Tropical Whites with Mocha Mousse
Clean, modern, and oh-so-chic—this floral design pairs tropical blooms in crisp whites with the rich, versatile tones of Mocha Mousse, Pantone's Color of the Year. It's a stunning study in contrast, texture, and trend-forward design—perfect inspiration for your next arrangement. In this how-to floral design video, Leanne combines tropical and temperate blooms to create a dramatic arrangement.
Video Transcription
The Pantone color of the year, Mocha Mousse, paired with Tropical White, a match made in heaven. Foam-free, even better. Let me show you how it's done.
The flowers, some of our favorites from Hawaii, Anthurium, Dendrobium orchids. Spectabilis, with it, it blooms out with these little white florets. I oftentimes remove them. Yes, more are going to bloom, but then the client gets to watch them bloom, and they'll be fresh at that point. Then some date palm. Isn't that beautiful? And lastly, a little bit of local foliage. This is burning bush. It's in the Euonymus family. The mechanics, a classic urn filled with floral netting, so it is foam-free, but yet I have support. Then all I need to do is add fresh water, pre-mixed with flower food.
I'm going to start by placing one of my strongest lines. It's a Japanese Maple stem, and just placing it in, thinking about how I want it to face, which direction? I think it actually goes best this way, then feeding it into the netting, making sure it's nice and secure, locking it down. Then once that is in place, I can go back with the Beehive Ginger, removing the florets and placing it to create an emphasis to the design, sliding it down low, finding the perfect hole and nestling it. Then coming up a little bit higher behind it, and then one more, even higher yet, right in between, finding the perfect hole, just kind of lifting, separating, pulling until I get all three nestled in there. Then I can go back and start adding the Anthurium, letting it come out to the side, creating additional lines. And then the Dendrobium, letting it come out to the opposite side.
You can enhance the emphasis with the burning bush Euonymus, but you want to be careful, because you don't want to fill in so much that you lose your negative space. So pruning it down, getting it a little more delicate, a bit more linear, and then setting it in so it adds yet more line to the design. You can come back with additional bits, possibly over to the other side, and tucking some down low to add fullness right at the base without adding bulk to the sides. Gives you that color. And come back with additional Anthurium, following the same lines, and additional of the orchids, pulling the eye around towards the back of the arrangement.
As you finish, look at the arrangement for depth. Does it pull the eye through? Mine needs one more Anthurium coming out a bit more towards the back to draw the eye through the arrangement. You can see I added a little bit of the burning bush, and then to draw the color down, tucking in the date palm draping over the front of the arrangement, extending the line downward from the Beehive Ginger, and repeat, and then turn it, look to see where else you might need to tuck in a little bit of burning bush or maybe another orchid?
The recipe, I started with the floral netting base, so it is foam-free, then added in the Japanese Maple Branch. Flowers, three of the fabulous Beehive Ginger, four of the Dendrobium Orchids, then four of the Date Palm trailing down the front, and then five of the beautiful white Anthurium. Lastly, just a bit of the burning bush Euonymus to finish it off.
Classic white paired with the color of the year, Mocha Mousse, fabulous. You'll find more inspiration on the website, FlowerSchool.com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there. But now it's your turn. Find your favorite white blooms, gather some Mocha Mousse, and create a way. Be sure to take a picture, post it on social media at #FloralDesignInstitute. That way, we all can see what you do as you do something you love.
