Master Class
Channel your inner Brueghel or Bosschaert with a lush, painterly arrangement like the one Andrea Ault, of Gardiner’s Honeysuckle Way Flowers, dreamed up.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY RYAN DAVID BROWN
Inspiration
“Seventeenth-century Dutch flower paintings combined with a local, seasonal influence. Gestural spring flowers and branches lend themselves to layering and asymmetry, conjuring the beauty and drama of those works.” — Andrea Ault
Materials
- Opaque vase
- Chicken wire
- Floral tape
- Greenery, such as myrtle
- Large focal flowers, such as amaryllis
- Smaller, sturdy flowers, such as dubium and spray roses
- Wispy flowers, such as anemones and ranunculus
- Branches/vines, such as unripe blackberry, budded lilac, grape, and Lindera citriodora
How-To
1. Cut a rectangular strip of chicken wire that is roughly the width of your vase’s opening and twice as long. Roll the short ends into a cylinder, then roll the openings inward to create a ball. Secure the ball inside the vase by making a floral-tape X across the top; the wire should be level with, or extend slightly above, the vase’s opening.
2. Put water in the vase, then poke greenery through the wire, dispersing evenly and draping curved pieces over the edge of the vessel. Add large flowers next, arranging them in a line or cluster to create a focal point.
3. Fill in gaps with smaller sturdy flowers, then wispy flowers and branches, placing them at different heights to create dimension.
