Floral design inspiration- creating large floral centerpieces

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Every year I would with a small team of fantastic folks on a fund raiser for scholarship money for a local student to attend my Alma Mater- University of Montevallo's fantastic art program.

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Every year, I do the floral centerpieces... usually on the fly from whatever lovelies I find at the local wholesale florist.

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This year is different. This year I am actually looking for inspiration for the flowers. I need it to be a big centerpiece, a purple and gold floral display, and preferably remarkable in floral style. That last one not always met, but striven for.

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Here is some of my Pinterest pinspirations for the floral centerpieces... and some non- floral centerpieces.

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So this last one is not my color scheme, but it is a punny version of my theme (Shades of Purple and Gold, in stead of shades of color, I could do "lampshades" of purple and gold.) I can totally see this idea of purple and gold lanterns hanging over the food tables... and it would be reuseable, which is always a consideration when raising money for a state university!

Inaugural luncheon flowers in orange to pink

Inaugural luncheon flowers are fantastic!

"Jack Lucky Floral Design is getting the honor to arrange the flowers for the inaugural luncheon for the sixth time," according to WUSA9 news.

from EPA

from Reuters

The flower arrangements include- orange Free Spirit rose, according to WUSA9. These roses are know for  undulating petals and bi-color yellow to pink coloration. Also included in the arrangement is Ranunculus, also in orange. The ranunculus are also bi-colored and create a lightness to the arrangement.

This is arrangement is an easy one to use as a guide for your own easy arrangement. Start with a base of the same flowers, in this case the open roses, and choose a flower similar in color to add. The secondary flower should rise about and inch to two inches above the base flowers. The tonal quality of the arrangement is modern and the flower choice provide the sophistication. My favorite part is that the flower buds provide the greenery in the arrangement, thus no extra greenery is needed!

popular on Pinterest this week

I never know what I am going to pin on Pinterest that will be a repin blow-up. This week it is an image of a group of Moroccan tea glasses on a mirrored tray. They are pretty colors with light gold filigree detailing on the glasses. Moroccan tea is served hot and is either green tea or a mint and is served all day. These pretty glasses would be great showing off the desired foam that forms on the top of the tea from the distinct pouring method, as well as a sweet boutique or a single stem of hydrangea.


I love using my Moroccan tea glasses for flowers! But they are not just for tea and flowers, these are great with tea lights in them! They would be a great addition to wedding decor for the bridal couple that wants to add some ethnic patterns and colors to the reception.

Scaring up Easy Autumn Floral Arrangements

Autumn is the best time for easy flower arrangements... even for those with the least amount of gardening experience. If you have a tree or a shrub near by, you most likely have a floral arrangement moments away. Sine floral arrangements do have have to be flowers, you can use leaves, bare branches, berries, and grasses.

The one- two- three of floral arrangements-

ONE~ choose your tallest spiky pieces for the center- no more that twice the height of the vase should extend beyond the vase.

TWO~ pick something from the outdoors that drapes in order to cascade over the edge of the vase

THREE~ Place a medium length branch (no more than one times the height of the vase should extend beyond the vase) , at a 60 degree angle to your work table. This piece is your "fill line" and your guide for the foliage extention area.


So your one- two- three formula will look like this to the left!



Now... what to choose!  Here are my picks for leave, berries and grasses! *Please know that none of the images below are my images and I do not have any claim on them as my own. They are used as illustration on for educational purposes.

Leaves-

7-bark hydrangea ( also known as oak leaf hydrangeas)- great reds to purples

maple- yellows, oranges and reds

junipers- adds lacy greenery and sometimes they have an ashy-blue berry


Berries-
Oak- if your acorns fall off before the leaves turn the color you want, you can glue them back in or wire them to the branch... discreetly!

Beautyberry- fantastic purple berries. If you grow them yourself, please leave some berry branches from your local birds to have some variety in their winter diet.

Nandina- if you do not have pets of small children (the berries can fall off and make very sick tummies)

Grasses

Cattails- once dried will keep for years!


Red fountain grass- great purple color

Great flower arrangements

Tomorrow brings a number of photo shoots, where I will be creating the flower arrangements for. I thought I would share my great finds!

Pretty flowers from Everyday Occasions blog by Jenny Stephens Hobick

I like the clustering of the flowers from Birmingham Blossoms.

I love purple, pink and lime green in flower arrangements

Great find by my friend Jan Gautro, from her pinterest page.

Very tempted by these Juliet roses from David Austin!

Country Living offered great ideas for simple arrangements!

The first yard bouquet

Every year I get excited about the first yard bouquet for my desk. Being in Alabama, it will usually include hydrangeas and gardenias. Though my hydrangeas bloom first, it seems it is never worthy enough to create a bouquet until you have something that is scented. Once the gardenias bloom, the bouquets are ON!

One of the thing I love about hydrangeas is the  bigger they grow and the deeper the roots spread in the soil, the more contact they have with minerals that can change their color. Each year you can have a variety of color and they can change from year to year. Adding soil amendments can change the color, but I like the surprise of finding out what I will be getting each year.
Growing flowers for cutting gardens are beneficial on many ways. They provide you with an opportunity of enhance or alter your indoor environment with the addition of color. Additionally, the flower provide food for bees, hummingbirds and if they make berries, food for birds in the winter. Cutting gardens are a win/win for the indoor and outdoor environment!


"Yard" bouquests in your work space, like this one on my desk, provides for a place
for you eyes to rest when thinking. Allowing your eyes to rest on something from
nature "resets" you brain faster than resting on something man-made!