Room for Meaning

Fall cannot be defined by a single color or shape. The season is rich and exuberant, yet at the same time it shows how beauty changes and is ultimately fleeting. It is precisely this complexity that makes fall so interesting for florists and floral designers. Materials take on character, colors deepen, and even seed pods, branches, and dried elements become valuable components of a design.

That same focus on meaning is central to our special feature on funeral floral arrangements. At a funeral, flowers can express what is sometimes difficult to put into words. This requires more than just an appropriate shape or color. Good funeral arrangements begin with listening, careful selection, and translating the personal story into a design that honors the deceased and the bereaved. Craftsmanship and empathy go hand in hand here.

Elsewhere in this issue, too, the focus is on conscious choices. Tomas De Bruyne makes it clear that design begins with the question of why something should exist. The starting point is not the flower or the technology, but the meaning and experience that a design evokes. Ahti Lyra seeks that expressive power in stories that stem from the nature, culture, and symbolism of his native Estonia. Their visions differ, but they converge in the conviction that floral art is more than just decoration.

We see this as well at The Dorchester in London, where Phil Hammond developed a distinctive floral identity that permeates every detail of the hotel. In his masterclass, Frédéric Dupré focuses instead on texture, color, and light—qualities that determine how a design is truly experienced. We also visited the Landesgartenschau in Bad Nenndorf and Floral Windows to the World in Singapore—two international stages where the versatility of the profession was on full display.

With this issue, we, too, are taking an important step. * DPK Floral Magazine * was already available in multiple languages on the website, but from now on it will also be published as a fully English-language print edition. This will allow us not only to showcase international floral art in the Netherlands and Belgium, but also to bring *DPK* to a broader, international professional audience in a tangible form.

Thanks to our partnership with FM Group, the English-language edition can be ordered through FleuraMetz’s cash-and-carry locations. By having the magazine shipped along with a regular order, shipping costs can be kept to a minimum. In addition, the English-language edition is available directly from our online store.

In this way, DPK continues to grow beyond borders, while its core remains unchanged: providing a platform for craftsmanship, vision, and floral design that tells a story. Enjoy reading!

Tjeerd Posthumus
Publisher

Selected by DPK

DPK Floral Magazine Each issue highlights the most beautiful and innovative new products: from flowers to retail concepts.

Flowers Tell Stories

Not a traditional flower show, but a Flower Hall that invites visitors to reflect on abundance, the power of nature, and the meaning of authenticity. At the Landesgartenschau in Bad Nenndorf, master florist and decorator Rieke Rahlfes tells a story about life through four floral chapters. She has been an ambassador for FM Group for many years, and the company is providing her with the necessary materials for this event. “People rarely remember every single flower, but they do remember the feeling a space evokes.”

The Origin of Fynbos from South Africa

Anyone who works with a Protea, Serruria, or Leucadendron is essentially working with a piece of South Africa. Virtually all known fynbos species originate in the Cape Floristic Region, one of the most species-rich plant regions in the world. The combination of poor, sandy soils, dry summers, wet winters, and natural wildfires creates unique conditions here.

The Resilient Lily: A Story to Pass On

Customers usually choose a lily because of its color, flower shape, or fragrance. But behind every stem lies a development process that can sometimes take more than ten years. Breeders, bulb growers, researchers, and growers have been working together all this time toward a single goal: the resilient lily. Not only beautiful, but also better prepared for the challenges of the future.

“Through my designs, I want to tell a story.”

Master florist Ahti Lyra from Estonia sees floral arrangements as much more than just decorative objects. To him, every design tells a story, inspired by the nature, culture, and symbolism of his homeland. “I like to create work that looks effortless and simple.”