Orchid Arrangement with a Kenzan
Treat yourself to a moment of flower therapy! Transform your busy life with the elegance of a phalaenopsis orchid design. With just a few materials, a kenzan, and color-enhanced foliage, Leanne shares a fabulous design that emphasizes line. Bonus: see how shadowing enhances a design.
Video Transcription
With the busy chaos of life, designing with minimal materials can be so therapeutic. Let's have a little flower therapy together with Phalaenopsis Orchids.
The vessel, a slate tray from my collection. It has a Kenzan already fastened down into the bottom, so all I need to do is add fresh water mixed with flower food. The main flower that I'll be working with, one of my favorites, the Phalaenopsis Orchid, which gives you beautiful line, gorgeous form in the bloom, and definitely makes a statement.
As you place your orchids, take a look at their faces. They always have one face that looks a little better than another. Angle them so that that shows well. And then, place it in, making sure it gets down into the teeth of the Kenzan to stay strong, and then repeat that with the second stem shadowing it, so a little lower and a little behind, and looking beautiful, doubling the impact of the orchids.
With the lines in place, you need simply to enhance the emphasis and add a little bit of contrast. A large Monstera leaf would be wonderful. This one I color enhanced. You'll see the directions for that on the YouTube channel. Just look up the color-enhanced foliage on the Tulip Tuesdays, and you'll see that. So taking the green leaf, enhancing, giving it a cut because I want it right down at the bottom, and then tucking it in, fastening it into the Kenzan well. Then enhancing with a bit of texture using Echinops, cutting it down, nice and short, removing the foliage, and then nestling it at the base.
As a final touch to draw the eye from one side to the other and balance, taking a single stem and tucking it just to the back, drawing the eye through.
The recipe, starting with two stems of Phalaenopsis Orchids, then one Monstera Leaf, three Echinops Globes, just at the base, and then this single stem of Statice to balance.
Designing with minimal materials can be a bit of flower therapy, a meditation. You'll find more creative inspiration, some with minimal, some with lots, on the website, FlowerSchool.com. If you have questions, you can reach us there. But now it's your turn. Find some fabulous orchids, create a design, 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.
