Winter Whites

White is the color that can brighten the grey and dreary days of winter. In this Flower School Video How-To demonstration Leanne creates a lovely natural weave vase arrangement without floral foam, chicken wire or any other armature. The basic form is constructed of white hydrangea and assorted foliages. White carnations, mini-carnations, Monte Casino and spray roses. Dried and bleached oak leaves and Italian Ruscus completes the look. Enjoy!

Video Transcription 


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 fun design. I'm calling it winter whites. I know, you're not supposed to do white after Labor Day, but for florists, winter whites are fabulous. 


The vessel, wonderful ivory white, filled with fresh water, already mixed with flower food. The mechanics, all going to be natural. No foam, no netting, just a grid of foliages and hydrangea, and then mixing in other white blossoms. 


The design will be all the way around with a central binding point. Everything will weave together. As long as you place everything in with the central binding point, it'll be sturdy and hold well. I can do hydrangea, giving it a cut and then dipping it in alum to give it that little extra boost to make sure it holds well. Alum, we have it online. You may be able to find it at your grocery store in the pickling department, because it is used for making pickles. So again, it's just to give it a cut, dip it in the alum, place it in the vessel and repeat that with the foliages as well. Salal is perfect, long lasting. Breaking it down, giving it a cut sliding through from one side across that binding point to the other, maybe a little bit of aspidistra, helping to break the line of the container and a little bit of Italian ruscus, because I like to do three different foliages when I'm working in a vase. 


With the base we've established, it's easy to go back and add in additional blooms and they'll stay in place. Beautiful white carnations, some white mini carnations. So both the full size and the smaller. Soft white spray roses, just weaving in. Again, following a central binding point. Some monte casino and repeat. Remember to bring some to the bottom, some to the mid and some to the top. 


To update the design by adding in the on trend dried and preserved materials, also will enhance with a little more texture. Some preserved ruscus, giving it a cut, sliding it in, letting it come out a bit, so it shouts over the top. Repeating that, bringing it around. A few of the preserved oak leaves, I've wired and taped them so that they have a nice stem. Just sliding it down in. With the wire it's nice, because you can bend it a little bit, and it helped break the line of the container. Then continue, making sure that you have it all the way around to fill in. 


The recipe for this design, I started with the foliages. Italian ruscus, salal, aspidistra, six stems of each. Then I continued on with the sixes, six hydrangea, six carnation, six miniature carnation, six monte casino, six spray rose. Then lastly, six bits of the Italian ruscus preserved and six bits of the preserved oak leaves. So everything's in sixes. 


Breaking the rules of no white after Labor Day, is grand fun. And winter white, such a fabulous thing to work with. For more creative inspiration, check out the website at Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there or pick up the telephone and give us a call at (503) 223-8089. Now it's your turn. What are you going to create? Gather your favorite white blossoms, create, be sure to take a picture, post it on social media and hashtag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do, as you 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
  • Alum for Hydrangeas Individual Pack 3 ounce bottle
    Alum for Hydrangeas Individual Pack 3 ounce bottle