'Plants play a big role'
‘Deep red and burgundy are welcome,’ says floral designer Hanneke Frankema, ‘with accents in gold, cream or white tones and surfaces with an oil luster or mother-of-pearl, you make it special. Distinctive color and powerful design: the Lush Natural Elegance theme doesn't need much.’
‘Within this theme, plants and organic shapes play a major role. These can be characteristic strong leaf shapes, but also flowers with special shapes that often match beautifully with each other. Consider the Guzmania, Gloriosa, Phalaenopsis, but also Celosia, with which you as a florist can really make a statement.’
‘Everyone knows it, you have nice vases but a piece is missing or the paint is peeling off. But you don't throw them away either, so they often gather dust in the closet for ages. Yet they offer many possibilities if you think 'out of the box' for a moment and breathe new life into them by sprucing them up. For example, I applied dark red and gold accents to pots and vases with self-adhesive mourning ribbon made of woven fabric. A product for which I see many other applications.’
On discovery
Oasis TerraBrick Floral Media is placed in a beautiful handmade bowl. All processed flowers are first carefully cleaned, after which all flower heads are processed at one height and only using insertion techniques. Many beautiful varieties in colors appropriate to the theme are incorporated into the disc shape, which is built up with a curve. To be discovered are: chrysanthemums, Zantedeschia, Sanguisorba, Guzmania, dill, Talinum, Dianthus, lisianthus, Rudbeckia, grasses, and Clematis fluff.
Extra special
A handmade base with oil luster in which six beautiful specimens of Guzmania are planted. A lilac branch is sprayed gold and, as it were, ‘grows’ through the plants. Also, beautiful leaf shapes are made ‘freehand’ from 2mm thick gold-colored aluminum wire: a beautiful decorative technique to make a plant arrangement even more special.
Surprise Bouquet
The base of this surprise bouquet is a bowl made of salmon-colored aluminum wire (2 mm) using the chicken wire technique. The flowers, in burgundy, deep red, and lighter shades, are incorporated along the sides in the bowl shape of the frame, the stems also hold the frame up. A number of flowers have special shapes such as Guzmania, Phalaenopsis, chrysanthemum, Gloriosa, and Celosia. Sanguisorba, Talinum, Scabiosa, Clematis Amazing Kibo, lisianthus, Zantedeschia, and grasses are incorporated in between and along the outside.
Plant vases
Two vases with a strong shape have been pimped by covering them with angelwings seeds – this works great (and quite fast) with hot glue. Subsequently, two Guzmania specimens were planted in the vases and self-adhesive woven mourning ribbon, in the color of the Guzmania plants, gave the whole an extra accent. Because of the color and powerful design, this pair fits perfectly within the theme Lush Natural Elegance.
Scent and gold
Everyone would want this beautiful set in their home; each pot contains three beautiful salmon-colored mini Phalaenopsis plants that also smell wonderful. Gold-colored aluminum wire has been used to replace the removed plant stakes. Decorative and technical, because the stems are attached to it and can be placed where you want them. Self-adhesive woven gold-colored mourning ribbon creates a beautiful detail that also makes the surface just a little different.