Golden Willow Design
In this Flower School How-To Video, Leanne creates an organic armature of golden willow and wire providing the perfect base for vibrant zinnias and sunflowers. Designed in a glass vase, this foam-free arrangement is full of movement, texture, and summer charm.
Video Transcription
Golden Willow, beautiful yellow flowers. What could be better for a sunny summer day? Let me show you how it's done.
The materials, starting with a fabulous oblong vessel, and then using an armature, combination of curly willow and golden wire gives you a little bit of glitter and a bit of a look like a root. Just putting it in and then winding it across, tucking it, and then to secure it in place using clear, waterproof tape. Just hook it on one end, pull it across. Then as you cut it, go ahead and do a cross bar on each end. That'll make sure that it doesn't let go. Pulling off that extra end and giving this a tuck so you have that courtesy tab for later. Then you're ready. Go ahead and add water. Pre-mix with flower food, and you're ready for flowers.
The base, a wonderful new boxwood. Look at that variegation with the yellow. Is that not fabulous? So beautiful, brings in that golden look before we even add flowers. Just tucking it in, giving it a break, stripping lower foliage, and then placing it in, repeating, and you can see how the stems just fit right into that willow. The armature works so great. Then adding an emphasis area, using the beautiful light yellow sunflowers, tucking them down low, getting a little bit of color nestled in, and then repeating so that I get a nice shadowed base to anchor your eyes in the design. The zinnias, they add that little bit of butter yellow to bring your eye up just a tiny bit more, tucking it in, finding the perfect spot, and placing them as they would grow gives a very natural look. And repeating as you go along, marching across from one side to the other.
To finish, adding in a little bit of texture, sticking with local grown, some beautiful cottage yarrow. Cutting it short, letting it come down right to the base. Adding that soft touch of texture. The hypericum, the berries are so grand, and it blooms out, little tiny flowers. Letting that come in. Adding just a little bit more interest, not overpowering the flowers, but adding some contrast to make it all fit together, and repeating from side to side and front to back.
The recipe, I started with curly willow and aluminum wire. I used about three stems of the willow cut apart and approximately ten feet of the aluminum wire. Then I enhanced it with a beautiful Variegated Boxwood, two Sunflowers, ten Zinnias, five of the textural Cottage Yarrow, and three of the local grown Hypericum. Together, a beautiful golden design.
Sunshine, summertime, golden yellow. You're going to find more creative inspiration in every color of the summer on our website, flowerschool.com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there. But now it's your turn. What are you going to create? Design an armature. Gather your favorite blooms. When you finish, take a picture and post it on social media. Be sure to #FloralDesignInstitute so we all can see what you do as you do something you love.
