#fallarrangements

A fun easy piece to make and perfect for the season.  Three stems orange Asiatic lilies, four stocks of bells of Ireland and one small bag of chartreuse moss, a 4″ to 5” pot and a block of wet foam and you’re on your way.  I did use a bit of wire bent into staple like anchors to secure the moss, but it’s not required.

WET FOAM—depending on the brand purchased will depend on the length of time required to soak so follow the instructions and soak accordingly.  Ten minutes is usually more than sufficient in cool water.  Always use cool or cold water.  Flowers are going into this water and warm water makes them open faster and consequently, become spent faster.

ALWAYS CUT STOCKS AT AN ANGLE—they will absorb liquids better and insert into your foam more easily.  It is recommended that this is done with a sharp floral knife or thin pruning nippers.

ALWAYS STRIP LEAVES AWAY FROM THE STOCK—to the point that they will be going into the foam, at the very least and not sit on foam. For this application I stripped all leaves off the lilies, with the exception of a few on the lower buds and flower.  For the bells of Ireland I only stripped what was necessary for insertion into the foam.

Place your foam in your pot.  Trim only what is necessary to make it reach the bottom of the container.  It is best not to force the foam down into the pot as this will cause the foam to become denser in areas than it is designed to be.  Now cut the excess off the top making the foam flush with the rim. If you prefer to have your moss below the rim of your pot, you can remove your foam from the container and cut it about a quarter inch lower and replace it.

PLACING YOUR STEMS AND STOCKS—before placing a flower you need to give it a fresh cut so that it will begin drawing liquids.  If after placement you decide you want to try again you will need to give your stem a fresh cut and reinsert into the foam, half an inch is usually sufficient unless the stem has been damaged. The foam particles can create a barrier and prevent the flower from getting hydrated.

Start with your tallest, straightest piece of bells of Ireland to create your line upward and plant it towards the back of your pot, leaving about two thirds of the pot in the front of that stock.  This will create a one sided arrangement.

You will then add two more stocks of bells of Ireland. Each one about four inches shorter than the previous one.  If yours curve as mine did here you will gauge the height at the point it begins to curve.  If they are all equally straight you will want to insert the stock at about a twenty degree angle from the previous stock and do this again with the third stock creating an effect similar to that of a fan.

Now with your longest stemmed flower—(Unfortunately, mine here was more open than I would have liked.)  Cut the stem at an angle and insert it next to your tallest, straight bells of Ireland.  You want it to stand right in front of your bells of Ireland, but be shorter. Now again with the next shortest flower, preferably a little more open than the tallest.  And one more time with an open short stem flower placed down low in the front.

Now is the time to take your leftover buds and line them all out from tallest to shortest and most open. With a tall arrangement like this you need to keep the weight of your eyes at the base of the arrangement. What that means is keep the largest at the base and keep things tight and tapered to a point drawing the eye upward.  This creates balance.  We also create depth—placing a bud toward the back and opposite the fan side will contribute to the balance, but it also gives depth.  The left of the image shows that here.

As you study the image you will notice a few buds near the center flower.  This creates dense coverage.  There is also a couple of buds that are more orange off to the right of the image. This draws the eye upward towards the top and beyond the curved bells of Ireland which creates the backdrop.

When you are pleased with your creation it is time to tuck the moss in and around your stems and the rim of your pot.  You could have done this sooner, but then you would have had to work around it and it’s much more problematic than need be and you actually end up using more moss to cover areas that don’t need coving.