Chic Summer Vase

Summer is such a wonderful season for floral designers. The flower markets and gardens are filled with an abundance of flowers and foliages making each day an exciting exploration of flowers. In this video demonstration Leanne shares the techniques for creating a vase design. This is the type of design that you can make day-in-and-day-out with almost any type of flowers. Enjoy!

Welcome to the FlowerSchool.com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute, and today I'm here to share with you a summer vase. It's such a fabulous time of the year to be a florist because we have so many grand things available to us. I think summer has got to be my favorite floral season of the year. 


The vessel, a fun footed compote filled with water and flower food. Then I went gathering, delphinium, allium, lisianthus, hydrangea, garden roses, foliages. So many things that I love to work with, all for this vessel. Working in plain water will maximize the life of the flowers. Yes, there's flower food, but no foam, no armature, just lots and lots of water. And your mechanics become natural mechanics from your foliages and flowers. 


So putting in some ruscus, angling it around so that it radiates and starts creating a weave. But the greatest structural stability will come from the hydrangea, cutting them short, removing any damaged foliage, and then setting it down into the vase. It just sets right on the lip, and that becomes almost an armature, but it's a flower base that will support everything else. I'm going to use three stems of hydrangea, creating a nice triangle around the base. And then coming back and enhancing with more foliage, ruscus, fatsia, and lamb's ear, one of my favorites. 


Once you've established a strong floral nest, you can go back and add all your flowers and trust that they'll stay in place. The garden roses, thinking about their length, giving it a cut, sliding it in. It actually weaves right through the hydrangea, stays put. Maybe another, coming down a little lower, bringing some around to the back. Bringing in the delphinium, so soft, so fabulous, beautiful blue color. Giving it a cut, thinking about the bud. Sometimes it's better to do the bud separately, sometimes you can do it together, sort of just depends on where it fits. I think this one I can leave together, angling it out. This one I can't, it will be too tall so I cut that down. Save it, because the bud's wonderful. Remove the lower florettes and feeding it in. And then coming back with the buds, adding those in. You can even use just buds, they're as beautiful as the flowers sometimes. And then going back and finish it all the way around, with more roses and more delphinium. 


I saved the things with delicate, thin stems or very, very strong, thin stems for last because they're easy to wedge down into whatever little places are left. So maybe a bit of the lisianthus, nice and strong. Giving it a cut, coming out to the side, feeding it down in. The allium picks up the color of the hydrangea that's nested down low, pulling it up towards the center, bring that color upwards. And then continue filling in, adding beauty one bloom at a time. 


Once the bouquet is finished, I always like to go back and add a little bit of movement, a little bit of texture. Maybe some lily grass, so graceful. And you can soften it by using the back of your knife, curling it a little bit. Then lining it up, give it a cut, and sliding it down into the vessel. Maybe a little bit of misty, it just adds that little soft touch. It's not big and bold, but it adds texture and interest. It makes the whole design fabulous. 


This is the type of design that you can do day in and day out, with most any flower you desire. It all radiates in nicely, central binding point. It's all sided so that it can sit anywhere and it's long lasting, how fabulous. 


For more creative inspiration check out the website, Flower School .com. The website contains hundreds of floral design how-to videos, floral design classes, online floral classes and DIY Flowers. 


If you have questions you can reach us through there or pick up the telephone and give us a call at 503-223-8089. And of course, I'd love to see what you create. Take a picture, post it on social media and tag #FloralDesignInstitute so we all can see. It's your turn, have fun and do something you love.

  • Fresh Flower Food Individual Pack 10 ounce tub
    Fresh Flower Food Individual Pack 10 ounce tub
  • Quick Dip Individual Pack One Pint
    Quick Dip Individual Pack One Pint
  • Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle
    Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle