Autumn Textural Centerpiece
They say opposites attract, and in this case it's very true! We no longer have to stay seasonal or geographical when selecting flowers to combine in an arrangement. In this Flower School How-To Video Leanne shows you how to effortlessly combine rustic autumn blooms with tropicals -- a pair of fabulous orchid stems -- with an elegant elevated container made watertight with Flex Seal to pull it all together. Enjoy!
Video Transcription
Exotic and luxurious orchids paired with rustic autumn flowers, elevated for creative style. Let me show you how it's done.
Flowers, just a few things, some pieris, one of my favorite foliage. Then some gomphrena, strawflowers, celosia, and even a few orchids. The container, a wonderful vessel but was not watertight, so I sealed the inside using Flex Seal. If you missed that Tulip Tuesday tip, you can find it on the playlist. Then going foam-free by taking floral netting, setting it down in, wedging it tightly so it'll stay in place. And then adding water pre-mixed with flower food.
Starting with the base layer, the pieris will fill in so well, just breaking it or cutting it, removing foliage that would be below the water line, then letting it tuck down in, breaking the line of the container. Draping forward and back because I'm going to do a two-sided arrangement. Tucking and evenly balancing side to side, front to back. And then to get a little contrast, coming in with some ruscus in the darker green just to show off the beautiful yellowish of the pieris.
Now tucking in the beautiful colored blooms, celosia, commonly called brain plant or cockscomb, cutting it short and then tucking it down low. It’s so heavy and bold, and it has such vibrant color. Then drawing your eye through and across so that you come out the opposite side. You're creating a horizontal line through the design, just zigzagging from one side to the other, keeping it balanced. Then coming back, with the strawflower, it's a little bit more delicate. Tucking it in, can group some, then again, carrying the eye from one side to the other, creating that horizontal movement. Then the gomphrena. You can group them. Their stems are so tiny. Tucking it in, adding that little burst of color, and repeat.
You could stop here with the textural tapestry. It really just shouts out autumn and invites you to touch it. But being a flower lover, got to add one more thing, the beautiful draping orchids. The phalaenopsis are very long-lasting, and the brighter hue will just go right over the top, draping, creating beautiful emphasis, bringing a second one in so it comes to the opposite side, pulling the eye front to back.
For the recipe, I worked in bunches today. One bunch of Israeli ruscus, one bunch of pieris, one bunch of cockscomb, one bunch of the strawflower, and one bunch of the gomphrena, and then just two stems of the phalaenopsis orchids for a beautiful, long-lasting centerpiece.
The contrast between rustic and exotic is a dramatic, interesting way to design. If you want more creative inspiration and floral education, check out the website, Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there. But now it's your turn. Find dramatically contrasting arrangement pieces. Combine them, create your own personal style, then take a picture, post it on social media, and hash tag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.
