Fresh Flower Arranging PDF
Preview Fresh Flower Arranging
fresh Flower arranging STEP-BY-STEP DESIGNS FOR HOME, WEDDINGS & GIFTS Mark Welford and Stephen Wicks Ffreslh ower arranging Ffreslh ower arranging Mark Welford and Stephen Wicks LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH, MELBOURNE, DELHI Editor Susannah Steel Photography Carolyn Barber Project Editor Andrew Roff Project Art Editor William Hicks US Editor Rebecca Warren Designers Miranda Harvey, Simon Murrell Managing Editor Dawn Henderson Managing Art Editors Christine Keilty, Marianne Markham Senior Jackets Creative Nicola Powling Senior Presentations Creative Caroline de Souza Senior Production Editor Jennifer Murray Senior Production Controller Alice Sykes Creative Technical Support Sonia Charbonnier First American edition, 2011 Published in the United States by DK Publishing 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 11 12 13 14 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 176539—February 2011 Copyright © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-7566-5859-5 Printed and bound in China by Toppan Discover more at www.dk.com CONTENTS Introduction 8 PRINCIPLES 10 Theory 12 Design guidelines for successful arrangements Care 30 Get equipped, prepare your flowers, and keep them fresh Skills 36 Essential step-by-step techniques THROUGH THE YEAR 60 From spring through summer to fall and winter ALL YEAR-ROUND 218 Flowers that are available every month of the year WEDDINGS Spring 92 • Country Summer 130 • Urban Chic Summer 150 Autumn 176 • Winter 200 Stockists 250 Index 252 Acknowledgments 256 8 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION We met in 1970 in London, England at White Lodge, the Royal Ballet Lower School, and although we were a school year apart we became friends. In the late 1970s we joined the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, which was later to become known as the Birmingham Royal Ballet. As we neared our “sell-by date” as dancers in the 1990s, we discussed what we would do when we retired. Stephen has always loved flowers and had already arranged the flowers for a friend’s wedding. Although I was a keen gardener, I knew little about the world of cut flowers, so it was somewhat of a surprise when Stephen suggested the idea of opening a flower shop together: “All we need are some buckets, a cold tap, and a pair of scissors!” We applied for support from the Dancers’ Career Development (DCD), a charity that helps ex-dancers make the transition into a new career. With the DCD’s generous support, we were able to open the doors of Bloomsbury Flowers in Covent Garden in December 1994. We made a promise to ourselves that we would not compromise on the quality of our flowers, but also ensure that Stephen (right) and I opened our shop, Bloomsbury they always provide the best value. Flowers, in London’s Covent Garden, which is close to the Royal Opera House where we both danced many times. Our mission is to make our flowers as theatrical as possible while following our motto of “less is more” by ensuring that even the simplest bunch of tulips leaves the shop looking exquisite, unpretentious, and beautifully wrapped. We are always confident that once a customer removes the wrapping, the flowers will still look fantastic. We have even managed to change the style of the presentation bouquets handed to ballerinas at the end of a performance at the Royal Opera House, London: we have created a unique way of wrapping the flowers so they are not encased in cellophane (which reflects the stage lights so the flowers can’t be seen) and can be enjoyed by the audiences, too. Our ballet background has provided us with some invaluable experience when it comes to floristry. Timing was a fundamental part of our preparation and performance on stage every night, and As with ballet, technique is all-important in floristry. we have since found that timing is an important aspect of being a Learning how to arrange flowers in a hand-tied bouquet successful florist. For example, we are always aware of how long it was one of the first skills we had to master.
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