July 29, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of How We Bloom podcast and Floral Hub blog, we explore the art and architecture of floral design by expanding your toolkit of floral design techniques. Design is the “wow” that stirs emotion - technique is the “how” that gives it form. Discover how to use floral mechanics to shape your signature style. Whether you're designing a delicate wedding bouquet or a dramatic centerpiece, these flower arranging tips will elevate your creativity - and that’s How We Bloom.
How we Bloom podcast is an oasis of flower ideas. Host Sharon McGukin of Smithers-Oasis North America interviews floral guests who dare to do things differently. We listen, learn, explore new opportunities and that's how we bloom!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sharon McGukin (00:09):
while design is the 'wow' of constructing an
arrangement, techniques are the'how' of organizing the work.
How we Bloom is an oasis offlower ideas.
(00:36):
I'm your host, Sharon McGukinof Smithers Oasis North America.
Today in our Floral DesignTechniques II podcast, we
explore the art of creativelyorganizing floral material
placement in professionalquality designs.
As floral designers, we oftenexperiment with new methods,
applications, or techniques, andthat's how we bloom.
(01:14):
In a previous podcast and blog,the Principles and Elements of
Design, we discussed thefundamental concepts of using
principles and elements as thebuilding blocks of any
successful floral arrangement.
In a subsequent podcast andblog, we discuss design
techniques that can be used toenhance your work using Floral
(01:35):
Design Techniques.
Your positive response to thosetwo floral education blogs
encourage the sharing ofadditional techniques in this
podcast and blog Floral DesignTechniques II: the 'How' behind
the 'Wow.'Techniques are not just
practical tools, but an artisticapproach to the personalization
(01:58):
dimension and visualstorytelling of your designs.
In this podcast, we discuss howto skillfully build
arrangements like a floralarchitect using floral design
techniques.
What's the difference betweendesign and technique?
Design is the ability toartfully skillfully, plan,
(02:20):
organize, and place materials ina fashion that creates a
harmonious composition Techniqueis the structured approach,
method, or applications used tocreate effective, visually
pleasing floral designs.
In other words, 'how' thedesigner organizes materials to
(02:40):
achieve the 'wow' their planneddesign can deliver.
A floral quote by Pablo Neada,the Chilean poet, once expressed
that "floral designers arearchitects of emotion building
arrangements that resonate withthe heart."
Design is the fundamentalframework.
(03:01):
While techniques are theapplications that express
creative flair, some techniquesare used in a wide variety of
designs.
Others are used for specificstyle of design, experimentation
and experience will teach youwhich design techniques work
best in your designs.
(03:22):
Well executed techniques drawattention to detail like
braiding, detailing andwrapping.
Braiding or platting is theentwining, weaving, or
interlacing of three or morestrands of materials to create
decorative detail, often used asan innovative technique for
incorporating foliages intotropical arrangements.
(03:44):
Detailing is the refining orfinishing details of a design.
Small intricate elements can beused to create depth, texture,
visual interests, or to reflectpersonal style, sometimes used
in wedding bouquet design torepeat dressmaking details of
(04:04):
the bridal gown, such as pearls,crystals, or stitchery
patterns.
Wrapping.
Is the enclosing individualstems or groups of flowers for
protection or presentation.
Binding materials such asthread or yarn ribbon, fabric or
paper or decorative wire can beused to secure the wrap to add
(04:28):
visual interest, color, ortexture.
Flowers and foliage can be usedas the foundation of a design as
in layering and lacing.
Layering is placing floralmaterial or plant material or
products atop one another,leaving little or no space.
Leaves are layered, butstaggered.
(04:50):
Showing one leaf atop theother, going backward toward the
composition, this can lead theeye into a design.
Lacing is interweaving thestems or plant material one
across the other to form astable mechanic that can hold.
Floral materials as in a placein design.
(05:11):
Lacing is the interweaving ofstems of plant material, one
across another to form a stablemechanic that can hold floral
materials in place.
In a design.
Think of using leather leaf.
One stem crosses just above theintersection of the lowest
frond and the stem Insert thenext stem in the same fashion
(05:34):
from the opposite side acrossanother stem.
Continue around all sides untila suitable mechanic is formed
to support the volume of flowersused.
This technique is often used tosecure materials in an open
mouth, glass vase.
Create new and interesting formsin a design by manipulating
(05:56):
foliage for visual interestslike leaf work or leaf
manipulation.
Leaf work is layering foliageto showcase texture or create a
decorative surface on acontainer.
