APPROACHING HAND-TIED BOUQUETS 3 Ways - Creative Edge October 2021
DESIGNS & TEXT BY HITOMI GILLIAM AIFD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLIN GILLIAM
“Hand-tied Bouquets are the most common technical way to design flowers into an arrangement. It is the most sustainable no-foam design. The carefully crafted hand-tied bouquet can be simply dropped into a vase with water.
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“Hand-tied Bouquet as a design system, as we know it today… was taught to us initially by the Dutch designers who represented the Holland Flower Council in the 1980’s on. As evidenced by visits to various European countries… the primary gifting of flowers there were in the form of Hand-tied Bouquets. The most important floral design skill taught to prepare for employment in the European flower shops was to learn this skill… to create with precision and clean execution, beauty and with efficiency (speed). The spiralling method was the most important skill to learn from the Europeans.
From there… creativity reigns. Use of basic structures like Holly Chapple pillows and chickenwire pillows can aid in strategic and secure placement of stems with efficiency and confidence.
Artistic creation in hand-tied bouquet is also possible by creating structure first to flower following the artistic vision. This becomes a hybrid art – Flower X Art.
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BOUQUET #1
‘Basic European Hand-Tied Bouquet Method’
“To create a hand-tied bouquet… it begins with preparing the flowers and green stems in advance by stripping all excess lower leaves. Lay the stems on your work table grouped by variety. Also prepare short spacer greens to be used intermittently in between the longer flower stems to create a little space to allow the flowers to breathe. In this first bouquet, I used Lycopodium and Podocarpus shorts as spacers.
Start with your feature flower, adding the next series of flower stems placed diagonally to the front of the bundle, next to the last stem. This begins the spiralling process… slightly shifting the bouquet as you continue to make your way around the bouquet. Hold the flowers inside a ring created with your thumb and forefinger. Pick up the next flower which flatters the last flower insertion… this random pleasing placement of mixed flowers will satisfy your eyes as it evolves. It will culminate in a beautiful rounded bouquet. The flower heads can be… some high and some lower, to create depth in the bouquet. If the bundle of stems become too big to hold… replace the forefinger with the middle finger to widen the mouth of the hand vase. The other fingers can also support on the backside to cradle the bundle. If this becomes difficult… wrap the bundle now with bongo tie. You can now add additional stems without losing the grip on the bouquet. The stems will spiral out broader as you continue to add spacers and the flower stems.. This way, you can create a sizeable hand-tied bouquet without any problems. Complete the bouquet with another bongo tie.
Note: This tie is not real tight (because its elastic), so you can still pull and tug stems to finesse to make the final adjustment. You can finish the bouquet with a raffia tie to finish.
When this bouquet dies, you can easily release the bongo tie and throw away all the stems into the compost.
The bongo tie can be reused.
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BOTANICALS:
Rose ‘Amnesia’; Anthurium ‘Hokuloa’ (small/designer sizes from Hawaii); Astrantia major; Nerine bowdenii; Scabiosa atropurpurea; Hypericum androsaenum; Podocarpus gracilior; Plumosa fern (Asparagus setaceus); Lycopodium cernuum
SUPPLIES:
Bongo ties (home-made with rubber band & twig); raffia
BOUQUET #2
‘Hand-Tied Bouquet in Embellished Chicken Wire Pillow’
“Preparing for Hand-tied Bouquet with pillow structure begins with embellishing the chicken wire pillow with addition of midollino & wire vine. Fold a length in half and attach the folded end with bindwire through the middle of the pillow, approximately extending 2-3” below the pillow. This becomes the handle to which you will add stems alongside it for the bouquet making.
Add several long stems of mostly stripped Passion vine and wind them in circular motion to add depth and attach points for the structure. Bindwire in few spots to secure where the lines cross, to create a dimensional structure. The bottom of these stems must be in water so the leaves stay hydrated. Add Monstera in its prominent position. Add Podocarpus shorts inserted into the pillow to quickly make the green chickenwire disappear. Add Tillandsia leaflets (Air plants so they don’t need to have a water source) using a dab of Oasis cold glue so they attach in place. Also add split Aspidistra in attempt to cover the pillow some more. Add the Fluffy Rabbit Foot Fern to lighten the greens. With all the attractive greening… the flowering becomes easy.
Rose, Dahlias, Anthurium, Mokara and Dendrobium are inserted to fill out the bouquet dimensionally with a harmonious but dynamic blend of tropical flowers and greens with temperate garden flowers. This is a Tropical Nouveau bouquet. It’s a perfect ready made in hand arrangement to drop into a vase with water… a no foam design. When the flowers are done, pull them out of the structure, and discard them into your compost. The structure itself can be reused again as passion vine dries… It is a structure which allow you to design into it in so many different dimensional ways until the vines crumble. The chickenwire and midollino and wire vine will hold up much longer so you can lace it with more fresh vines again.
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BOTANICALS:
Mokara Orchid; Anthurium ‘Lavender Lady’; Anthurium ‘Regina’; Dahlia var., Dendrobium ‘Uniwai Royale’; Rose ‘Amnesia’; Tillandsia xerographica; Fluffy Rabbit Foot Fern; Passion Vine (Passiflora caerulea); Monstera deliciosa; Aspidistra elatior; Podocarpus gracilior; Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica)
SUPPLIES:
Chickenwire Pillow; Midollino & Wire Vine (see Youtube video); Bindwire
BOUQUET #3
‘Hand-Tied Bouquet in a Sculptural Structure’
“This Hand-Tied Bouquet is a result of an artistic sculptural vision which requires flowers to complete it. The dynamics of the structure inspires the flower selection and the process required to complete it. Building the structure to my vision (sketch) is the first step. The midollino with aluminum wire support, wrapped with bullion wire is shaped into a spiralling configuration. The resulting modern sculptural form (inspired by Naum Gabo sculptures) become the focus of the flowering. The art is primary, and flowers become the decorative element to flatter the sculptural shape. It is a very fluid composition with strong curvilinear flow. A very minimal addition of botanicals can make this design come alive. Do not overflower this type of design. Just enough, adds living beauty.
The order of botanical insertion…
2 side strips (sliced off of a tall green Hala, or Pandanus) are softly woven through the structure to add botanical linear flow to complement the shape. Add in the soft plumosa fern to add transparent texture to the frame. Design white Nerine stems high and low to add a statuesque elegance. Anchor into the binding point area, 2 small white Anthurium ‘Hokuloa’ terraced on top of each other. Green Hypericum and Millet adds little, subtle textural contrast to augment the white design. Jasmine vine flows gently through the structure as in a living garden, to add a natural contrasting curvilinear flow to a man-made form.
This is a very tailored design suited for a minimalist at heart, for whom ‘Less is always More’. Economy of Means is a standard of Aesthetics whereby maximizing the effect of few to create an effective impact…. This may be a part of sustainable floristry of the future.”
BOTANICALS:
Nerine bowdenii; Anthurium ‘Hokuloa’; Hypericum androsaemum; Pandanus (side strips); Jasmine Vine (Jasmine officinale); Plumosa fern (Asparagus setaceus); Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica)
SUPPLIES:
Midollino (natural); Aluminum wire (silver); Bullion Wire (silver); Bindwire
