Tall Compote Centerpiece

The tall footed compote is very on trend for weddings and events. In this video Leanne creates a lavish arrangement using fabulous flowers from Florabundance.com. As Leanne demonstrates the design she presents an informative lesson in the application of the elements and principles of floral design. You will love the finished design. Enjoy!

Welcome to the Flower School.com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute, and today, I'm here to share with you a classic compote. They're so on-trend and perfect for today's weddings. 


As I gathered materials for this video I sourced everything through Florabundance.com. I love their website. You can sort it by season, by color, by variety, and then just scroll through and see everything and pick exactly what you want. Of course, I had to have roses. I started with garden roses, Yves Piaget, added some standard blueberry, some beautiful tiny spray roses, little guys. They are so grand. It's called eloquence, that soft lavender color. Then I was going on and I stumbled upon this foliage that I just loved. Look at that color, it's kind of that gray. I thought, "What is that? I like that." It's acacia. I knew it as the little yellow blooms. So you maybe have seen that, and there was just a little tiny bit on it that had that yellow bloom, but it was coming as just foliage. Has a little softness to it. Super wonderful. 


Then a little bit of the Delphinium, some viburnum, and ranunculus, oh my gosh are these just the best thing ever. Look at that variegation. It's an imported ranunculus, so it's available much of the year. Super fab. And then Scabiosa. This is another one that the color made me think of Ultra Violet, the Pantone color of the year. It's a little more intense, a little more burgundy, but it picks up that hue and brings it to this fabulous color palette. 


If you follow social media, Instagram, Pinterest, you know anything with a foot, that compote style, is on trend. This one, with the exaggerated height, one of my favorites. Then mechanics, you can do floral netting, but as a commercial florist with delivery and stability and all, it can be advantageous to use foam sometimes. You can do it either way but for this time, I'm going to head in soaked floral foam, anchored in place with waterproof tape. It's already been treated with flower food, and that way I'm ready to design. 


No matter what style you create, you always want to start with your elements and principles. So my first step is the lines in the design, and I had this beautiful curvature of the Delphinium. So I give it a cut, maybe even twice so that I get a nice arrow head, so it won't spin. And then placing it in at a diagonal. Make sure I get it down into the water reservoir. Be a little bit more angled. There we go. And then continuing that line across to the other side, using the acacia foliage, cleaning it up, giving it a cut, and then dropping it so that it comes downward. And everything's working into a binding point. My binding point will be right in here. And coming around and repeating the lines so that I get that sweeping movement to begin the design. 


When you place lines, repeating them makes them more important. So adding another Delphinium brings the color and also reinforces. Then I want to think about the focal point, the emphasis area, the accent right in here. And that's when I'm going to use the Yves Piaget roses, because they're so full and lush. Picking off any broken petals. Giving it a cut. And then placing it so that I break the line of the container. Get down into the water reservoir. And then repeat that shadowed behind, to add even more importance to the focal point. 


Now this may sound over simplified but once you have your lines and your focal emphasis, it really is just fill in, add contrast, finish out the form, make sure you have unity. So, start by bringing in another of the Yves Piaget, and drawing your eye towards the back. So I have everything into the front, but I don't want it to be naked back here. So pulling the color through and coming in with the blueberry rose. Letting it come out a little further. Down into the foam, deeply to the water reservoir. And grouping another with it. Coming out on the opposite side. And bringing in the eloquence. It's a lighter, more delicate color, and also smaller head. So letting it be a little bit taller. And you can see I'm building upon the triangle, keeping everything going to the binding point, keeping everything grouped a bit so that it creates a casual vibe. A little more contemporary look. And then thinking about front to back and side to side. 


To finish, adding in a little more drama, the Scabiosa. I can't wait to bring those in here. Using the buds first, maybe bringing it up a little bit on this side. Almost creating a framing. And a second bud. Then of course I want the bloom as well, but using it shorter because it's so dark and heavy. If it's too long, it'll just come out of the design. The ranunculus. Tucking it in, keeping it centered, because it's so grand. And then the viburnum, to get a little more texture, a little more natural look. Letting it come out. And then repeating with additional materials until everything's filled in and fabulous. 


Looking at it you'll see where there's some gaps, you'll see where you need to enhance balance. You need a little more right in the center to add some depth. Maybe a blueberry rose tucked down in there, below the eloquence. To add a little more depth to the design. So some things go high and over, some things tuck low. Bringing in a little bit more of the Scabiosa so that that depth of color comes in. And grouping. Adding foliage. Making sure that your mechanics are all concealed. A little more of the acacia, bringing it round to the back. Filling in this side. Maybe a little bit right here, to carry the color across. Thinking about buds, viburnum, more berries. Making sure the back is as beautiful as the front. A little bit more of the Delphinium, bringing the buds up towards the back. And then turning at it, looking from the front, from the sides, and the back. 


When I create designs like this in a compote, it makes me think of going to the art museum, looking at the paintings of the old masters. It was so easy with using the florabundance.com flowers because I could go on and see the colors, see the flowers, and choose exactly what I wanted. And as I created, you can see how the depth goes front to back. Everything's covered. And then I filled in the back a bit too, so that no matter where you look it is beautiful. Coming out to the sides again and then back around to the front, maintaining the elements and principles. The form, the line, the focal emphasis, the unity, everything that you learn in flower school. 


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 by telephone at 503-223-8089. And of course I'd love to see what you create. Take a photo and send it to my personal email, or better yet, post it on social media and tag #FloralDesignInstitute so we all can see. 


For now 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
  • Standard Floral Foam Pack of Four Bricks
    Standard Floral Foam Pack of Four Bricks
  • Waterproof Tape Single Roll 1/4 Inch Wide (Green)
    Waterproof Tape Single Roll 1/4 Inch Wide (Green)