One example is to wrap acontainer in plastic wrap heat
shrink the wrap to fit thecontainer tightly.
(06:17):
By applying the warm heat of ahair dryer, a layering of leaves
can be glued into place overthe wrap overlapping each other.
I love to do this with lambsear leaves.
I love the texture.
When the leaf surface is nolonger needed or has lost its
color, simply cut away theplastic, leaving a clean
(06:39):
container.
This technique can also be usedto create an impressive
decorative design by gluing inplace fresh or fo leaves to a
larger surface, such as atablecloth for an event like a
wedding.
Leaf manipulation is thealtering of natural form of a
(06:59):
plant material to create aunique form that enhances the
visual interest of a floralarrangement, creating sculptural
elements in a design bycutting, looping, twisting,
folding, pleading, or braidingfoliages to use as accents or
emphasize line, form, ortexture.
(07:22):
Design techniques can also beused to change the size or shape
of floral materials, such asfeathering, pruning, tailoring,
and forcing feathering, alsocalled frenching.
Is the process of takingflowers such as carnations or
chrysanthemums apart.
Then binding them togetheragain to create smaller units of
(07:44):
the original flower.
These new bundles are oftensecured by floral tape or thin
wire.
Pruning, selectively removingfoliage, florets petals, or
branches to make a materialvisually lighter weight, or to
reveal a more interesting shape.
Tailoring trimming materialsfor the purpose of creating a
(08:09):
sculpted or fitted appearance,Forcing purposely exposing
floral materials such as flowersor blooming branches to
elements like warm temperatures,warm water, bright light, or
sunlight to force the blooms toopen more quickly.
You can use stem placementtechniques to achieve visual
(08:33):
pleasing effects, as inmirroring and parallelism.
Mirroring is the placing of thesame material in repetition at
different heights and depths.
Often one material is placed infront of another and lower than
the same material to mirrorthat position.
Parallelism.
(08:55):
The stems of each group areplaced parallel to each other.
There are no radiating lines ofsignificant flowers, but simple
basing materials may radiateout.
Arrangements can be uniquelydesigned by using placement
techniques such as stackingsculpturing, and sectioning.
(09:16):
Stacking, placing materials ina stack, either side by side or
on top of each other.
Sculpturing, placing materialsin distinct zones to bring the
eye to the center of the design.
Sectioning.
Organizing a design bysegregating the types of
(09:36):
materials within a group.
Let's consider the four basictechniques for attaching
materials in a design.
Sewing, tying, gluing andpicking Sewing is stitching
materials in place by using aneedle in thread staples,
(09:57):
straight pens or florist wire tosecure floral materials on a
flat surface, such as a parasol,a flat casket cover, or to
create a flower lei Tying.
Materials are tied together byproducts such as string, bind
wire, or raffia.
Hand-tying is creating abouquet by holding the floral
(10:21):
materials while crossing orspiraling the stems, and
securing this composition withtying materials often used to
create wedding bouquets orarrangements for glass vases.
Gluing is a method of attachingmaterials in a composition
using liquid or aerosol glue forfresh materials, or low or hot
(10:46):
temp glue in a design of fauxmaterials.
Picking, picking techniques canhelp to secure place or elevate
materials in a design.
There are five popular pickingapplications, wood, metal, wire,
water tube or natural.
(11:07):
Wood, as in a wired woodenpick, metal as in a flat pointed
metal pick that requires apicking machine to attach it to
a stem.
Wire florist wire for securityor decorative wire for accents.
Water tube.
When flowers are too short fortheir position in an
(11:30):
arrangement, the tube can bewired or taped to a wooden pick
or a natural stem to increasetheir height.
Natural, a piece of stem orbranch that is used for security
or elevation.
By thoughtfully selecting andexecuting techniques that
enhance the structure, purposeand style of a floral
(11:52):
arrangement, you can elevateyour designs from beautiful to
breathtaking.
When flower styling tips areeffectively used, distinctive
detail, creative flair andemotional resonance can make
your designs visually moreappealing and artistically more
impactful.
(12:14):
Continue nurturing yourcreative, professional growth by
exploring educational resourceslike the AIFD Guide to Floral
Design Terms, Techniques, andTraditions available@aifd.org.
Don't forget to share theFloral Hub blog for readers and
(12:35):
How We Bloom podcast forlisteners with your fellow
flower lovers.
The podcast is available onBuzzSprout, Spotify, Apple
Podcast, and more.
(13:00):
To our audience, Smithers OasisNorth America.
