'A Ruffled Sensation' Florals
Special occasions should always be celebrated in floral style! That’s just my philosophy, but I imagine many of you share this ubiquitous sentiment. And for landmark birthdays, the florals have to be next level. This particular arrangement was inspired by the beautiful structure and shape of a fully opened peony. The original vision for the arrangement was to fill it to the brim with peonies. Unfortunately, because peonies aren’t in full season, I had to reimagine the elements. Many flowers share a similar shape to peonies and I knew with the right blend of insanely-ruffled florals, the results would surpass a full peony arrangement. Large raspberry-hydrangea petals, inverted rose petals, ranunculus and dimensional bicolor tulips provided the exact ruffled sensation I was going for. Delicate and bold anemones paired with cascading jasmine for finishing touches. One of the tricks to arranging larger foyer pieces is ensuring every viewing side is a good side and let me tell you… this beauty looked phenomenal on every front.
‘A RUFFLED SENSATION’ Florals
FLORALS + SUPPLIES
Large ceramic planter or vase, 12”H x 14”Diameter
Floral snips
Oasis floral foam, 2 bricks
Clear small ziploc bags
Rubberbands
9 stems of burgundy-raspberry hydrangea
5 stems of pink peonies
2 dozen stems of purple-white bicolor tulips
2 bunches of dark purple anemones
3 bunches of pink ranunculus
4 dozen mixed shades of pink roses
2 bunches orange-citrus spray roses
1 bunch of pink variegated spray roses
1 bunch of purple wax flower
1 bunch of jasmine vine
STEPS
Start with the ceramic planter/vase and plug any openings at the bottom using duct tape. Using the chicken wire, create a platform that sits about 2” below the lip of the planter. Secure the wire to the planter using clear floral tape. Then form the chicken wire into the organic shape you are looking to create.
Soak the floral foam and lay the bricks on top of the chicken wire platform. Cut the bricks to fit the shape of your wire. After the floral foam is in place, I bring the chicken wire together and wire together to create a cage around the foam. This will give your arrangement structure and strength.
Start with the more delicate tuber florals. This includes the ranunculus, anemones and tulips. Beginning with these stems will ensure that they will have access to water. Arrange the florals in the outline shape of the arrangement you are wanting to create. Plan to extend these florals further out than you would expect. The roses and hydrangea will fill in the holes, and you don’t want these delicate flowers to be lost within the arrangement. I arranged them in a 24-30” round shape, for scale.
Layer in the roses and spray roses to create dimension and blend the colors to preference. I like to invert the petals to create a larger bloom.
Layer in the wax flower to start to fill in any gaps. I keep these closer to the arrangement. They aren’t showstopper florals, but add a beautiful balance to the texture.
The next few floral elements are considered the showstopper pieces. Layer in the large hydrangea and peony florals. Because the stems may not be long enough to reach the floral foam, this is where we create our custom water tubes. Taking the ziploc bags and fill one corner with water. Cut the excess part of the bag off and insert the stem into the water. Using the rubber band, wrap until the stem is secure within the water bag. This provides plenty of water so the showstopper stems will have a long shelf life within the arrangement. Finally, take the jasmine vine and split into 3-4 different groupings. Using the same ziploc technique, create separate water bags for each bunch of jasmine. Jasmine tends to be very delicate and require a water source otherwise it will wilt quickly. Insert the jasmine into the arrangement where the draping creates the most impact and drama. The hydrated jasmine will continue to bloom and provide a sweet fragrance.
After the arrangement is complete, pour additional water over the floral foam to slightly rehydrate. Spritz the arrangement with water to hydrate the petals.
