Autumn Dahlia Drama with Japanese Maple
Rich autumn color takes center stage! Dramatic dahlias, airy chocolate cosmos, vibrant Japanese maple, and clusters of hypericum come together in a lush floral design filled with movement, texture, and fabulous fall flair.
Video Transcription
Dahlias with their bent necks, the way that they grow on the stem, can be a design challenge. Using them in a pavé style, creating a tapestry is a perfect solution. Let me show you how it's done.
The base mechanics, using midnight floral foam. I cut it in half and then, using a large knife, cut it in half again so that I have that thin bit, then using anchor pins, securing it down into the dish. It's been pre-soaked with flower food and it's ready to add the beautiful dahlias.
To start covering some of the mechanics with a base layer and this soft lighter hued yarrow will be so good to just cover some of the mechanics. Tucking it down low, giving a resting point for the eye. Then I can go back with those intense vibrant dahlias. And one of the things about this particular design is it takes into account their placement of their heads. You can see how they go on a horizontal level. So I can go ahead and just place them horizontally, getting that nice base. You can see the contrast. Repeating. Maybe a little bit shorter and overlapping just slightly. Then coming back with the vibrant purple and continuing placing a carpet of dahlias for a little bit of contrast, the intensity of Hypericum. Removing their leaves so that I just get those beautiful berries add a little bit different shape, color, and texture.
As I continue, I want to add to the carpet of flowers coming all the way around. So continuing with a few more dahlias, tucking it down low. Again, layering just a bit so that they're not at the exact same level. One more of the orange, pulling it through and adding in more yarrow, adding that brightness, the texture that sets everything else off. Then coming back once more with a bit more Hypericum to draw that deep, deep hue all the way front to back. To add a bit of softness, more autumn color, and dynamic line, using some Japanese maple and just pruning it out, determining which piece looks the best. Maybe cutting it from here, giving it a little bit of a whittle, and then bringing it in, letting it be a little taller, drawing the eye through, adding a few more pieces, coming out to the sides, and drawing your eye from right to left. We'll add a few more in there. And then, lastly, some soft chocolate cosmos. Letting them come up tall over the top, dancing, drawing the eye upward. Some a little bit lower to draw the eye in, but still keeping them taller, adding that movement and delicate touch to your finished arrangement.
The recipe, I used five of the beautiful Dahlias, just four of the Chocolate Cosmos, one stem of the Japanese Maple that I cut apart, seven stems of Hypericum, and five stems of the Yarrow. Together, a wonderful autumn tapestry.
The fiery, intense colors of autumn, it's like a candy store for the floral designer. So many beautiful blooms in this design, using those intense hues. But autumn comes in so many colors. You'll find more creative inspiration on the website, flowerschool.com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there. But now it's your turn. Gather up flowers, create a beautiful arrangement, be sure to take a picture, post it on social media, and #FloralDesignInstitute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.
