Forum on Rose Arranging
by Jeanne Beurket - Consulting Rosarian
Part I
I have always loved the quote, "God gave us memories, so we could have roses in December" and on into January, February and March. What a good time to study! The roses are not doing their "beautiful thing" yet, so, the next best thing would be reading about them.
There are some great publications for the "budding" rose arranger. Here are three ood resource publications from the American Rose Society, PO Box 30000, Shreveport, LA 71130:
Guidelines for Judging Rose Arrangements
A Guide to Creative Rose Arrangements
Rose Arranger's Bulleting (an official quarterly publication of ARS @ $10 per year)
Here are three additional sources available at bookstores or the library:
Creative Flower Arranging by Betty Belcher
Flower Arrangement the Ikebana Way by Dr. William C. Steere
The Complete Flower Arranger by Amalie Adler Ascher
Let the creative party begin in your imagination!
In future months I will be discussing various aspects of rose arranging that I am sure you will find interesting.
Part 2
What are some plants I should grow to compliment roses in an arrangement? A traditional arrangement may be composed of line (spike), round, and filler material.
Line material might include delphinium, larkspur, lavender, snapdragon, sage, forget-me nots, butterfly bush, loosestrife, branches of shrubs and trees, iris and yucca leaves. (Do not grow yucca in rose or flower beds as itis invasive with roots growing to China).
Roses are used for the round forms as roses must predominate in an arrangement.
Fillers for a line mass and mass arrangement could include ferns, ageratum, baby's breath, caladium's ivy and astilbe.
The Mass Arrangement (Building on my line mass arrangement or as Brian Jorg would say "Bulk it up"!) A mass can be either asymmetrical or symmetrical in balance but is usually based on a pyramid design. Much material can be used but at no time should a "mass" become a "mess"! It should give a feeling of richness, but should not look crowded or bunched. Each flower deserves its own space to accentuate its beauty. Colors are grouped with the darker colors and larger flowers near the lower center of the design and the lighter colors and smaller forms toward the top and sides. The strongest line, top and auxiliary lines on the sides serve to lead the eye to the focal point near the rim of the container.
Have at it! - just think of Grandma's bouquets with a little more structure and design.
Part 3
A flower arrangement is an art form created by organizing the elements of design to attain beauty with expression, harmony and distinction. The visual elements of design are space, line, form, size, texture, pattern and color. These are the designer's "raw materials". The principles of design are: balance, dominance, contrast, rhythm, proportion and scale. This probablly sounds like a foreign language until you begin to practice, practice, practice and eyeball your arrangement for these principles.
Just in case you don't have a whopping crop of roses blooming right now, a trip to Frank's or Michael's could yield bountiful bouquets of silk flowers. Look for line forms for the background of an arrangement and, of course, the round forms would be our beloved roses. There is value and fun in experimenting with silks until the real thing comes along.
The Traditional Line Design
Line designs are adapted from the Oriental designs and require great restraint in the amount of plant material used. The lines must be clean cut and strong so it/they are dominant in the design. Flowers and foliage are used in the focal area where the lines come together, but they must be less important than the line. There is very little depth in the focal area
If you would like to practice and bring an arrangement to any of our meetings, I would be happy to give "praise" and "kind advice".
Part 4
Now begins the frantic search for creativity as "show time" approaches! I am hopeful there is someting for everyone in "The Poetic Romance of Roses" schedule. Time to sleuth for interesting containers from friends, neighbors, enemies, nature, potters, plumbers, junk yards, Goodwill, and curbside trash! Be sure the container is thoroughly clean inside and out. Clorox works wonders inside.
Roses must be conditioned or they will wilt in the arrangement before "the judgement". I usually try to make sure the bush has been thoroughly watered the night before cutting. The morning before the show, take a clean bucket of very warm water into the garden. Re-cut each stem under water. Place the bucket(s) of roses and other plant material in a cool dark place for at least 2 hours.
The Traditional Line Mass Design
(building on last month's line arrangement)
The line is still definite ar more plant material is added. There is more depth to this arrangement because of the increase in the center mass area. This arrangement show gradation of colors (light to dark) and gradtion of size of forms (small to large). The largest and darkest flowers should be in the center near the rim of the container to create a well-defined focal point. Fill material is used to give transition betwee the focal area and the line. Several geometric forms do well in the line mass design. They are the crescent, diagonal, vertical, triangle and hogarth curve. This design usually requires 3 - 7 roses.