Flower Arrangements 101: A Crash Course for Easy and Elegant Florals - Gardenista

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Flower Arrangements 101: A Crash Course for Easy and Elegant Florals

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Search Entertaining & Arrangements Issue 7 — Europhile

Flower Arrangements 101: A Crash Course for Easy and Elegant Florals

Meredith Swinehart February 12, 2018

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Like many people, I want cut flowers to grace my home at all times, and in most instances, a simple jar of in-season blooms feels like enough. But sometimes—be it a birthday, holiday, or with congratulatory intent—a bona fide flower arrangement is called for.

I’m going to guess that, like me, many readers have taken a stab at making a floral arrangement while wondering if they were doing it right. (With a supermarket bouquet, my technique involves placing the most delicate flowers in the center of a vase, the spiky ones on the outside, and then “artfully” messing it up with my fingers.)

But one day recently I went to  Lambert Floral Studio in San Francisco for an informal class on tabletop arrangements (champagne was served). Maybe it was the bubbly, but while I watched studio owner Sammy Go demonstrate the essentials of floral design, I saw the clouds part: Suddenly, arranging not only made sense, but perhaps sounded fun.

We asked Sammy to share secrets of flower arranging that you can use for any arrangement. (The step-by-step instructions for the arrangement below will work no matter what flowers you use.) I hope his tutorial is as enlightening to you as it was to me.

Photography by Leslie Santarina for Gardenista.

Materials

Above: When shopping for flowers, Sammy says, “I usually find something I really like and build the rest of the arrangement off that.” Shown, from left: ranunculus, hyacinth, daffodils, more ranunculus, sweet pea, fritillaria, sweet almond branches, and calla lily leaves.

What should you look for when you shop for flowers? First and foremost, seek out a variety of textures, says Sammy. Second, find variety in the shape of the bloom, and third, seek variety in color. For example: The ranunculus shown above are rough and circular with white bodies and purple edges, the daffodils are smooth and star-shaped with classic yellow centers, and the pale pink sweet peas are dainty and reminiscent of butterflies.

Above: Sammy’s materials include a small watering can, a  Deep Serving Bowl in opaque white from Heath Ceramics ($65), a pair of floral shears, some chicken wire, and tape, plus fritillaria, hellebores, daffodils, and hyacinths.
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