'A Little Spring Love' Florals
I know it’s been an incredibly trying time for many people, so I felt a strong desire to share a little spring love to my fellow Austinites. What normally is an exciting season of the year, filled with new life, is currently marred by fear and anxiety. I decided to create a spring-inspired arrangement and share it with one of my fellow readers to bring them a little joy in this time of the unknown. Also being able to create beautiful floral imagery to be enjoyed digitally for the many.
My vision for this arrangement was to achieve a few goals. 1. Capture the essence of spring beauty in the colors and textures. 2. Incorporate fragrant florals to engage the sense of smell. 3. Provide a sense of practicality in the shelf life of the arrangement. Starting off with the spring colors and textures, bright yellows, pastel blush tones, and punchy reds are the perfect blend. Daffodils in its texture, are iconic spring flowers. The garden roses and spray roses add a soft fragrance while the stronger scent of lavender ensures that the arrangement will help perfume the home. Finally, for the sake of practicality and purpose in this time of efficiency and distancing, I wanted this arrangement to live on beyond the blooms. Incorporating fresh lemons are a great way to add beauty as well as give purpose to the arrangement. Freshly squeezed over hot tea, prepared over a steamed fish, or even a zest of a burrata salad, the lemon is a versatile fruit that provides an all around brightness.
I’m hoping everyone is staying safe and positive and that this spring-inspired floral arrangement brings you a beautiful moment this week!
‘A LITTLE SPRING LOVE’ FLORALS
FLORALS + SUPPLIES
White ceramic vase (4-6” opening)
Floral snips
Green floral tape
Bamboo skewers
3 stems orange garden roses
1 dozen blush spray roses
3 bunches of yellow daffodils
1 bunch of white/peach local godetia
1 dozen red dutch parrot tulips
1 bunch of yellow finger acacia branches
1 bunch of lavender
6 red pincushion protea
1 ‘Fireworks’ Schubertii allium
1 blush anthurium
3 lemons
STEPS
Start with the clear floral tape and create a grid across the opening of the ceramic vase. This will help give you a bit of structure in the beginning. The tape may eventually fold into the vase and disappear.
Begin with the branches of acacia to create the shape of the arrangement. I like to keep a few stems closer to the mouth of the vase and place a few further away to create interest.
Layer in the yellow daffodils with the blooms reaching as far out as possible. The stems of daffodils tend to be shorter, so this will give you more flexibility with the size of the arrangement and ensure that the daffodils have prime placement by the end.
Arrange the garden roses, spray roses and parrot tulips. For visual interest opening up the petals will create a large bloom head and help fill in any gaps within the arrangement. I like cut a few of the parrot tulips shorter so that their blooms are more visible to the eye and then arrange a few that drape away to create a bit of drama. These longer stem dutch tulips are prone to the “droop”, so plan for that and appreciate the shape and elegance that comes with this particular stem.
With prominence, place the ‘Fireworks’ allium, anthurium, and pincushion protea within the arrangement.
Layer in the godetia to help blend the color palette of the arrangement. The stark yellows and reds can be a little jarring, so the white and peach tones of the godetia are the perfect blend tool. The stems are still hearty, so they should be manageable to insert into the vase.
Skewer the lemons and wrap them with the green floral tape. place the lemons in prominent areas of the arrangement.
Finally, layer in the fresh lavender for a touch of whimsy and fragrance. The purple-hues of the lavender will pair beautifully with the ‘Fireworks’ allium as it continues to bloom in days.
Top off the vase with water and spritz the arrangement with water to hydrate.
