How to Design Fresh Flowers - the basics

Flowers are beautiful. Flowers make people happy. Flowers are a positive in an often scary world. Many yearn to know how to design and work with flowers and natural materials. It is a skill and a talent, but it is a talent that can be learned by starting with the basic design skills. Once the basic design skills are learned, design embellishments can be learned. Knowing where to start was my biggest obstacle when learning floral design. I was taught by a professional florist with her own exclusive shop. I remember her telling me to make a design, anything I wanted to design. I stood at the floral cooler thinking where do I start? Being able to choose materials to work with comes with experience. The more one makes those decisions, the more one becomes comfortable with making selections and the choices become second nature. To learn to select materials, one might consider these points:

• What colors do I need to work with?

• What textures do the flowers have?

• Do I need tall or short flowers?

• Will this be centerpiece or a one-sided design?

• For what occasion am I designing?

• Do I need everyday flowers, such as carnations and daisies, do I need roses, or do I need tropical flowers?

• Do my flower choices all last about the same?

Your flower selections do need to be addressed by points such as these. Your choices will automatically be narrowed by answering these questions. Many times I let colors guide me. Colors of fresh flowers are vivid and many. If you are uncertain about what colors go together, consult a color guide for flowers such as this one Quick and Easy Flower Design: More Than 125 Color-Based Recipes for Everyday BouquetsPinks, purples, yellows, reds, whites, orange... color is one of the features that makes floral design exciting. When I see combinations of flower colors put together I get excited! Color, textures, size, types of flowers, what am I designing, and the lasting ability of each flower, once again are all points to consider. Don't be afraid to experiment. Just pick up and start doing. The more you practice, the more you learn. Each and every design time gives you knowledge and is a valuable learning experience.