Rock, don't Roll

Rock Rest for a heavy Protea Flower Head

Create a contrasting base to lift the heavy flower-head to design in

Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural

Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.

Longer stems for dried flowers

Give dried hydrangeas (or other dried flowers) a longer stem to make it easier to work with.

Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher

I wanted my willow armature to hint of a web-like dreamcatcher that grows in the wild rather than being a precise replica of the traditional craft technique. But I did weave it in a similar way.

Smooth dried hydrangea flowers in the palm of your hand

Hold a dried hydrangea flower in the palm of your hand to smooth out the folds

Stringing wool and Spanish moss

Create veil of wool and Spanish moss

Messy summer floral nest

Wrap and weave and twirl and dangle foliage to create a spiral nest

Removing Oasis Floral Adhesive glue spills

The finish of every design should be flawless. Make sure there are no bits of glue visible in your design by carefully removing all traces of spills.

Stabilizing sticks for dried or fresh flowers

Create a full design without the weight by stabilizing the flowers with glued sticks. This is a great alternative to floral foam.

Delicate twig and rosary vine garland

Spiral stems around a Ceropegia woodii or Rosary vine.

Cherry twig rainbow arch

Glue a few twigs to arch over a upturned container

Acorn fork

Wire and glue a few acorns into the fork of a twig to create an Autumn armature

Willow Heart Wand

Standing a water tube at an angle in lumber

Create a minimal design by placing a single flower on a platform

Construction Lumber and Dowel Spike Armature

Drill holes in a piece of lumber and insert dowel sticks to create an armature

Driftwood precariously perched on the edge of a pebble

Wire and glue the driftwood at an angle to balance on a pebble

Hydrangea pomander with just a hint of pumpkin in its ribbon layered to hide a secret (refillable) water source

A floral sphere, or kissing ball, a pomander is designed to be hung or carried as decorations for weddings and holidays... especially festive if you can skip the floral foam, right?

A grand kale to spark that almost end of summer colour

A slight tweak turn a ornamental kale into a ornamental mechanic.

Grass and orchid octopus for a beachy summer display

A spotted Phaleoctopi (not true) in a pebble beach design mechanic (absolutely true) summer display.

A rock solid support for long stemmed Lupine foliage, an absolutely not So-so Bletilla orchid and jasmine vine

Minimal but oh so remarkable! Easy way to support long thin stems exactly how you want them to create a tropical looking summer design.

Reflexed petal Tulip… with a surprise Orchid flower buddy

Gently pop the petals of a mature tulip back to open up the flower... to add another flower, of course!

Palm twirl with a hidden double knot grid support that hold even heavier flowers in place

Knot horizontal palm fronts in place to create a support for heavy flowers.

Dangling Quaking Grass drops threaded through a hydrangea flower head for support

A quick craft with quaking grass to turn it into dangling droplets.

Rock steady for tiny floral details

Lean a large pebble in a display container to keep your summer floral details exactly where you want them.

Cross stem spacer

Use the off-cut stems to create a spacer to keep the flowers in place.

Threaded stem and wire spacer wire garland

Thread stems into a wire to create dangling garlands

Tri-petal (with vines to fill in the gaps) lily flower wand

Pick away petals from a lily to create space for delicate vines to really shine.

Sunflower heart autumn display

Pick away the ray floret so that the disk floret of a sunflower can be used as a flat surface to display your design on.

Wrap a vine around a tiny vase to suspend it from a balanced twig

Using the design elements as mechanics to secure the design elements.

Adding folded grass "jitters" to a Sunflower

Adding tension to a design with a grass frame and collar.

Fill a trumpet shaped flower cup with... more flowers!

A hidden water source small enough to fit into a dainty flower.

Trailing Ceropegia woodii vines from a Heliconia flower

Set the rosary vines into the natural cavity of the flower head.

Tumbling sun-flakes

Craft radiating sun-flakes from dried petals.

Vanilla

Vanilla Design for the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa

How To Catch A Dream

Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature

Stringing in the rain

A veil of green wool, Spanish moss and dried hydrangeas hang over white lilies

Of trust… and belief… and stars…

Weave and wrap and twirl and knot a summer floral nest

Sticktoitness

Glue a heart shaped design made from bark and wood.

Over the Blue

Glue a twig rainbow to sit over a vase

Just Right! Floral Art demonstration: Too Hard!

My second design in my demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society meeting

Happy Coincidence!

Some designs really do just make themselves. I received this tiny vase for Christmas from Marius (thank you, Marius!) and while cleaning out my design room I found this little twig with a fork in it. Add a ranunculus with a ridiculously gorgeous curve in it's stem... done.

How do squirrels Cache a tree?

Hoard a few acorns in the fork of a twig to show off a single oncidium orchid.

Love Spell

Weave willow to create a heart shaped wand design

If

Place a water tube at an angle in lumber so that the Zantedeschia float just above the base to show off the delicate grass snippets scattered up the stem

Diamond Jubilee Waterfall

To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Government House Gardens Society a Horticultural event was hosted in the gardens and Great Hall of Government House in Victoria, Canada entitled British Columbia Blooms.

Design.

An... almost a pumpkin (don't you think...?) pomander to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Your brain rewards curiosity on a grand…. kale

Growing plant material for floral design requires an unique spark of creativity.

Staycation

Oh yes, here it is the warmest days of summer... water... pebbles and a few pretty flowers.

So not so So-so after all

An island holiday (with a beach umbrella, don't you think?) floral display that celebrate a clutter free summer.

A Buzzin’

Just like a buzzing bee... give a mature Tulip a Phalaenopsis orchid buddy to keep it company.

More! More!! More!!!

Adding more to an autumn design... but leaving everything out that you don't need.

Bring in some of the magic of summer rain

Design drops of grass to dangle down a hydrangea flower for an effortless summer floral display.

It’s leaps of faith, grasshoppers

A sunny rock to make your design... not rock

Space holder

Creating a bit of space in a summer design to allow for the plant material to naturally fall as it wants.

It's in there

Complete the picture by drawing a lily flower with delicate vines.

When it gets chilly

Use the heart of a sunflower as a platform to place your autumn floral details on.

Last full Moon of summer

All natural design using the design elements as mechanics.

Jitters!

Zig-zag grass details add a bit of tension to the design

It takes more than one person to invent a trumpet!

Filling a trumpet flower cup... with more flowers!

In Summer!

A contemporary cascade of rosary vine and dried petals.

Protea

This Protea Composite flower with Palm Butterflies is a Bridal Orb Bouquet, to be carried in the hand like a ball. This design was part of my Fusion Flowers Magazine Designer of...

Ceropegia woodii

Pompon Chrysanthemum pom-poms and strands of Rosary vine for my floral lariat necklace in the Canadian Florist Magazine

Hydrangea

Dried and fresh hydrangeas with sticks and bark