Want to thank you for joiningus today.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't wanna miss theinspired solutions our upcoming
guests will share with you foryour personal or business
growth.
If you have topics or guestsyou want to hear, please message
(13:22):
me.
We'd love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
form, soaking inspiration inlike raindrops, absorbing energy
from others, like warmth fromthe sun.
This growth opens us up to newideas, and that's How We Bloom.
while design is the 'wow' of constructing an
arrangement, techniques are the'how' of organizing the work.
How we Bloom is an oasis offlower ideas.
(00:36):
I'm your host, Sharon McGukinof Smithers Oasis North America.
Today in our Floral DesignTechniques II podcast, we
explore the art of creativelyorganizing floral material
placement in professionalquality designs.
As floral designers, we oftenexperiment with new methods,
applications, or techniques, andthat's how we bloom.
(01:14):
In a previous podcast and blog,the Principles and Elements of
Design, we discussed thefundamental concepts of using
principles and elements as thebuilding blocks of any
successful floral arrangement.
In a subsequent podcast andblog, we discuss design
techniques that can be used toenhance your work using Floral
(01:35):
Design Techniques.
Your positive response to thosetwo floral education blogs
encourage the sharing ofadditional techniques in this
podcast and blog Floral DesignTechniques II: the 'How' behind
the 'Wow.'Techniques are not just
practical tools, but an artisticapproach to the personalization
(01:58):
dimension and visualstorytelling of your designs.
In this podcast, we discuss howto skillfully build
arrangements like a floralarchitect using floral design
techniques.
What's the difference betweendesign and technique?
Design is the ability toartfully skillfully, plan,
(02:20):
organize, and place materials ina fashion that creates a
harmonious composition Techniqueis the structured approach,
method, or applications used tocreate effective, visually
pleasing floral designs.
In other words, 'how' thedesigner organizes materials to
(02:40):
achieve the 'wow' their planneddesign can deliver.
A floral quote by Pablo Neada,the Chilean poet, once expressed
that "floral designers arearchitects of emotion building
arrangements that resonate withthe heart."
Design is the fundamentalframework.
(03:01):
While techniques are theapplications that express
creative flair, some techniquesare used in a wide variety of
designs.
Others are used for specificstyle of design, experimentation
and experience will teach youwhich design techniques work
best in your designs.
(03:22):
Well executed techniques drawattention to detail like
braiding, detailing andwrapping.
Braiding or platting is theentwining, weaving, or
interlacing of three or morestrands of materials to create
decorative detail, often used asan innovative technique for
incorporating foliages intotropical arrangements.
(03:44):
Detailing is the refining orfinishing details of a design.
Small intricate elements can beused to create depth, texture,
visual interests, or to reflectpersonal style, sometimes used
in wedding bouquet design torepeat dressmaking details of
(04:04):
the bridal gown, such as pearls,crystals, or stitchery
patterns.
Wrapping.
Is the enclosing individualstems or groups of flowers for
protection or presentation.
Binding materials such asthread or yarn ribbon, fabric or
paper or decorative wire can beused to secure the wrap to add
(04:28):
visual interest, color, ortexture.
Flowers and foliage can be usedas the foundation of a design as
in layering and lacing.
Layering is placing floralmaterial or plant material or
products atop one another,leaving little or no space.
Leaves are layered, butstaggered.
(04:50):
Showing one leaf atop theother, going backward toward the
composition, this can lead theeye into a design.
Lacing is interweaving thestems or plant material one
across the other to form astable mechanic that can hold.
Floral materials as in a placein design.
(05:11):
Lacing is the interweaving ofstems of plant material, one
across another to form a stablemechanic that can hold floral
materials in place.
In a design.
Think of using leather leaf.
One stem crosses just above theintersection of the lowest
frond and the stem Insert thenext stem in the same fashion
(05:34):
from the opposite side acrossanother stem.
Continue around all sides untila suitable mechanic is formed
to support the volume of flowersused.
This technique is often used tosecure materials in an open
mouth, glass vase.
Create new and interesting formsin a design by manipulating
(05:56):
foliage for visual interestslike leaf work or leaf
manipulation.
Leaf work is layering foliageto showcase texture or create a
decorative surface on acontainer.
One example is to wrap acontainer in plastic wrap heat
shrink the wrap to fit thecontainer tightly.
(06:17):
By applying the warm heat of ahair dryer, a layering of leaves
can be glued into place overthe wrap overlapping each other.
I love to do this with lambsear leaves.
I love the texture.
When the leaf surface is nolonger needed or has lost its
color, simply cut away theplastic, leaving a clean
(06:39):
container.
