Welcome to this dried flowers masterclass. In this masterclass, we will show you how to tie this gorgeous autumnal arrangement of eco friendly flowers inspired by all of the colours of the autumn season.
About Eco Flowers
The grower has picked Flowers offered here: some of the best-preserved flowers you can purchase that have been ethically sourced. The result is a beautiful bouquet of eternal flowers, leaving the smallest possible carbon footprint. So for us, it's essential you know you're getting the most fairly sourced and eco friendly flowers on the market to create your bespoke preserved flower bouquet.
Don't forget to subscribe to the Youtube Channel!
Creating Your Flower Bouquet
Once your order of flowers arrives, unpack your box. Depending on the arrangement of preserved flowers you ordered, you will find a variety of flowers. For this bouquet, stems include:
- Mixed Autumnal Foliage;
- Preserved Red Eucalyptus;
- Three stems of Pampas Grass;
- Red Broom;
- Two branches of Carthamus;
- Four Helichrysum;
- Seven stems of Lazarus;
- Two Protea;
- Three Craspedia;
- And finally, three achilleas.
Preparing Things: The Vase
Before you start your vase arrangement, you will need a particular vase. I have a specific vase in mind for this bespoke bouquet - it is slightly shorter than usual, with a height of about 20 centimetres. You can cut the string holding the flowers together and let the flowers fan out nicely. Of course, you will need scissors and some string for your floral arrangement to do this.
Preparing your Floral Arrangement
Before composing your arrangement, you will need to ensure that all of your flower stems are separated and have been adequately prepared. In practice, this means is that you should divide your florals. For example, separating the Broom into smaller pieces is a good idea.
The Foliage
With the foliage, you don't want any foliage or pieces of stem sticking out any lower than where you're going to place your flowers. When you hold the flowers, you want everything past what is defined as the "binding point" to be clear of any leaves or bits of stem that will cause congestion in your hand.
This is a Front-Facing Arrangement
This bouquet is a front-facing arrangement. Front-facing means that I will start with the tallest stems and work my way down into the shorter branches at the front. I'm starting with a beautiful set of chestnuts, and I'm just pairing that with the tallest stem of eucalyptus. You do this by crossing the stems over one other, merely laying them next to each other in your hand.
Create Spaces and Volume in Your Bouquet
The next thing I'm going to make more height with the pampas. That comes in tall; you want to see that as much as possible. The Pampas is currently in season and harvested now, which means it's sustainable.
The technique is to keep turning your bouquet to see it from different angles to check that it looks perfect from every angle.
Adding the Tallest Broom
Next, I insert the stem of the Broom (the tallest one available). I'm just starting to bring this in from the back of the arrangement to be visible and give the bouquet a cohesive look. Bring in the flowers from the back and follow them through to the front: again, I'll add more of that lovely autumnal foliage.
... And the Achillea
Next up in the preserved flower bouquet is the achillea. Again, I'm using the minor head that I've got to create a transition. You want your larger heads to be towards the front of the bouquet and in the lower focal area, which we'll get to shortly.
The Carthamus
Now, I'm going to insert the Carthamus in the preserved flower bouquet in front of the Broom. You'll notice there's loads of space between all of these different flowers. I continue to turn my bouquet and keep that spiral movement going. I'm also going to start bringing in my Lazarus flowers.
Here, again, I'll place the taller stems at the back. Again, I'm creating an analogous colour scheme. It is one where all of the colours are sequential on the colour wheel, and they complement each other nicely.
At this point, I'll bring in that Helichrysum to the front of the Pampas, which is quite similar to the Carthamus in texture. I'm going to break it up with a bit of the achillea by placing the Broom flowers in the front just to bring my colour through. Now go back in with the Carthamus. This is one of the oldest crops.
The Protea
Now I'll introduce the Protea. The Protea flower is a fascinating one. All the flowers for this bouquet have a striking shape, texture and colour, so I want to keep them prominent.
And Finally …
To finish things off, I introduce the final pieces of eucalyptus. The eucalyptus will fit nicely on the edge of the vase. The bespoke preserved flower bouquet is finished: all the stems are in a spiral, and you can start manipulating things. For example, you can experiment with the different pieces of foliage to avoid creating a stark ending which I don't like. Move other elements of the bouquet around until you are happy with your arrangement.
Now you can lay the preserved flower bouquet on the table and tie it together. Tie it as tightly as you can to stop everything from falling, then measure your stems against the vase and trim everything down.
These flowers will last up to three years. These bespoke bouquets are a fantastic alternative to fresh flowers as they as sustainable and ethically sourced. So try your hand at any other arrangement and buy a loved one a sustainable gift.
