DIY Network

Basic Floral Design From "DIY Crafts" episode DIC-119

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Figure A Figure B Figure C Figure D Figure E Figure F Figure G Figure H Figure I Figure J Figure K Place a bird's nest made from Spanish moss into the arrangement for a natural look.

Gary Wright of MJDesigns is a master at floral design. Here are some of his tips to create a traditional triangular American floral pattern for your next party. Gary follows the philosophy of a famous English designer: "You must leave enough room between the blossoms for the bees to go in." Using only three varieties of blooms--line flowers, focals and fillers--you can create a professional-looking arrangement in minutes.

Note:

• This arrangement was made with silk flowers, but you can use fresh flowers if you add water to the floral foam after gluing it to the bottom of the container.

Line flowers--in this case, miniature blue larkspurs--provide the triangular shape of the arrangement, the basic lines (figure A).

Focal flowers are usually bright, clustered, eye-catching blooms that create a focal point. Gary chose miniature red cosmos (figure B).

Fillers are usually small clustered flowers that fill in the spaces between line and filler flowers. Here Gary used yellow queen of the prairie (figure C).

Materials:
Low 6" wide floral container
Miniature blue larkspurs (tall or spiked blooms for line flowers)
Miniature red cosmos (fuller blooms for focals)
Yellow queen of the prairie (small blooms for fillers)
Greenery
Low-temp hot-glue gun and glue
Floral foam
Icing knife
Wire cutters
Spanish moss
Optional: artificial bird's eggs
Optional: artificial bird's nest
Optional: artificial butterfly

1. Cut a block of foam to fit in the container. Allow the block to extend above the rim. With a knife, taper the corners of the foam at an angle (figure D), which allows more area for designing. Hot-glue the foam to the bottom of the container. Cover the foam with Spanish moss, and tuck it into the container.

2. Begin by positioning the line flowers. Cut the first stem approximately 1 1/2 to 2 times the width of the container, and place it vertically in the center back of the container (figure E). If the arrangement will be placed on a dinner table, make sure the flower is no higher than 15" so that it won't obstruct guests' view.

3. Add two more line flowers, angled to the right and left of the first stem. Cut them slightly shorter than the first stem (figure F).

4. Position the focal flowers next. Place one of them vertically in the center, just below the line flowers. Place focal flowers horizontally in the foam near the edge of the container, pointing to the sides and front of the arrangement. These blooms will be parallel to the table. The focal triangle will start to take shape with the color at the base and top center of the arrangement (figure G). Place more focal flowers of varying lengths and angles around the arrangement, creating a triangle (figure H). If the display will be used as a centerpiece rather than placed against a wall, be sure to distribute flowers on all sides.

5. Fill in the spaces with yellow queen of the prairie flowers (figure I). The arrangement has both positive and negative spaces: the former created by the flowers, the latter by the spaces between them. The negative spaces add depth.

6. To add a finishing touch, roll Spanish moss around your fingers into a circle, and press it together to make a bird's nest (figure J). Glue several faux bird's eggs into the nest, and place it in the base of the arrangement. Finally, place some glue on the bottom of a faux butterfly, and gently add it to the tip of one of the flowers (figure K).

RESOURCES :
Gary Wright, floral designer