Traditional flower bouquets serve so many purposes so well, one wonders why another style even emerged. Whether we can attribute it to floral designers craving new challenges or just the availability of novel floral materials, the recent modern designs have been shaking up flower shows across the United States for a couple of years now.
Prepare to let modern flowers transfix you. Because it’s tough to improve on the flowers themselves, designers turn to the vases and the secondary materials that go into floral design to mix up the old ways.
The Vase’s True Potential, Unleashed at Last . . .
To turn your traditional notion of a flower bouquet on its head, consider a clear, columnar vase with just a few roses rising from a base of water-infused pebbles. Rather than standing straight, the blooms wind around the vase’s inner walls toward the opening. While not a single petal emerges above the vase’s lip, the roses seem to writhe toward freedom. The curly willow shadowing the roses’ trajectory adds to this “bouquet’s” energy.
As the example above illustrates, modern floral designers have no issue with keeping flowers fully contained within their vases. For example, the unruly fronds of this cactus will never cross the walls of the perfect glass sphere containing it. This Modern Terrarium Garden emphasizes shape over color, a common goal for contemporary designers. In Modern floral design, the vase contributes to the modern bouquet’s artistic impact almost as much as the flowers themselves.
In fact, circular vases—so long the favorite—may have seen their glory days. Modern florists have fallen in love with the square vase because the straight sides allow for the arrangement of floral stems into interesting patterns. The blooms will still attract the most attention, of course, but the interplay of stems below make for an intriguing second act.
Prepare to see more cacti, too, in sleek, square containers. Often wooden, these plain planters draw the eye to the variety of leaves and blooms on a combination of cacti like this Deluxe Succulent Garden from ProFlowers.
Updating Bouquet Elements with Modern Pizazz
Modern bouquets can still contain as many colorful flowers as traditional styles, but height has taken a back seat to structure. Many modern designs can be considered “squat” even, with stems cut short and blooms showing little stem above a square or rectangular vase’s edge. Again, the structure is neat and orderly rather than explosive as is so often seen with traditional bouquets.
Finally, because contemporary designers insist on that clean structure, the greenery, curly willow, grasses and other adornments in modern bouquets often get formed (tied and wired) into shapes rather than bursting straight from the bottom of the vase.
Traditional Flowers Make Way for Modern
Say “bouquet” and that tall vase topped by a globe of colorful flowers just pops into mind.
Create a sensation with your next bouquet purchase by choosing an innovative modern design instead. Curiosity will follow, along with remarks on your ingenuity and good taste. A modern bouquet fits into all office settings and most home decorating styles. Don’t be shy to shake things up and send modern flowers today!