The Flower Book Read online

  THE FLOWERBOOK

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  THE FLOWERBOOK

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  Contents

  Preface 6

  Designing with Flowers 8

  Winter & Early Spring 28

  Late Spring & Early Summer 80

  Late Summer & Fal 142

  Tropicals 204

  Index & Acknowledgments 220

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  Foreword

  I consider myself one of the lucky few who get to stage, showing how they help me to create all of my do what they love for a living. Arranging the flowers arrangements. I have also included more specific notes I have worked so hard to grow is, for me, the ultimate on the principles of arranging front-facing displays expression of creativity. In this book I want to share and centerpieces, as well as il ustrated, step-by-step with you how I create my natural-style arrangements.

  instructions on how to create a hand-tied bouquet.

  I chanced upon this career after some years of working in horticulture. My last job brought me to a wal ed kitchen garden where I was employed to grow produce, including flowers, for the big house. I was able I like to create arrangements

  to grow and forage whatever I liked in order to create with plenty of space for

  arrangements inspired by this quintessential y English pol inators to wing their way

  location. After six years of experimentation and learning, I took the leap and set up my own flower between the stems.

  farm, Green and Gorgeous, in the Oxfordshire countryside. At the farm, we offer a local, seasonal, and natural alternative to more commercial suppliers. I have no formal training and do not claim to be a florist.

  The main section of the book has sixty profiles of my My style is intuitive and soulful, guided by how plants favorite cut flowers divided into chapters by season.

  grow and interact with each other in the garden and in Each profile contains information on why the bloom nature. This leads to arrangements that are airy and makes a good cut flower, how it is best displayed, and abundant, with plenty of space for pol inators to wing what to look for when buying or harvesting stems.

  their way between the stems. I consider my work to be Accompanying half of the profiles are step-by-step an expression of my love for flowers.

  arrangement recipes that il ustrate one of the ways The opening chapter of this book works through in which I feel these flowers are best displayed.

  my arrangement process step by step. I start with the I hope you enjoy this book, and that it inspires you to container, considering the size, shape, and material.

  seek out and arrange seasonal flowers, perhaps local y, The next stage is selecting my palette of flowers and or even to grow some in your own garden.

  foliage. I always work with what is in season as this helps to narrow down the overwhelming range that is available. What is more, this practice provides immediate examples of natural combinations as flowers that are in season at the same time tend to look more at ease with each other.

  I break down the arrangement process itself into three stages, which I refer to as the three “F”s: “foliage,”

  “focal flowers,” and “final flourish.” I will expand on each Rachel Siegfried

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  DESIGNING

  WITH FLOWERS

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  DESIGNING

  WITH FLOWERS

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  10 Designing with Flowers

  MUGS & PITCHERS

  Choose a

  I love the simplicity of glazed ceramic mugs or pitchers.

  They come in an endless variety of shapes and colors, and their domestic nature works well with a straightforward bunch of one type of flower, al owing you to create an easy, affordable centerpiece.

  Container

  For me, every arrangement starts with the

  container, so this should be your first

  consideration. Think about what mood or style you want to evoke, and the flowers that may be available to you. Here are examples of different types of containers and what types of flowers work well in them. Remember, anything can be a container as long as it can be made watertight.

  FOOTED CONTAINERS

  Urns and footed bowls are wonderful

  shapes for natural-style floristry. They

  lift up the arrangement so that the

  foliage and flowers have space to

  trail and arch—bringing movement

  and providing a sense of

  natural growth.

  MULTIPLE CONTAINERS

  Clusters of small containers with just a few stems each are a good way of displaying different varieties or colors of a flower. They are also an effective way of spreading color and texture across a large surface area—such as down the center of a long table.

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  Choose a Container 11

  LARGE-SCALE CONTAINERS

  TALL, NARROW CONTAINERS

  An enamel bucket is the perfect example of a large-scale The cylindrical shape of this giant jar

  container. This shape demands a bold approach, so use beautiful y displays tal , spire-shaped

  large-headed flowers and plenty of branching foliage to flowers. It has a narrower rim that

  ensure that the design is in proportion to the container.

  al ows the flowers to fan out,

  giving them space and

  creating a pleasing

  overall outline.

  FAN VASES

  My favorite shape of container, the fan vase has a formality that I like to contrast with wild, unruly compositions. Its wide, open shape can hold lush, abundant arrangements with plenty of variety in flowers and foliage.

