Rittners School Of Floral Design
In Boston Presents.....

How To Make A Big Impressive Silk Arrangement

Isn't this a spectacular arrangement??

This design is made with silk flowers.......Actually we give them a fancy name.......We call them "permanent botanicals" (Sounds better, no?? Well, it does sound a little more snobby...laughing)

There are advantages and disadvantages in using permanent botanicals. The advantage is that the designs will last a lot longer than their live counterparts....That can be a disadvantage as well.......After some months, you tire of them.........And they do collect dust after a while, and require dusting!! They also tend to be rather costly........

I get a lot of requests for instruction in this kind of design....They are big, elaborate and quite expensive!!!

But they are actually quite easy to make ( if, of course, you know what you are doing!)

The starting point is our base..........If you are going to construct something this big, you need a container large enough to support it comfortably.......In this case a large urn works quite well.......The kind of container that you need should be large, and heavy. It should be something that could be displayed proudly in its own right, even without the flowers.........

The mechanics can vary......from foams formulated for dried and silk, to even denser styrofoam.....In this particular design, we needed over two blocks of foamlike material, for the opening on the top is that large......

If you approach the construction in a methodical manner, such designs need not be intimidating............

This arrangement is a one sided design, meaning that there is a front side facing you and a back side. Simply start at the back of your foam base.......Start with some of the taller flowers. Notice that we have placed our glads, snapdragons, larkspur and liatris in a radiating fan shape.....Work from the lower left side of the design to the top, and then down to the lower right hand side.........

The spiked flowers radiate out in various directions giving skeletal structure and form to the design.........

Continue by placing flowers a little lower in towards the center.........Notice how we have used a number of large face flowers such as lilies, gerbera, peonies, etc. The process is like working towards the center of a bullseye!!

We pack the flowers together fairly densely.........In that way the flowers are not only filling in, creating the body of this design, but are also covering the mechanics........

Finally, we place filler flowers here and there for texture and interest

Here is a close up shot of some of the flowers.........in the middle and towards the front.

Some final thoughts for you...........In this particular design we used a wild mixture of different flowers........ranging from spike flowers such as glads and snapdragons, and face flowers such as gerbera, roses, orchids and lilies, to fillers such as statice and mimosa.......

We also varied colors all over the spectrum..............It is quite polychromatic............ There are yellows, red, pink, blue, white, purple, and green....

However, you could narrow the color and flower selection range........For example, during the fall you could keep this design in yellows, oranges and reds........At Christmas time, introduce poinsettias, reds, pinks, whites and greens.....etc.

You could also select the color flowers, to reflect colors in the surroundings in which the design will be placed........For example, if this design is being used in an entry hall, (a very good placement) you can use one or more of the colors found on the wall, rugs, or even in a nearby painting........

This kind of design can be adapted for a wide variety of situations........

It works quite well in an entry hall of a large home.

It works quite well in hotel lobbies, or in reception areas of large businesses.....

It could be used for expressions of sympathy.........

It can be used to cover a crack in the wall or other decorating flaw!! (funny but true)

It would work well as a large wedding design to decorate the church, synagogue or even for reception areas......

It would make a wonderful baby novelty (when he wants something REALLY BIG!)

In many of these situations (eg. sympathy, wedding, lobby), I would suggest the use of live rather than permanent botanicals......

We hope that you really enjoyed this arrangement. At Rittners Floral School in Boston we provide floral design instruction that includes a wide range of different styles and techniques. Please come and take one of our hands-on workshop programs!!