What is it about Flower Arranging that gets into our blood and makes it have such a hold on us, that meditative feeling of calm? Why is it, that once intrigued by the spiritual, new age nature of this new art, we are impatient to go forward and explore every avenue of thought and technique on the subject?

I have completed a large number of instructional tours in Great Britain and abroad, where open enthusiasm, such as the British seldom displays, has always been evident. This has led me to believe, and I feel sure I am right, that the reason why Flower Arranging has such a broad appeal is because it satisfies a need in all of us to do something creative, and, because flowers are within the reach of us all, it seems natural that we should want to learn and practice a subject that we can not only easily execute, as and when we feel like it, but which can be employed to beautify our homes for friends and family alike to enjoy.

Flower Arranging

We all know that a sense of achievement brings with it pride and satisfaction and I am certain it is this feeling which is bringing so much joy into the lives of tens of thousands of men and women who are devotees of the art of Flower Arranging. I have much evidence of this from the thousands of letters I receive from happy people who tell me with great feeling that ” they had no previous idea that they could do it ” and I recall a simple incident which happened at a Flower Show and which seems to enforce this theory.

I had been judging the flower arrangements and had returned to the exhibits for a final look when a little boy about seven years old came up to me and, pointing to the design I was admiring, said ” Don’t you think that’s nice—my Mummy did that one.” His mother then appeared and after chatting she added, ” Please don’t take any notice of him, although I must tell you that since I have taken up Flower Arranging I have assumed a new importance in the eyes of my family and naturally I am proud.”

At first the desire on the part of the enthusiast is only to place flowers in a vase better than before and they usually impatiently say ” Oh just tell me how to do it quickly, that’s all I want to know.” But is it?

Soon afterwards comes a request to have color explained, then design. Design is fascinating for, if you really want to delve into it, it includes such subjects as line, rhythm and balance. Discussions on the merits of various types of flowers, the textures of plant material and their relation to the container to be used and the general decor of the room usually follow.

If you are not already a gardener, you cannot be interested in Flower Arranging for long without being led into Horticulture and for us, who live in Britain, what a blessing this is, for gardening is a British characteristic; it is in our blood, and there is more opportunity in Britain for developing a knowledge of plant material than anywhere else in the world.

Thousands of Horticultural Societies exist all over the country, and they are doing valuable work in encouraging this subject. Lectures are given and shows are staged. Most women’s organisations include flower arranging in their annual programme, and now an increasing number of Flower Clubs are springing up all over the country for the sole purpose of developing the interest in flower arranging, to raise the standard of show work and to establish a system of teaching and judging in connection with their exhibitions.

But this is not a book on horticulture, ceramics, art, or even how to do the flowers, for this latter is already covered by a number of books already on the market.

It is a book of basic ideas – ideas, that by their mere presentation may set off a whole train of thoughts and new creative ideas in your own mind. So many times when a friend has complained to me that she hasn’t a certain vase, I have suggested that perhaps she might use a glass powder bowl, or a sauceboat, or an inlaid work box, only to notice that in a short while she responds with a number of further suggestions. It was the little spark that was needed to set her own imaginative mind in motion. And may I remind those who are new to this subject not to be afraid to make a start ? There is no mystery about it, neither need it take up very much time or cost a lot of money.

We all have a certain amount of creative ability within us, and certainly anyone can be an artist with flowers. In the beginning it is just a question of accepting a few principles of composition and design, and at first you will probably only portray these first principles. But later you will branch out with free expression, and your arrangements will be motivated by feelings, moods or ideas. Later still you will probably break the principles that you at first accepted, but it will not matter, for don’t we all break rules as we develop our individual tastes and become confident in our personal style of expression ? It is this freedom to do as we like when creating a picture with flowers that makes the subject so fascinating, and it becomes all the more absorbing if we know why we are doing it.

When teaching, I try to encourage my students to have a plan when contemplating a design. A dressmaker would seldom commence to cut material without a pattern, neither would an architect start to build a house without first drawing a plan. Furthermore, the dressmaker, after deciding upon the material, will plan accessories. She might even introduce a prominent pocket, or a set of pleats as focal interest in the design of the gown.

So it is with flower arranging. Have a plan. First decide where the arrangement will stand. For the chosen location ask yourself whether you need a tall arrangement or a short one; a curved one if it is on the end of a shelf, or a low one if it is for a coffee table; a formal arrangement for a period room or a modern design for a town flat.

Having decided where the arrangement will finally rest, choose your container accordingly. You might use a tall one for a big area or a low bowl for a table ; an exquisite china vase will probably be just right for a mantelshelf or a low white pottery container could be chosen for a more modern setting.

Then, in home decoration, the colour and style of the room should betaken into consideration and should help decide on what colour and size of flowers to pick or buy.

Having made these decisions—and in time they become automatic—you will next go in search of this material, bearing in mind that you will make a more artistic arrangement if you use material of different forms, lengths and sizes. Having acquired the material, you next, if you are a newcomer to the art, place it in the vase according to some of the basic principles, principles which you will be conscious of in the beginning, but which will become automatic later on.

There are certain schools of thought which do not agree with any set of principles. They claim that ” principles ” make arrangements all look alike and that design becomes stereotyped. I disagree, for the teaching of certain principles (principles which flower arranging has in common with most graphic arts) is really only ” the drill ; ” they are the A.B.C. from which greater things emerge. At school we are all taught to repeat in a monotone the multiplication tables, or with similar precision to play scales at the piano. This is only the training in the beginning, we obviously do not all remain at the same level of instruction, we develop individually. I am a firm believer in clear instruction in the beginning. Of course, a person with a natural flair for the subject does not need this, but just as a novice cannot be taught to play the piano by listening to the rendering of an overture by an expert, neither do I believe that a prospective flower arranger can hope to learn by constantly admiring the designs of an expert. This latter method rather encourages the beginner to copy, which leaves her rather helpless when she attempts self-expression, whereas if, by instruction, she can recognise Wry “and how it was so designed, her advancement is quicker and she, in turn, by her own artistry, soon conceals the methods of early teaching.

A thorough understanding of the principles of the art will force a student to finally make decisions based on her own thought and expression, and if she knows why she has so expressed herself, then she is already well on the way to becoming an artist with flowers.

And what a satisfying aim this is. An aim that will lead us to the greater beautification of our gardens, homes, flower shows, shops, restaurants, schools and clubs. Everywhere it is an aim within the scope of all, for flowers are in abundance in our gardens, shops and countryside and, as an artist with flowers, just think of the marvellous palette that is at our disposal. The seasons are for ever changing, and if we open our eyes we can see in growing material every size, shape and colour we could wish for. Different textures are ready made for us in foliage and other plant material. High-lights and depths are there for our choosing and drama is supplied by the silhouette of bare branches or dried seed heads.