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  12 Designing with Flowers

  Choose Your

  Flowers

  Look for variety and contrast

  in texture—such as spiky

  The range of flowers in a florist or at a flower thistles next to silky petals.

  farm can be overwhelming, and you may not

  know where to begin. Follow these steps to

  ensure that you achieve a good balance of

  shapes, textures, and colors when selecting flowers for your arrangement. When

  considering individual flowers, hold them up The hornbeam will

  to the materials you have already selected to act as the woody,

  framework foliage.

  judge which will work together. I get a

  “buzz” when I find a good combination.

  I begin by considering

  shape and form before

  selecting color.

  1CHOOSE YOUR PRIMARY

  FOCAL FLOWER

  These are the flowers that will take center stage in your design—they are normal y eye-catching in color, shape, or size, such as dahlias, sunflowers, or tulips. Also consider the container that you have chosen. Large, globe-shaped flowers work well in low, wide containers where they have plenty of elbow room, while a container with a dark, metal ic finish can make bright, vibrant colors real y stand out. Choosing a focal flower can be very This
apricot-colored waterlily dahlia

  simple—just go for one that you real y like.

  acts as the primary focal flower.

  It is big enough and showy enough to

  demand center stage in an arrangement.

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  Choose Your Flowers 13

  3ADD A FINAL FLOURISH

  Choose the final flourish flowers next as they will relate to your focal flowers. These wispy, more delicate flowers will often have small heads and wiry stems, adding direction and movement to the composition. Good examples are small The zinnia will be a

  daisy shapes, grasses, or umbel-shaped flowers. I often select harmonizing focal

  these to pick up a color in the focal flowers, creating a Red-leaved rose acts

  flower, matching

  connection across the arrangement.

  as decorative

  the dahlia in color

  foliage, providing

  and shape, but

  a contrast in color.

  smaller in size.

  The chocolate cosmos will be a final

  flourish. Its deep burgundy petals pick up the color of the freckles inside the bel s of the foxglove.

  4CHOOSE FOLIAGE

  To create an abundant, lush

  arrangement, plenty of foliage is

  important. I usual y aim for three different types, which al ows for a good variation in texture. First select the woody framework

  foliage, which consist of longer branches,

  such as hornbeam or hawthorn, that will

  dictate the size and shape of the finished

  design. Then look for filler foliage, which is used to add volume to the arrangement.

  This will have shorter stems with plenty

  of branching side shoots, for example

  eucalyptus or honeysuckle. The final

  choice is a decorative foliage, which

  will have a contrasting shape or color,

  or something to add movement to the

  arrangement; good examples are red-

  leaved rose, jasmine, and other climbers.

  The foxglove will be

  a contrasting focal

  flower. It varies in

  both form and color

  with the dahlia.

  2COMBINE FOCAL FLOWERS

  Once you have your first focal flower, you need to select a couple of other secondary focals.

  These can either harmonize or contrast with your primary focal flower in shape, color, and texture.

  They must not upstage your number-one choice, Now move on to Create Support

  but act in a supporting and enhancing role.

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  14 Designing with Flowers

  Create Support

  The first step of the arrangement process is to prepare the container for the flowers. Most containers need some work behind the scenes to help anchor the stems and ensure a loose, natural-looking arrangement. For most of my arrangements, I create a cage by making a ball out of chicken wire and placing it inside the container. This provides a mesh surface for the stems to be threaded onto.

  The chicken-wire support

  al ows you to create

  “airy abundance”—ful

  arrangements with space

  between the stems.

  1CONSTRUCT A

  CHICKEN-WIRE BALL

  Create a chicken-wire ball that resembles

  a concertina, with multiple layers of wire for the stems to rest on. Don’t make the ball too open, as it will struggle to support the stems, or too tight, as you may be unable to fit the stems through the gaps in the wire.

  Chicken wire can be

  found online or in good

  hardware stores.

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  Create Support 15

  OTHER SUPPORTS

  TAPE LATTICE

  FLORAL FOAM

  Chicken wire doesn’t work in glass

  When a pin holder isn’t big enough to

  containers as it will be visible from

  support large-stemmed flowers in an

  the outside. In situations where you

  arrangement, I use a small amount

  need to construct support, create a

  of floral foam in the bottom of the

  lattice of clear tape over the top of

  container to mimic the a floral pin

  the container. To do this, stick two

  holder's effect. The foam is fixed in

  or more paral el lines of tape across

  place by being pushed onto a pin holder, the container's opening and another

  which is itself tacked to the bottom of two or more paral el lines of tape

  the container. However, I use floral

  perpendicular to the first set.

  foam only when absolutely necessary as

  it can cause flowers to wilt more quickly and it is not environmental y friendly.

