

Orange ranunculus emerges from a flush bed of floral foam covered in lentils. (The lentils are placed on site not a design easily delivered with the seeds all the way to the edge!

3 Orange ranunculus emerges from a flush bed of floral foam covered in lentils. (The lentils are placed on site not a design easily delivered with the seeds all the way to the edge!) Golden coxcomb (celosia cristata) is cropped down to short insertions along the base while bells of Ireland (moluccella) are used full length for height. Notice that the bark brown container was not covered up or camouflaged, but left exposed as part of the composition. flora May.June

Terrific for party work affordable containers make great leave behinds and avoid the dreaded post event retrieval.

4 Fresh blue delphinium stands tall in the center of reflexed white tulips. An additional ring of delphinium provides visual separation between the white tulips and a circle of long white feathers glued to the edge of the container. Terrific for party work affordable containers make great leave behinds and avoid the dreaded post event retrieval. An inexpensive feather boa is glued to the rim of a small utility container. Feathers camouflage the simple mechanics of a flush floral foam base with the votive candleholder sitting on top. Gladiolas are allowed to open fully with individual florets inserted into the foam for a full look sans foliage. Pearls are used inside the votive holder before placing the candle inside. 20 flora May.June 2005

>CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. To create something excellent from seemingly impossible materials is a task a designer masters everyday.

5 An oversize utility bowl provides a solid vessel for a substantial floral base beneath a punch bowl. Filled with berry shades of red ranunculus, raspberry heather, fresh green roses, viburnun and green hypericum, this design gives plain fruit punch a delicious look. >CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. To create something excellent from seemingly impossible materials is a task a designer masters everyday. The same goes for the hardgood materials designers' work with day in and day out. Finding ways to make an ordinary utility container something much more special is an art in itself. Turn a container upside down or on its side, glue two together, cut it, paint it, or add decorative touches. All of these techniques demonstrate your adaptability and capability to modify things to suit different purposes or conditions. Take a look at the designs on the pages to follow. The designs have been composed in plain watertight molded fiber container. Sure, the shapes are different, but in layman's terms these pots were once known as paper Mache. Each design has a distinctly different look and use than the other. Some aren't even used for flowers! What's your adaptability factor? flora May.June

6 Fresh oranges and kumquats on the vine mix with lemony gerbera, tangerine lilies and citrus shaded freesia. Pieris japonica adds a berried look along with yellow ranunculus blooms packing this design with flavor. Floral containers can be very effective in party and event work. One option is to utilize large watertight containers for icing some fruity beverages. 22 flora May.June 2005

7 Corporate work can use just as much personalization as weddings and other kinds of events. Small metal letters are pushed into or adhered to the surface of this container's edge. Metal frames are positioned in both perpendicular and parallel fashion creating a zen-like garden atop the lentil surface. ADAPTATION flora May.June

Textural components make for added visual interest. Hypericum berries with their smooth, glossy finish contrast beautifully with melon colored ranunculus and fresh green roses.

8 Textural components make for added visual interest. Hypericum berries with their smooth, glossy finish contrast beautifully with melon colored ranunculus and fresh green roses. Budding curly willow branches create a faux handle for a plain mache container that houses a gardeny collection of orange lilies and ranunculus, green leucadendron, 'Green Mist' Queen Anne's lace and brunia baubles. 24 flora May.June 2005

9 Repetitive shapes of the same container in multiple sizes, makes for a great looking yet very stable stacked design. The composition is designed assembled and then lifted apart to transport in sections. One inverted pot on the bottom creates a more substantial base and the seam is disguised with a garland of heather. flora May.June

DIY Easter Centerpieces

DIY Easter Centerpieces We have collected a handful of beautiful springtime-inspired centerpieces to make for an egg-cellent Easter celebration. Ornamental Egg Tree Use blown-out eggs, delicate ribbons and pussy willow branches