The Promise of Spring!

The Dining Room Table

                                                                                                                                          Kelly Johnson Photo



                    Kelly Johnson Photo

I did this early spring arrangement for Kelly Johnson's dining room table for a Luncheon Meeting.  It was a cold, damp, dreary day in January, so we needed a breath of spring.   There is nothing that conveys the promise of spring more than tulips.  I love to use them with bare branches, as a reminder that winter is still with us.  I chose Kelly's rose medallion porcelain bowl for the arrangement. Proportionately, this bowl is a great size for Kelly's dining room table and the arrangement didn't overwhelm the simple menu of quiche, salad and ham biscuits.  I used orange and salmon flowers, as I'd been shopping the day before and saw these colors everywhere, clearly the "it" color for spring.  These colors also go beautifully with Kelly's decor. 

Materials

1.  1.5 blocks of soaked oasis and floral preservative.

2.  Clear floral tape.

3.  Floral wire for the gerber daisies.

4.  2 branches of cryptomeria.

5.  7 small branches of American Hornbeam.

6.  5 yellow roses.

7.  7 orange gerber daisies.

8.   5 yellow gerber daisies.

9.   11 salmon roses.

10.  15 orange and yellow parrot tulips.

Instructions

Soak the oasis in a tub with the floral preservative.  Place 1 full block of soaked oasis in container. Trim if necessary so that it fits tightly.  Add about 1/4 piece of soaked oasis on each side.  Leave about 1 inch above the container. Tape across the top of the bowl a couple of times, to make sure the oasis doesn't pop out. Wire the gerber daisies by inserting a piece of floral wire up through the stem and pushing it up to the top of the stem.  Cover the oasis with the cryptomeria. It's light and airy and adds to the winter feel of the arrangement. Place the tallest flower in the top first and make sure it's not too tall for the chandelier. Since this was a buffet, I didn't worry about anyone seeing over the flowers. For a seated meal, the centerpiece should be no higher than the distance from my elbow to my fist.  Start with the salmon roses and orange gerber daisies and make an outline of the arrangement, following the round lines of the container.   Fill in the outline with the rest of the flowers. Add the branches last, to give it more height.  Because these branches are thin and bare, their height doesn't throw the arrangement out of proportion. 

Note - I didn't wire the tulips or condition them to stay straight, as I wanted them to twist and turn naturally.

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The Breakfast Table

                                                                                                                              Kelly Johnson Photo

For the same Luncheon Meeting at Kelly's, we continued the tulips on the breakfast table, but chose pink and created a light, airy, casual, garden-style arrangement. First, I chose this wonderful pedastol urn because it's another reminder of spring. Pink tulips were a natural choice as pink is one of Kelly's favorite colors and it's a prominent color in her nearby great room. I didn't wire the tulips or condition them to stay straight, as I wanted them to droop, turn and twist as tulips do naturally. I love the way they will change direction after placed in an arrangement. I used a little aucuba at the base of the arrangement to hide the mechanics, and filled in with bright green Spanish moss afer I finished placing all the flowers. I used a few branches - dogwood and American Hornbeam trees- a reminder that it's still winter. I also love the contrast of the stark, bare branches with the warm, springy tulips. I found a few long sprigs of rosemary in the garden and a type of long-stemmed boxwood from a friend's hedge and used those to fill in. Finally, I placed these little plaster birds at the base of the urn, in keeping with the natural look and feel of this arrangement. See materials list and instructions below.

Materials

1. I small garden urn. Container size should be in proportion to size of table.

2. 1/2 block of oasis.

3. Floral tape to hold oasis.

4. 23 tulips in color that coordinates with your surroundings. Always use odd numbers of flowers. Do not wire the tulips.

5. A few bare branches. Almost any kind will do, but dogwood works well.

6. A few branches of greens to cover the mechanics and fill in. Be careful that the greens don't look like Christmas.

7. Spanish moss to cover the rest of the oasis, not covered by greens. I used the moss instead of greens to keep it light and airy.

Instructions

1. Soak oasis, cut to fit container, and place in container so that it fits tightly. Leave about 3 inches above the rim of the container. Put one or two pieces of tape over the top of the oasis, to prevent it from popping out.

2. Place short stems of the aucuba in the oasis, covering most of the oasis and the tape. I didn't cover it completely, as I wanted to keep it light and airy.

3. Place the first tulip in the top, making it as tall as the arrangement will be. Check the height with the chandelier hanging over the table. Also, the arrangement should be no taller than about 1.5 half times the height of the container in general. This can vary due to shape and size of container, but is a good rule of thumb to follow. If people are to be seated at the table, the arrangement should be no higher than the length of my elbow to my fist. Since no one would be seated at this table, I didn't worry about being able to see over the flowers.

4. Next, continue placing the tulips in the oasis to create the line you desire. The line of the arrangement is the most important part of the creative process. I wanted my arrangement to be sort of a fan shape, in line with the handles on the urn, with the tulips twisting and turning in different directions, which they did on their own by the next day.

5. Put a few bare branches in mostly around the top, to add interest and contribute to the natural look.

6. Add three stems of rosemary and 3 to 5 long stems of the boxwood to fill in.

7. Place Spanish moss in between the flowers to cover any oasis that is showing, leaving a little to droop over the sides of the urn and add to the natural, garden look.

8. I placed the two little plaster birds beneath the urn as a final nod to the promise of Spring!

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The Coffee Table

                                                                                  Kelly Johnson Photo

A dozen tulips in a little pot! To make this simple arrangement, select a small, casual container, use about 12 tulips the same color, create a bouquet by holding all the tulips together in one hand at the same height. Next, cut all stems at the same point, so that the tulips stand about 1.5 times as high as the container. Cut stems at a slant to absorb the most water. Place the bouquet in the container of water with flower preservative, and enjoy.

                                                                                                                                   Kelly Johnson Photo
The bounty of Spring flowers for Kelly's luncheon came from several local grocery stores. What a beautiful site on a cold, dreary, damp January day.