Today's post is from expert florist Gerard Toh, AIFD.
In addition to being Teleflora’s Educational Specialist/Industry Relations, Mr. Toh serves as:
*Creative Director, Sherman Oaks Florist, http://www.shermanoaksflorist.com/;
*Creative Director, Human Resources, Century City Flower Mart, http://www.centurycityflowermart.com/;
*Special Projects Art Director, Bride and Bloom magazine, http://www.thebrideandbloom.com/.
One cold spring day, I walked out to a gray and wet world. It was raining and the skies were clouded. It was not a day to go outside. I turned back into my warm and cozy house. Here is where we have surrounded ourselves with things that bring us joy and comfort. Here is also where we surround ourselves with perpetual color.
Ever since man discovered the element of color and could put it on a cave wall we have been fascinated and enthralled with it. Color literally covers our world. The pairing of different colors from analogous, complementary and triadic mixes drives our fashion and decorative-arts industries.
The eighties saw mauve and gray. Lately it has been brown and blue. Earth-conscious eco chic has brought us green, which is the new brown, which is the new black. It is always changing to suit our insatiable appetite for something new. Today, color trends move even faster since Generation X and Y are incredible consumers of change.
Purple has seen a resurgence of popularity in contemporary floral design.
In the world of flower design, this is true too. Contemporary color mixes that are popular today include hot pink and tangerine with pops of apple green, and light blues, creams and gold. Even purples are making a comeback. For containers, metallic is in; this time in mixes, like gold and silver, brush chrome and gunmetal.
Cheerful mixes can include almost every color of the rainbow. An arrangement of red, orange and yellow gerbera highlighted with hot pink mini gerberas looks hip and young set in an acid green cylinder.
I also like to make arrangements with even more color but limit the shapes so that it is more cohesive visually. For example, I would use a bunch of gerberas in red, orange and yellow with purple anemones and hot pink matsumoto asters thrusting out from a base of deep purple/blue hydrangeas tucked in tight.
This arrangement would look great in a low cylinder wrapped in several layers of matching ribbon to create a rainbow of stripes. This would work well for a kid’s party. Grouped in threes and set in taller cylinders, this color pairing would be incredible for a spring or summer wedding, especially arranged on an equally bright solid-colored tablecloth.
As floral artists start experimenting with other elements to complement flowers, we are turning more to containers in myriad forms and materials. Color mixes can be simple to achieve with just a few flowers.
Try floating blue and red anemones in a grouping of porcelain bowls in red and blue. Alternate the colors and place them in a line down a long dining table for an informal look. Gerberas work well for this setting too.
The carnation, with all its color choices, look great made into orbs and placed in glass cylinders of different, staggered heights. When lit by small votives on a mantle or entrance console, they make an incredible impact.
As floral artists, we are paying more attention to the overall site where flowers are placed too. We would consider the color of the wall or adjacent drapery. Red gladiolus in full bloom collared with white hydrangea in a metallic gray vase looks great against a gray-and-black striped wall.
Pink protea is an excellent choice to anchor an arrangement. Here, it's paired with red roses and river bamboo.
Pink anthurium spraying to one side anchored with pink protea and artistically placed in several tall glass cylinders or matched ginger jars are contemporary and cutting edge against a bright apple-green wall. Tall white callas in tall white slender ceramic cylinders against a gloss white wall accented with white vinyl drapes on a glass and chrome table are sophisticated and ethereal all at once!
Like notes of music, the colors of the rainbow are also limited to a specific number. Yet like the incredible range of different types of music that can be created by musicians, floral artists can be just as creative with colors in flowers. I am passionate about flowers and truly I have found that I can color my world with them.