This technique can also be usedto create an impressive
decorative design by gluing inplace fresh or fo leaves to a
larger surface, such as atablecloth for an event like a
wedding.
Leaf manipulation is thealtering of natural form of a
(06:59):
plant material to create aunique form that enhances the
visual interest of a floralarrangement, creating sculptural
elements in a design bycutting, looping, twisting,
folding, pleading, or braidingfoliages to use as accents or
emphasize line, form, ortexture.
(07:22):
Design techniques can also beused to change the size or shape
of floral materials, such asfeathering, pruning, tailoring,
and forcing feathering, alsocalled frenching.
Is the process of takingflowers such as carnations or
chrysanthemums apart.
Then binding them togetheragain to create smaller units of
(07:44):
the original flower.
These new bundles are oftensecured by floral tape or thin
wire.
Pruning, selectively removingfoliage, florets petals, or
branches to make a materialvisually lighter weight, or to
reveal a more interesting shape.
Tailoring trimming materialsfor the purpose of creating a
(08:09):
sculpted or fitted appearance,Forcing purposely exposing
floral materials such as flowersor blooming branches to
elements like warm temperatures,warm water, bright light, or
sunlight to force the blooms toopen more quickly.
You can use stem placementtechniques to achieve visual
(08:33):
pleasing effects, as inmirroring and parallelism.
Mirroring is the placing of thesame material in repetition at
different heights and depths.
Often one material is placed infront of another and lower than
the same material to mirrorthat position.
Parallelism.
(08:55):
The stems of each group areplaced parallel to each other.
There are no radiating lines ofsignificant flowers, but simple
basing materials may radiateout.
Arrangements can be uniquelydesigned by using placement
techniques such as stackingsculpturing, and sectioning.
(09:16):
Stacking, placing materials ina stack, either side by side or
on top of each other.
Sculpturing, placing materialsin distinct zones to bring the
eye to the center of the design.
Sectioning.
Organizing a design bysegregating the types of
(09:36):
materials within a group.
Let's consider the four basictechniques for attaching
materials in a design.
Sewing, tying, gluing andpicking Sewing is stitching
materials in place by using aneedle in thread staples,
(09:57):
straight pens or florist wire tosecure floral materials on a
flat surface, such as a parasol,a flat casket cover, or to
create a flower lei Tying.
Materials are tied together byproducts such as string, bind
wire, or raffia.
Hand-tying is creating abouquet by holding the floral
(10:21):
materials while crossing orspiraling the stems, and
securing this composition withtying materials often used to
create wedding bouquets orarrangements for glass vases.
Gluing is a method of attachingmaterials in a composition
using liquid or aerosol glue forfresh materials, or low or hot
(10:46):
temp glue in a design of fauxmaterials.
Picking, picking techniques canhelp to secure place or elevate
materials in a design.
There are five popular pickingapplications, wood, metal, wire,
water tube or natural.
(11:07):
Wood, as in a wired woodenpick, metal as in a flat pointed
metal pick that requires apicking machine to attach it to
a stem.
Wire florist wire for securityor decorative wire for accents.
Water tube.
When flowers are too short fortheir position in an
(11:30):
arrangement, the tube can bewired or taped to a wooden pick
or a natural stem to increasetheir height.
Natural, a piece of stem orbranch that is used for security
or elevation.
By thoughtfully selecting andexecuting techniques that
enhance the structure, purposeand style of a floral
(11:52):
arrangement, you can elevateyour designs from beautiful to
breathtaking.
When flower styling tips areeffectively used, distinctive
detail, creative flair andemotional resonance can make
your designs visually moreappealing and artistically more
impactful.
(12:14):
Continue nurturing yourcreative, professional growth by
exploring educational resourceslike the AIFD Guide to Floral
Design Terms, Techniques, andTraditions available@aifd.org.
Don't forget to share theFloral Hub blog for readers and
(12:35):
How We Bloom podcast forlisteners with your fellow
flower lovers.
The podcast is available onBuzzSprout, Spotify, Apple
Podcast, and more.
(13:00):
To our audience, Smithers OasisNorth America.
Want to thank you for joiningus today.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't wanna miss theinspired solutions our upcoming
guests will share with you foryour personal or business
growth.
If you have topics or guestsyou want to hear, please message
(13:22):
me.
We'd love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
form, soaking inspiration inlike raindrops, absorbing energy
from others, like warmth fromthe sun.
This growth opens us up to newideas, and that's How We Bloom.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.