Lessons; techniques

Techniques for flower art; introduction

• Techniques of flower arranging, a brief introduction

• Helpful aids in flower design

• Containers and the base

All arrangements, bouquets, corsages, decorations etc. ask for their own typical technique. If we make a corsage we will usually wire the flowers and leaves separately put moist, paper or cotton wool around and wrap it in tape (caoutchouc or craftex). Finally we twist the flowers and leaves into a corsage. Or we use glue instead of wire. For an arrangement we use wire netting, Oasis or other material. A good attaching technique is required as well as the right way to put in the flowers and materials you work with. Design and tenability (fresh) coherent.

• Arranging techniques: sand, clay, oasis, peat, wire netting, bottlebrush.
• Bind techniques: spiral bindings, sheaf or corn binding, parallel binding.
• Wire techniques: wiring flowers and leaves, twisting into corsage or bouquet, wrapping with wet material and tape.
• Glue techniques: glue-pistol, tube-glue.
• Japanese techniques: kenzan, kubari, shippo, straign and chaping techniques.
• Special techniques: ribbon, binding, fixes candles, bending branches, clipping, cutting planting.
• Plant techniques: planting small bulbs and plants.

Ever since about 1960 a flood of accessories fit for flower arranging became available. Before most arrangements were put in clay, Sphagnum moss, peat, wire netting. Other accessories available were: wire, raffia, rope, some tubes and small pipes. When the Oasis foam was introduced by Smithers Oasis, it became much easier to get to a good result.

• Your basic equipment should be a knife, pruning-knife, wire-cutter, glue-pistol, stapler, and a scissors.
• Besides this it is handy to have a set of tools, utensils including an electric drill.
• Materials you can not miss are: watering can and water sprinkler.
• Supporting material to put living flowers in like: oasis, peat, wire-netting and greenery like stems, branches; also clay, kenzan (frog) and a bottlebrush.
• For dried materials: oasis-sec (Styrofoam), clay.
• Attaching materials: various green colored wire, silver wire, spool winding wire and for special use thick or welding wire. Also anchor tape (waterproof tape), cellotape, plastic pin holders, Oasis-fix, clamps, rope, raffia, nylon cord and flower binding tape.
• Other side-materials: bucket, tubes long and short, bamboo-sticks, plastic and aluminum foil, candleholders made of plastic or metal. Also green plastic tape on a roll like caouctchouc and craftex for finishing corsages and bridal works. Also decorating pins, tube-glue, glass jar and empty plastic cans.
• Sprayers with glue, paint, leave shine to clean leaves and varnish for dried flowers.
• Beside these entire side-materials Smithers Oasis puts also a number of very handy basic materials on market.

• 1 holders for bridal bouquets.
• 2 holders for funeral-arrangements.
• 3 wreathes and ring sets.
• 4 cushions.
• 5 cross shapes.
• 6 heart shapes.
• 7 car-corso holders.
• etc. etc.

In every country these above-mentioned Oasis-basic materials are often in special packages according to the special needs in the various countries.

• Containers are: a bowl, vase or basket.
• The base is wet Oasis, wire netting and so on.

We divide in wet techniques for fresh flowers and dry techniques for dry and silk flowers.

The container has to be in perfect harmony with the style and materials. Important also is to use a container with good possibilities for flower arranging.

Be sure you make the best choice as well in container as in base, the result of the arrangement is much depending on this.

For wet Oasis it is important to soap it with water thoroughly and use a flower preservative in the water.

To fix the base
If we want to fix in the container Oasis or so, be sure it is absolutely fixed and cannot fell out. We can use extra pin holders with Oasis Oasis-fix and eventually metal wire under the pin holder.

After this we can put on the Oasis. Cover eventually the Oasis with wire netting and fix it. Oasis may not come over the edge of the container; above it is no problem.

To put in flower stems
Before you start making a flower arrangement, all flowers and leaves must be cut of and have drunk water for a few hours.

Cut of the stems with a sharp knife, under a corner of about 45 degrees. Direct after it you put them in the arrangement. Be sure to put in the stems quite deep in the Oasis. Stems need water and must be fixed very well. If you arrange in wire netting you must be sure the stems are till the bottom of the container.

Binding techniques
This are all techniques we used to bind flowers together as bouquet or in an arrangement. Also we can use bindings as decorative element in an arrangement

Glue techniques
In flower art we use glue techniques more and more. We can use a glue gun, a glue pot, spray glue or cold glue. Oasis delivers different kind of glue for the florist.
Be careful with hot glue, you can burn yourself badly.

Pile up
This is a modern technique used when we like to pile leaves, stones or other materials. This technique give a big change in the way of flower arranging and the design in general. Especially while grouping or texturing is is of great value.

Thread
In this technique materials will be threads on a string. We can use this by making a garland of by decorative use in flower arrangement.

Tighten (stretch)
The stretch technique is uses to fix between branches between the edges of a container. Between the branches we can put flowers and leaves.

Clasping
By clasping we fix materials, often branches, in a container.

Twine (braid)
This technique we use to combine materials in a crossing way. Twining and braiding gives an interesting effect in the design.

Nailing and screwing
Heavy branches and hard fruits, but also some attributes can be fixed on a base by nailing or screwing.

Inlay techniques
We can lay dawn materials without the use of any kind of base in a container. In case of floating flowers we simply put the flowers in the water.

Wet technique or inlay technique; floating flowers. Designer; Aad van Uffelen

Pins, sticks,
Pins are handy to fix some materials.
Sticks can be used to connect materials or to fix fruits.

Support techniques
For fixation of heavy branches or bend materials it sometimes is not easy to keep them in position. With the help of a few sticks in opposite direction as shore, fixation is easy.

Japanese techniques
Interesting are Kenzans; these are made of lead and have many copper nails. On top of these nails you can put the flower stems. Kubari-techniques (clasping, stretching or fixing with the help of sticks or branches are interesting and have good possibilities. 

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Last update of this page 23.05.2004