Indian summer

Glued around an Oasis wreath are dried sunflower stems of various lengths. These stems are a harbinger of autumn. The whole is topped with orange candle wax. Several flowers were inserted into the floral foam wreath, including Dianthus 'Green Trick,' nutans (Leucospermum cordifolium), Dahlia, Freesia, Tillandsia, Heliopsis, Stipa grasses, Crocosmia and Begonia leaf. Glass stitch tubes were placed in some sunflower stems, in which flowers were also placed. The Indian summer coloring emphasizes the fall season.

Stacking balls

A stack of nuts and styrofoam balls of various sizes were glued to an iron peg. The Styrofoam balls are smeared with terracotta-colored clay. Bromeliad plants were placed in some of the nuts. In the remaining openings, glass plug tubes were clamped into which Dahlia flowers and dot leaves of Begonia maculata were inserted. One type of flower with also a round shape was deliberately chosen. To reinforce the design of the arrangement, the round shapes can be found in all the materials used. As a finishing touch, seed pods of Eucalyptus 'Bellgum' and mossed twigs were glued between the round shapes.

Autumn Tide

The approach of autumn is already announcing itself in mid-August. The wind sounds different, there is more moisture in the air, and the spiders diligently create more and more silver air bridges between plants and flowers. Foggy gray days alternate with sunny warm late summer days. And the outdoor scent, too, is more prominent, more earthy.

'Enjoying the sunshine and colors in the garden'

In her flower store in Apeldoorn, florist Erika Oldenhof creates beautiful, colorful arrangements in various themes every day. 'Every season is unique with the beautiful materials,
that's what makes our profession so extra beautiful!'

'For inspiration I look carefully around me; what is going on in fashion, architecture, shop windows and the home decorating magazines and from these I often get ideas for materials, use of form and color. The many floral prints in fashion are also striking now.'

'Summer for me is being outside as much as possible and spending time in the garden with friends, BBQ, drinks, enjoying the sun and the colors in the garden. I like to use materials from the season, beautiful peonies, Passiflora, Ginkgo, Delphinium, Lathyrus et cetera. Trend is flowers from the picking garden. There is also
more demand in the store for (organic) field flowers.'

'Striving to balance sustainability, uniqueness creativity'

Student florist Gerrit van Aalst won a gold medal at Skills The Finals for the second year in a row. The new Dutch Student-Flower Binding Champion will represent the Netherlands
Netherlands at the Worldskills in France.

'With love I work with beautiful materials straight from the nursery - this allows me to always find that one special flower with a unique color, length or a special variety that distinguishes and embellishes my work.'

'I strive to balance sustainability with maintaining uniqueness and creativity. I am currently focusing on designing frames and bases that can be reused multiple times - but in a different way each time so that the floral works are always unique. In addition, I am working on creating large structures that take up little space for storage after disassembly. That also makes it easier with transporting or storing the frames.'

'In my spacious garden I grow lots of flowers and plants'

Master florist Birgit Davids-Schuurman is the owner of floral trade school for adults, Floral Academy, in Ede. 'I teach students who want to deepen or (further) qualify as florists. Summer means a slightly quieter time for me, spending a lot of time outside in the garden, enjoying family and friends.'

'In my own generous garden I grow many flowers and plants suitable for floral arrangements. In summer there are many varieties of flowers available. So I love to go through the garden with the knife and collect all kinds of materials for a summer bouquet or arrangement.'

'My floral work is characterized by versatility, I love variety: sometimes very minimalist and austere, other times natural, bloody kitsch or just classical. In terms of colors, I often choose ton-sur-ton, although I can certainly appreciate a colorful creation as well.'