To start arranging your own flowers, first, you need to learn the basics of floral design and floral wiring, as well as the different wiring methods.
Before digging deeper into the different wiring methods and other essential tips, let us first understand what kind of items you need to do floral wiring.
The Items You Need to Prepare
Before learning about the designs, like the wrap-around extension method of floral design, for example, here’s the list of the tools you’ll need to do the proper floral wiring:
- Floral Tape
- Floral Wires
- Flower Scissors
- Head Pins
- Protective Bracelet
- Cutters (for cutting the wires)
- Rag or cloth
Learning About The Essentials
Before engaging in the process of flower designing, here are some things you need to know.
Floral Tape
It’s an essential part of flower arranging. Without it, you can’t do proper flower designing. The tape works by covering the wires and adding the additional support needed to prevent moisture loss and keep the flower structure.
The Wires
Indeed, to do floral wiring, you’ll need the floral wires. They come in different thicknesses, so take your time to find the correct one for the flowers you want to design.
Maintaining the thickness level is mandatory to make the whole process run smoothly. Wires too thick may burden the flower’s structure and have a great chance of causing bruises and tears.
Wires that are too thin can’t support the flower arrangements adequately. When the support fails, the overall structure will fail as well.
Preparing The Flowers
Before approaching one of the techniques, like a wrap-around extension method of floral design, you’ll also need to pay attention to the flower’s condition.
As a start, lay a tea towel down, absorbing any water left on the surface, keeping everything dry. Then, cut 1cm length of the stem, remove all the thorns, and goes you don’t want to keep.
Now, you may create additional pieces until you think you have enough materials to make a flower arrangement. Laying these materials on the towel can make the process quicker since everything is within sight and reach.
The Basic Wiring Methods of Floral Design
Various wiring techniques a floral designer uses to make the flowers sprout their beauty. For example, there’s the wrap-around extension, floral design, or maybe the straight wire method. Below we have a brief description of these two methods.
Wrap Around Extension Method Description: Floral Design
The first technique to learn is the wrap-around extension method description of floral design. The wrap-around extension method is excellent for filler flowers or flowers with a small mass.
Some examples of this flower category are statice and baby’s breath. Start by wrapping the light wire around the stem multiple times, and then bend the wire ends along the stems.
Bracing Method Description: Floral Design
Now is the time to talk about the bracing method of floral design. Bracing is another way to place floral tape just below the blossom. The structure is made as a medium to support the flower.
The bracing method helps the floral design by supporting the flower’s structure. That way, the flower may stand solidly for a more extended period.
Additional Floral Design Tips
If you want to start the process of floral designing, here are a few tips you may follow:
Define the Flower Arrangement Concept
The first step of how to arrange flowers is to determine the concept of flower arrangements to be made. The idea of flower arrangements is usually adapted to the event. Whether the arrangement will be placed at a formal occasion—such as wedding decorations—or is informal. This stage of arranging flowers will determine what type of flower you will choose later.
Choose a Combination of Flower Types
The next stage of making an arrangement is to choose the combination of flowers that will be used. It’s better to pick at least three types of flowers.
Choose one kind of larger flower to place right in the center position. The color of the center flower should be brighter than the surrounding flowers.
The type of flower also affects the volume of the arrangement. The combination of several flowers with wide dimensions will produce more volume. Conversely, if you want a flower arrangement that’s simple but meaningful, choose a flower that is slimmer.
Customize the Flower Colors with the Theme You Want
Adjust the color of the flowers you choose with the event’s theme. As a wedding decoration, flowers should be elegant and have calm colors that are suitable for events at night. At the same time, lighter flowers are more fitting to be placed to brighten up the event during the day.
Likewise, with flower arrangements used as daily decorations, adjust the color combination with the style or theme of the room’s interior design.
Use the Proper Wiring Methods
You can pick different wiring methods to create an incredible flower arrangement according to the flower types or kinds you use. Make sure you’re using the proper wire for the flowers, and pay attention to the thickness.
Ensure you use the correct wiring method according to the flower types you arrange.
Refresh with Water and Additional Accessories
When arranging flowers, you can combine flowers with accessories such as ferns and a baby’s breath. You must also pay attention to where the flower vase will be placed.
Therefore, adjust the height and direction of the flower arrangement so that it looks symmetrical and beautiful from any angle. Also, add clean water to the vase, so the flower arrangements always look fresh.
Conclusion
I hope that in this article, you have learned some of the basics of floral design and found my description of the bracing method and wrap-around extension method helpful.
If you would like to keep learning about floral design, check out my posts “how is harmony used in floral design” and “how is unity used in floral design.” These two posts are an excellent second step into the world of arranging your own flowers.