Flower Arrangements "Know How": Colors, Texture & Shape.

Pansies look so gentle, but in reality are quite hardy and easy to grow. I plant a lot of them in pots in spring and second time at the end of summer. They flower for months and add bright colors to the garden. They become especially useful when you invite guests and want to decorate your dinner table with fresh flowers. Little arrangements like this do not take much space and are very easy to make. Take small wine glass or any glass container, and put one or 2 flowers with a bit of greenery, and here you have it: picture perfect arrangement.

This "violet" is not quite the same "blue" of Provance, but also looks stunning with yellow. This particular color combination: violet and yellow proved to be very effective in creating an impact. You can also pair it with Irises (see picture below), and I promiss you will get a canvas worthy picture. I did it this Spring, and it was amazingly beautiful together.

If you have rose bushes in your garden, you know how at the end of the season there are a lot of roses growing in bunches on a short stems, which you can not use in traditional large vase bouquet. But they can be used for small arrangements, like this one. Strawberry leaves make nice contrast with the flowers and mask floral foam, that is used to hold the flowers in place. Any small container without a hole will do.

Try to place roses close together and a bit assymetrical. Watch for color of the container. Make sure it compliments your roses, and does not clash with them. I made this one as a birthday present for the hostess to decorate dinner table with it. I also made another one in a "blue" container with pale purple roses. 2 of them made the table look very festive. Despite the fact, that almost every guest came with the long stem "rose" bouquet, these small arrangements became a conversation piece for the evening.

Please notice few long spiky leaves sticking out of the bouquet. Imagine now this bouquet without them. The contrast between round flowers and spiky leaves makes big difference. Make a note of this simple rule: different contrasting shapes of flowers and leaves look very good in flower arrangements.

Colorful hats and bright cloths of these garden figurines stand out very nicely in the sea of English Ivy. Together they made a fairy tale like scene. I picked those dolls at the "Dollar store" and placed few small ivy pots around them.

The whole group is under the big tree, where nothing grows, except Ivy. It managed to spill over the pot and filled the spot with bight green color. Now it looks just right and makes me smile every time I look at them.

You can easily create a wonderful colorful spot in the garden with few containers of annual flowers. These phlox flowers grew very fast. I just picked a flat in the nursery with all possible colors and added them to bigger planters with perennials as well as created separate small pots. They keep blooming for a good 2 months now. I feel like I am sitting in the middle of the bouquet itself, when i am on this bench sipping coffee in the morning before leaving for work. They look especially attractive in that morning sun and I feel happy and rewarded.

Please notice, that even there are a lot of different colors, they are all next to each other on the color wheel. No contrasting colors, except white and green. Repetition and similar color pallette create the soothing feeling I was after.

Blue is always good with pink.

So gentle and intricate! These ferns are my most cherished possession. They grow in a large cotainer in a shady part of the deck. New growth has wonderful light green color which contrasts with more mature leaves. The shape and texture of these plants make all the difference in this composition. Don't you think it looks sofisticated enough to be a painting on a wall in sombody's study or library?
If your flowers or plants have complex elaborate shape, you hardly need to add anything else to it.

I saw this plant in the nursery, could not resist, and bought it. it was a bit tricky to plant it when it was much smaller than shown on the picture, but I managed. I am glad I put it in a tall container. Now delicate branches have space to grow along it's walls. I think it's quite hardy, but we shall see if it survives our mild California winter. Meanwhile, every one who visits pays attention and wants to touch. Can you imagine trying to paint each one of those berries? That is why I am saying that painting with real flowers is a better way to go.

See how different texture and shape of the leaves makes this "all green" picture look interesting?

Potato plant has this very special light lime green color, which is hard to find among the plants , but hard to miss, when you find it. Coleus in it's turn has many different colors, but famous mainly for it's texture. This two are great together. Contrasting colors and textures make this combination an instant showpiece. Both are annuals, but go on for the whole summer. Make sure they are not in too sunny spot. Part shade is the best.

I planted this pot while teaching "flowers lovers" class to my friends in my garden. It looked nice than, but it looks spectacular now. Some repetition with the previous container makes it a perfect companion next to it. Variegated mint leaves and white impatiens add another interesting twist to the picture. Notice how mint's hairy texture is similar to Coleus one? And how white outline in it's leaves compliments white impatiens?
A touch of white paint, and painting is so different ...

Every Saturday morning, I will cut a few roses and will make small arrangements like this one.. I will place them all over my house, and all of a sudden chores are no longer boring, when your eye is so pleased.
I used small ceramic container & floral foam soaked in water. Roses are cut very short and placed at the angle. See product section below if you want to buy floral foam or stop by at Michael's. They should have it in the "flower" section. Make sure you buy "fresh flower" type, and not the one for silk flowers.

A"fiery" rose in a perfect setting of bright green leaves.
Few nasturtium and variegated geranium leaves make perfect background for a bright rose. I used large diameter kenzan to hold flowers in place.

This was my first wedding bouquet. I am very thankful to my friend who believed in my abilities enough to trust me with her son's wedding. Both Bride and Groom were happy with the flowers, not to mention myself!
You need to hold flowers really tight to each other and keep them together with the flower tape, before wrapping the ribbon around them. It does take time to do one like this, but it will take even longer to paint a picture like this.