Orange Flower Trio

Video Transcription

In the flower world today, mix and match. It's on trend. Unity, important. Scale, texture, all of that. In this video, we'll show you how to do a trio that mixes and matches on trend today.

For the trio, three beautiful vessels, alternating sizes, all the same gorgeous orange. Filled with fresh water, mixed with flower food. That's it. No further mechanics. The armature is simply made of lily grass to support all the flowers.

As you begin, take your lily grass and line it up in your hand. Maybe you want to give it a little bit of a pull to make sure it curls nicely. Then bringing it back, looping it on itself. Just repeating that loop and tucking it into your fingers. You can leave some loose if you want to, letting them trail, pulling others in. Then repeat that by adding more grass into your hand. Again, thinking about their facing, lining it up, pulling it in. And then double check for symmetry. Turn it around in your hand, make sure everything's looping the way you want it to. Maybe adding another loop over here. A loose strand coming out. Maybe one more loop. Then when it's as full as you would like, take a bit of bind wire, clasping it together, securing it in place, giving it a twist. Then cutting the ends, until they're all about the same. Then you can set it right down into the vessel. If you want it to be fuller, go ahead and make a couple more. You can group them together, giving a little more fullness and adjusting until it's just the way you want it.

I start by adding a bit of depth, doing things shorter, down low to draw the eye inward, feeding it through the armature. You see how it adds color and depth where it peaks through the loops of grass? I'm doing that on all three pieces so that there is coordination between the trio. Tucking it low. Repeating, and coming back with different blooms. So yellow carnations and then the green dianthus, also in the carnation family. Having it pick through. And repeating. And continue on till you have a nice base to support all your blooms.

Now the fun begins. Find anything you love. Some orange snapdragons, so beautiful. Feeding them in. And now sometimes we don't do the exact same thing in each design. Taller snapdragons here wouldn't be as pretty. Repeating it on this one, angling it in, making sure it's down into the water well. Maybe bringing in a Gerbera daisy. Letting it be a little bit taller. And then repeating that. Maybe not quite so tall, adjusting. A little bit of Craspedia. Letting it be tall as well. And beautiful Alstroemeria. Picking up the orange and yellow combining. Adding a little bit of height, finding the perfect hole within the armature to weave it in. And repeating. And then fill in, repeating the blooms, coordinating, adding unity from design to design until you just love it.

As a final touch, adding a bit of texture through grasses. There's lots of different types. This is a type of quaking grass. Some people call it rattlesnake grass. But cutting it and letting it come in over the top. Repeating. Then quaking grass comes in different varieties. This is the standard that I'm used to seeing. This is another variety, quite a bit smaller and more delicate, little bit more brown into the color, but isn't that beautiful? To go ahead and add into this one. It's a little taller. Finding the hole and feeding it in. And repeating that. Adding it onto this side. You can see the texture, the color, everything just comes to life with a little more excitement.

The recipe. I started with five bunches of lily grass. Yes, five full brunches to build the armatures. Then I mix and match throughout. I have five snapdragons, seven Alstroemeria, 10 of the carnation, 10 of the Dianthus, three of the miniature hydrangeas, 12 of the Craspedia, two of the Gerbera daisies, and then two different types of the quaking grass. Altogether, three fabulous arrangements. The orange trio.

When you're working in retail, it can be a challenge to determine budgets to fill your flower cooler. If you work in a trio, if they're on a tight budget, they buy just one. If they've got a little more money, maybe doing a duo. If they want to spend more, sell them the entire trio. But this way, you can meet the needs at any price point. For more creative inspiration and education, check out the website, flowerschool.com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there. But now it's your turn. Find three coordinating vessels, all your favorite flowers and create a trio. 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.