  Floral pin holders can be used

  on their own or as a secondary

  form of support for arrangements

  with a chicken-wire bal . The

  base of the flower stems are

  pushed onto the pins.

  2PLACE FLORAL PIN HOLDERS

  For some arrangements, chicken wire alone is not sufficient to support the flowers—particularly if you are using heavy, berried 3PLACE THE CHICKEN-WIRE BALL

  Ensure that the ball of chicken wire is sitting flush with the rim of the container. Place a cross of tape over the top of branches. For extra support, put a metal pin holder into the bottom the container to secure the ball in place. The container is fil ed of the container, fixing it in place using floral tack.

  with water at this point.

  Now move on to Position the Foliage

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  16 Designing with Flowers

  Position the

  Foliage

  The first stage of the arranging itself is

  2ADD THE FILLER FOLIAGE

  Fill the space between the woody framework

  the foliage. The foliage is as important as the branches with shorter stems. Their purpose is flowers in achieving a natural floral style.

  to create cover and volume in the main body of the arrangement, connecting it with the container and It acts as the foundation of the arrangement, providing a backdrop for the focal flowers.

  outlining its shape and creating a neutral and supportive background for the flowers, as wel as connecting them to the container. The

  leaves add variety and texture, and, of

  course, beauty in their own right.

  1CREATE THE FRAMEWORK

  Start with the framework foliage—these are the longest, sturdiest branches that will outline the highest and widest points of the composition. Take your time to position these as this initial structure will be the guide for the rest of the arrangement. For wide arrangements, form a rough triangle shape by taking three woody branches and positioning two horizontal y and one vertical y. For dome-shaped

  arrangements, create a rounder, more

  symmetrical framework.

  Hornbeam is my favorite

  framework foliage. It can

  be used from spring through to

  fal , it has beautiful pleated

  leaves, and it’s a good fresh green.

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  Position the Foliage 17

  3ADD A DECORATIVE TOUCH

  Keep the length of your decorative foliage stems fairly Eucalyptus acts as

  long, and let them sit in the container in the direction a filler foliage with its

  smooth, rounded leaves

  they would natural y grow, al owing them to arch or trail and branching growth.


  as they would in nature. These branches will provide a contrast color or texture to the rest of the foliage.

  Red-leaved rose is a decorative foliage.

  Its plum-colored leaves are produced on arching, deep maroon stems. Elegant and feathery, it is a colorful addition to your foliage palette.

  Now move on to Place the Focal Flowers

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  18 Designing with Flowers

  Place the

  I decided to display the

  Focal Flowers

  back of ‘Totally Tangerine’

  dahlia—with its intense color

  and bold form, it is equally as

  interesting from this angle.

  The next step is to add the focal flowers.

  Think about how flowers grow on the

  plant—often in clusters or layers and facing in different directions. Use the plant’s natural growth habit to inspire your own choices.

  You should also consider the arrangement’s

  final position and the angle from which

  it will be viewed.

  1PLACE THE LARGER

  FOCAL FLOWERS

  I tend to place the leading or largest focal flowers first and then work down in size from there. For low, wide arrangements, tuck the largest focal flowers into the foliage and slightly off-center. I have used two large dahlias in this asymmetrical arrangement, but I do often work with odd numbers, which are general y easier on the eye. Prop up heavy-headed flowers by resting them on the rim of the container or foliage stems.

  The daisy shape of ‘Zinderella

  Lilac’ zinnia with its dark centrer

  makes it a great little focal—

  because it is smal , it can be used

  as an accent dotted around

  the larger flowers.

  Before cutting and placing a stem,

  hold it up to the arrangement to get a feel for where it will look most effective.

  The color of ‘Warm Wishes’ rose contains shades of all the other focal

  flowers—the soft peachy pinks of the ‘ Cafe au Lait’ dahlias and zinnias, and the corals and apricots of the other dahlias.

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  Place the Focal Flowers 19

  The ‘Cafe au Lait’ dahlias are undoubtedly the main focal flowers. I cut the stems short and nestled them in low—almost resting their heavy heads on the rim of the container.