Floral Design Class: Basket Arrangements

Our last Fundamentals of Floral Design class was this week and we topped it off with basket arrangements. I found some gorgeous fall-colored flowers at Trader Joe's and then realized at school that most of them were on their way out--but oh well! This class was frustrating for me.  I learned that my design style tends to be focused on very small, bunched designs, whereas basket designs are apparently supposed to be a little more free and flowing.  My first basket is exactly how I like it, albeit I could have worked on my color placement a little more.

I love tight, petite little designs.  That's why I enjoyed the biedermeier arrangement so much.  I also felt like I needed to keep my design small due to the shape of my basket.  It's very fat at the bottom and I felt like if I made it too tall it would look silly.  Plus, heck, if this arrangement has a way to pick it up, I want to keep from covering up that handle!  I ended up cutting my stems way too short in the middle of the design, so I lost my shape and the basket just ended up looking a little "pregnant," as Carol calls it.  Had I cut the stems in the middle longer, I could have kept up my circular shape. 

I guess what bothered me the most was that I genuinely liked what I had created, but not too many others did. and some were irritated by it.  So I went home and tried to will myself into creating a fuller design.  Though my flowers were near death, I do think my second attempt turned out well.  I like both styles and I've just got to work more at not keeping to my small, petite little design box.

I had a few flowers left over and a coworker asked if I could bring a little tussy-mussy for her daughter, whose birthday was the day prior.

I wish I had more of the reddish-brown mums left!  But it was still sweet and small, the way I like it!

Floral Design Class: Scalene and Vertical

One of the other styles we tackled in our advanced class was the Scalene Triangle design.  We had a lot of different flowers and greens to choose from, thanks to Carol and to other classmates with overflowing gardens of their own.  I used yellow gladiolus and some sort of fern to make the basic frame and I used some form of oregano (I believe that's what it was...) and misty to fill in a little of the negative space.  I liked the overall dramatic look of it and had fun watching my gladiolus open over the week.

And now for the design I battled with.  I don't know why, but I had a lot of trouble with the vertical arrangement.  Maybe it was a bad night, maybe I was tired, or maybe I just need more practice with it, but I was frustrated with my result.  We used myrtle and swordfern and [insert name of unidentifiable purple line flower seen here! Anyone know?] to make the vertical frame and used carnations and pom-pons to draw the eye up.  Amaranthus, pittosporum, and leatherleaf helped to frame the bowl.  I'm not sure, I can't put my finger on what I don't like.  The amaranthus look whimpy, that's for sure.

Floral Design Class: L-Shape and T-Shape

I realize that I'm putting all of these posts for my floral design classes out of order, but who cares!  Here is a picture of my attempt at an L-Shape design from the Advanced workshop.  Again, we used larkspur and this time some swordfern to create the basic frame of the design.  I love larkspur, it looks so dainty yet it is strong and great for making a line.  My "L shape" dips a little, but I enjoyed it.

Next the T-Shape design.  I left my class that night pretty unhappy with my attempt, maybe it was because my snapdragons were not cooperating with me, but I still enjoyed their gorgeous color for the rest of the week.  The thing about L-Shape and T-Shape designs is that they are very formal and I probably won't myself sit down in my day-to-day to make one of these types of arrangements, but it's important to know them because they are basic styles to build upon.

Floral Design Class: Bud Vase

When I stepped into the classroom for my very first class of Basic Floral Design, I was greeted by some lovely flowers and some even lovelier people.  I have enjoyed these classes so much and I have loved getting to know all of the ladies in the San Joaquin Delta Floral Design Workshop program.  I've learned a lot and I'm raring to learn more!

For our first class we did a simple bud vase arrangement with leatherleaf fern, swordfern, gyp, red carnations, and green gladiolus.  If I learned anything from that first class, it's that you have to enjoy yourself while you are designing.  If you're frustrated, it's time to step away and take a breath.  It seems obvious, but if you are crabby and forcing things to fit together, then your work is gonna look exactly like how you feel.  I got a little overwhelmed at first, but I just relaxed and enjoyed the moment.

I was pretty happy with the results and damn proud of my bow.