Spring Floral Arrangement: Designing with Silk Flowers

Designing with silk flowers is a simple and affordable way to add punctuation to a room while creating a unique and lasting work of art. Many high quality silk flowers on the market today are almost indistinguishable from living blooms.  They can be easily combined in vintage containers for a fashionable alternative to fresh floral designs.

The new style of floristry reflects a more natural aesthetic, with loose flowing flowers in non-traditional combinations and often incorporates garden-grown floral varieties.  This arrangement, for example, includes hydrangeas, peonies and ranunculus mixed with two kinds of orchids and calla lilies. 

To create an arrangement like this, first collect the necessary materials.  It is important to choose a container that reflects the overall look you want the piece to have.  I decided to use a patinated metal urn for a traditional French-inspired style.

Next, select a color scheme.  All of the flowers used here are different shades of white or light lavender-pink. Choose different shapes of flowers that fuse with the color scheme.  Large round blooms like hydrangeas give the arrangement structure while unusually shaped flowers like orchids add interest. Also, find some greenery to work throughout the arrangement.

To keep the design looking natural, bend the stems as shown above rather than cutting them when arranging.  This provides some structure within the vase to hold the other flowers in place but still allows for movement.  This way you can also reuse the flowers.

Next, begin arranging the largest blooms first until you find a shape you like.  Add the smaller accent flowers and greenery into the empty spaces as you build the arrangement.  In the design above, the hydrangeas and peonies form the core of the piece and support all the other flowers. 

Trailing vines and draping flowers provide a sense of movement and add to the organic, flowing look of the arrangement. This also emphasizes the way flowers actually grow, making the piece appear less fussy and more natural.

Below is the finished arrangement.  I added small white calla lilies throughout to highlight the design.  Now it is ready for display...

This post has been shared on French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday.