Floral design

thumb|A woman creating a flower arrangement in the 1930s in Tokyo, Japan

thumb|An arrangement displayed at a church in Beer, United Kingdom

Floral design or flower arrangement is the art of using plant material and flowers to create an eye-catching and balanced composition or display. Evidence of refined floral design is found as far back as the culture of ancient Egypt. Floral designs, called arrangements, incorporate the five elements and seven principles of floral design.

Floral design is considered a section of floristry. But floral design pertains only to the design and creation of arrangements. It does not include the marketing, merchandising, caring of, growing of, or delivery of flowers.

Common flower arrangements in floral design include vase arrangements, wreaths, nosegays, garlands, festoons, boutonnieres, corsages, and bouquets.

History

The Eastern, Western, and European styles have all influenced the commercial floral design industry as it is today. Western design historically is characterized by symmetrical, asymmetrical, horizontal, and vertical style of arrangements. The history of flower arrangement first dates back to Ancient Egypt, and has gradually evolved over time.

Ancient civilizations

Egyptians were among the first to place lotus flowers and buds in vases nearly 4,000 years ago.

Ikebana is the Japanese style of floral design, and incorporates the three main line placements that correspond with heaven, humans, and the earth.

Today, there are many styles of floral design including the Botanical Style, the Garden Style (Hand Tied, Compote or Armature), the Crescent Corsage, the Nosegay Corsage, Pot au Fleur, the Inverted "T", Parallel Systems, Western Line, the Hedgerow Design, Mille de Fleur, and Formal Linear.

Design

Principles

When creating flower arrangements, there are generally seven principles that floral designers must incorporate into their arrangement to create a flattering and appealing piece. These seven principles include:

Proportion: the relationship between the sizes of elements used to create the design (e.g., flowers, foliage, vase, accessories).
Scale: the relationship between the overall size of the design and the setting it is placed in.
Balance: contains physical balance and visual balance. Physical balance is the distribution of materials and weight across the arrangement; the arrangement should be stable and not at risk of falling over. Visual balance is the poise an arrangement contains upon first glance. There are three types of visual balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and open.
Focal point: the main feature of the design and/or the first thing that attracts the viewer's eye.
Rhythm: the visual flow of the arrangement. This element should encourage the viewer's gaze to move inward, outward, up, and down while looking at the arrangement. Achieved through colors, shapes, lines, textures, and spaces.
Harmony: the pleasing combination of colors, material, and texture used in the arrangement.
Unity: everything is placed with purpose; achieved when the other 6 principles are in order.

It is important to keep in mind that not every arrangement will use all seven principles of design. For example, French Baroque and Rococo style arrangements do not include a focal point. Rococo designs also disregarded proportion; they were to be much taller than they were wide. Some traditional designs disregarded space (and therefore a part of rhythm).

Line flowers are tall spikes of flowers that bloom along the stem of the plant. They create the outline for an arrangement and determine the height and width of the design. They can be straight, or naturally curving. Most line flowers have larger flowers at the bottom of the stem, that gradually become smaller the closer they are located to the end of the spike. This creates rhythm in the design, as the eye naturally follows the progression. Examples of line flowers include snapdragons, delphiniums, liatris, gladiolus, stock, cattails, and pussywillows.

Form flowers are flowers that have interesting colors, textures, and/or patterns that draw attention and stand out among the other pieces in the arrangement. They are most often used as the focal point of the arrangement. Form flowers include irises, calla lilies, anthurium, and orchids.

Mass flowers consist of a single stem with one solid, rounded head at the top of the stem. They add mass and visual weight to an arrangement. Mass flowers are often inserted near the rim of the container to draw attention to the focal point, or to serve as the focal point themselves. Mass flowers are often considered the "star of the show" in an arrangement. Oftentimes, more than one type of mass flower is used to create variety and to avoid monotony, or, to otherwise make the arrangement less boring. Mass flowers include carnations, chrysanthemums, daisies, anemone, dahlias, hydrangeas, and roses.

Filler flowers are composed of small "sprays" of flowers. Filler flowers are used, as the name suggests, to fill in empty spaces among mass flowers and the framework of the design. Filler flowers also add further dimension to the arrangement. Examples of filler flowers are baby's breath and statice.

Just because a flower is defined in one category, that does not exclude it from other categories. For example, chrysthanthemums can be considered both a mass flower or a filler flower, depending on the size and variety of the bloom. Anthuriums and orchids can be considered form flowers, as well as mass flowers.

Other flowers commonly used by floral designers include Peruvian lilies, cosmos, freesias, gardenia, hyacinth, kalanchoe, larkspur, lavender, lilac, lilies, limonium, lupine, peonies, phlox, protea, ranunculus, sedum, solidago, sunflowers, tulips, and zinnias.

Foliage

Much like flowers, foliage can also be divided into the same four categories. Usually, they are meant to accent what is being done by their flower counterparts.

