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

My Daughter's Contemporary Nest Arrangement


This is another variation of the "nest" style of floral art.

There is an interesting story behind this arrangement.

My daughter, a youngster, was watching us making the other nest arrangement featured in the floral education center.

As with most youngsters, imitating her parents, she started to put flowers into foam, approximating the nest design that we made.

Now you are probably thinking......"MMMM....proud Daddy....."And you are right!

But the purpose of this page isn't to show you one of those slide shows of a proud parent's kids or "the family vacation, etc" You probably have plenty of those of your own, or have at one time or another, had to endure those of other family members or friends...... There is another reason behind showing you this design.

One of the most frequent questions that I am asked, is, "Is it hard to learn floral designing? Do I need some special mystical skill or ability? In the case of contemporary styles, similar questions become even more of concern. Somehow people think that there must be some kind of magical, mystical ability involved.

The reason we are showing you this page is to reassure you that floral designing does not require a magical or mysterious creative vision. It is a skill that can be learned, just like keyboarding, speaking a language or driving a car.....

And in the case of some of the more contemporary styles, with the proper instruction, the saying is appropriate......"It's so easy that even a child can do it!"

The key, however, is in getting instruction from people who know what they are doing! Not just good designers, but from a staff that includes teaching training and background. At Rittners you get a Doctorate in Education on staff as one of your instructors. And that sets the tone for the quality of the teaching you will receive. With top notch teaching, learning becomes much easier and more fun. That's why people say about our school......"If you really want to learn floral designing.......Go to Rittners Floral School!"

Now, enough of the infomercial....Let's talk a little about how this design is made!



What You Will Need

  • Tall plastic or glass container
  • Foam
  • Seven or eight roses
  • Seven or eight carnations (orange and red)
  • A stem or two of yellow pompons
  • A stem or two of bronze pompons
  • A stem of foliage
  • Some moss



  • Take a half a block of foam and completely cover the top with flowers. Place them randomly, but place them all up against each other. The content was not that large here......Only seven or eight carnations, seven or eight roses, and a stem or two of yellow and bronze pompons.

    There is no need to use any foliage or green the base, for the flowers themselves are covering the mechanics. A few pieces of baker fern are placed on one side more for color or texture than for any covering effect.

    After the flowers are place, hairpin a few pieces of sheet moss around the bottom of the design for a decorative effect.

    Some raffia is woven through the top and allowed to droop over one edge. It gives the design a rather wild look!

    At this point most of the floral designing is actually done!




    The design could be left in a small dish and we could call it a day.

    We have, however, added an embellishment to my daughter's design. (And we hope the artist will forgive us for the slight modification!)




    We've placed the arrangement in a taller container.

    We could use an opaque container of either ceramic or plastic, in a wide variety of colors.

    However, we thought it would be fun to place this contemporary design into a clear plastic or glass container that would carry through the fall theme.

    A vertical section of foam is wedged into the container, and surrounded with fall colored leaves. Water is added to the base. The arrangement is secured using three or four long picks.




    If a youngster can create something this pretty, think of all the great designs that you will be capable of making once you take a diploma program in floral art at Rittners School of Floral Design!!



    We hope that you really enjoyed this brief floral design lesson. At Rittners Floral School in Boston we make learning floral designing so easy that that even our child can do it !!! Please come and take one of our hands-on workshop programs!!



  • Rittners Floral Education Center returns you to our Floral Education Center.



    Your Webmaster is Dr. Steve Rittner, who may be reached at Stevrt@tiac.net. All photographs and text on this page are Copyright - Rittners School, and may not be reproduced, or used for any commercial purposes.

     

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