Preserved

Dried materials such as bark, wood, dried flowers, dried (and often aromatic) inflorescences, leaves, leaf skeletons, and other preserved materials are common extensions of the art and media of floral design. They are of practical importance in that they last indefinitely and are independent of the seasons. Their materials offer effects and associations complementary to, and contrasting with, fresh flowers and foliage.

Tools

thumb|An example of shears that can be used in floral design

To create an arrangement, a floral designer has to use a multitude of tools. In general, the most common tools are floral tape, pot tape, glue, flower frogs, cutting tools, floral foam, containers, and wire.

Vases and other containers are used to hold the arrangement. They often lend to the final look of a piece, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit numerous types of projects.

Floral foam is a piece of dense foam that holds moisture and keeps flowers in place. Most floral foam has a specific container that can hold the foam without anything more than placing it into the container. However, floral foam can be cut into any shape, and therefore placed in any container. In recent years, there has been controversy over the environmental impact of floral foam, as well as the potential negative health effects from inhaling the powder created from unsoaked foam. Nevertheless, floral foam is still an essential tool in floral design.

Cutting tools, such as floral knives, floral shears, pruners, and ribbon scissors can be used to cut a variety of materials in floral design. Knives can be used to cut flowers or floral foam. Shears and pruners can also be used to trim and cut foliage and flowers. Ribbon scissors are used to cut ribbon and twine.

Adhesive tools include floral tape, pot tape, floral adhesive (also known as cold glue), and hot glue. Floral tape is most often used to secure flowers together or to cover the mechanics of an arrangement, especially when creating a boutonniere or corsage. Pot tape is used to create a grid pattern in vases, which helps keeps flowers and foliage in place. Pot tape can also be used to secure floral foam to a container. Cold glue is used to secure fresh, living flowers together or in place for an arrangement. Hot glue is used to glue non-living media in place or together.

Wire is used in floral design for a variety of purposes. It can be used to secure ribbons in place, fix broken stems, or provide strength to weak or flimsy material. Wire comes in different gauges, or sizes, which are used for different applications.

Flower frogs are devices that keep flowers upright. They usually have holes to place the flowers into, or spikes to "spear" the cut end of the flower into.

Education

With the ever-growing interest in the natural world and flowers, the floral industry continues to grow. The increase in educational institutes providing training in floral design has expanded to many state universities, certified design schools, and even high schools worldwide. Schools that teach floral design courses teach techniques to arrange flowers, plant identification, foliage and flower care for both fresh and preserved media, retail floral shop practices, and how to place and receive flower orders. Most of these programs reward students with certificates or degrees in floral design, shop management, or artisanship. thumb|Collection of arrangements created by a high school floral design student. This photo shows two round arrangements and a [[corsage.]] Floral design course are typically cheaper than most higher education programs, and can cost anywhere from US$125 to over US$25,000. Most courses take around six to eighteen months to complete.

The following list is composed of schools and organizations that offer floral design courses:

American Institute of Floral Designers
Anne Arundel Community College
British Florist Association
California Polytechnic State University
Hong Kong Academy of Flower Arrangement
Golden West College
Jackson High School (Stark County, Ohio)
Judith Blacklock Flower School
Mississippi State University
New York Institute of Art & Design
Nobleman School of Floral Design
Rittners School of Floral Design
Texas State Florists Association
Texas Tech University School of Floral Design
The London Flower School

Community

Floral shops

thumb|A florist's shop in Paris

Floral shops are business establishments that create and sell floral designs. Floral shops often have a vast variety of flowers and foliage to use in creating arrangements, which can be custom ordered or pre-designed. Floral shops usually receive a majority of their business on the following holidays and events: Christmas, Valentine's Day, Administrative Professionals' Day, Mothers' Day, All Souls Day, Advent, Easter, weddings and funerals. Floral shops also include the other aspects of floristry, including marketing, buying and selling of flowers, production, etc.

Street vendors

thumb|A street vendor selling flowers from a bicycle on a street in [[Hanoi, Vietnam]]

Street vendors that sell flowers and arrangements are called flower sellers. Flower sellers are popular in countries like Mexico, India, Vietnam and Southwestern states in the United States.

Associations

Prominent industry associations that promote floral design worldwide include the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD), the Society of American Florists (SAF), and the National Association of Flower Arranging Societies (NAFAS). In the United States, there are also numerous floriculture and floral design organizations for nearly all of the 50 states in the country. These associations promote floral design through workshops, conferences, flower shows, design competition opportunities and seminars.

Designers

Notable floral designers include Daniel Ost, Junichi Kakizaki, Paula Pryke, Phil Rulloda, Catherine Conlin, Constance Spry, Jennifer McGarigle, Judith Blacklock, Stanlee Gatti, Irene Hayes, Julia Clements, Azuma Makoto, and the White House Chief Floral Designer.