Consumers often perceive floristry as the simple and enjoyable job of "playing with flowers." In reality, this hard-working profession is a dynamic blend of technique and skill, artistry and creativity, science and geometry, emotion and the profound joy of bringing beauty into the lives of others.

To reach a professional level of expertise, one must first master the basics. We discussed, in a previous podcast and blog - The Principles and Elements of Design, that these foundational concepts are the building blocks of any successful floral arrangement.

As Vincent van Gogh once said, “A floral designer is a master of transformation, turning humble flowers into extraordinary works of art.”

In this blog, we’ll focus on Design Techniques - the creative methods of manipulating or arranging floral materials to transform a simple design into a stunning masterpiece.

Photo: The Professional Floral Design Manual American Floral Services. 1989

These techniques are not just practical tools, but an artistic approach to the personalization, dimension, and visual storytelling of your designs.

By thoughtfully choosing techniques that enhance the structure and purpose of an arrangement, you can add distinctive details, creative flair, and emotional resonance to your design. When used effectively, these techniques elevate your work, making it both visually appealing and artistically impactful.

There’s a long list design techniques you can use in your work. Unfortunately, we can’t cover all of them in today’s blog. If you enjoy today’s information, please let me know and I will cover additional design techniques in a future episode. For today, let’s begin with twelve popular techniques.

Basing and Terracing

We’ll start our review of design techniques with Basing. To enhance the foundational area that flowers emerge from, we can use natural, decorative or textural basing materials to cover the floral foam or other mechanic. This gives a nice finished look to the foundation of a composition, and helps give the flower stems a grounded effect.

Photos: The Professional Floral Design Manual American Floral Services. 1989

There’s a variety of basing techniques that can be used to determine how to place the basing materials.

One technique that creates visual interest is Terracing where the materials are positioned in a stair step fashion. This creates a series of horizontal levels, giving the effect of outdoor terraces in an open field. Terracing can be used to create depth in a design or to lead the viewer’s eye into an arrangement.

Pave and Pillowing

Photo: The Professional Floral Design Manual American Floral Services. 1989

Next, we have Pave. This term refers to the jewelry making process of lining up gem stones, in a flat pattern, set close together, with no structure visible underneath. We can use short-stemmed floral materials to create a similar effect. Insert parallel or angled materials into a design in a uniform pattern, or a tight row, with little or no depth variation. For example, a pave of roses.

Pillowing is the process of clustering rounded or dome-shaped materials into a tightly organized pattern or placement in a design. This technique works well with natural materials.Creating a look much like the rounded visual effect of clouds or pillows. Pillowing mosses, greens, or Kermit button poms can produce the visual effect of rolling hills.

Banding and Binding

Photos: The Professional Floral Design Manual American Floral Services. 1989

While teaching design techniques to floral classes, I’ve found that many designers confuse Banding and Binding so let’s look at them individually.

Banding is the process of encircling a stem, multiple stems, container, or line material in one or more precise rings. Banding is most often used as a decorative accent, but may serve in a functional purpose, as well.

On the other hand, Binding is a functional process. Materials are tied or secured together with some form of binding material. In addition to securing materials the binding may also serve a decorative purpose.

You can see that difference in the photos. I like to think of banding as a decorative accent – like wearing a bracelet and binding as structural reinforcement used for design stability.

Clustering and Grouping

Like Banding and Binding, Clustering and Grouping are similar design techniques that are often confused.

Photos: The Professional Floral Design Manual American Floral Services. 1989

Clustering is the process of massing small, similar materials so closely together the singular components (individual flowers) become indistinguishable. A cluster of carnations, for example, looks like one mass flower.

Grouping on the other hand, is the placement of identical materials together within a specific limited area, allowing each stem to maintain its individuality. Some amount of space typically exists between each separate group. Grouping materials together rather than scattering them through an arrangement creates a clean, structured, and unified look.

Clustering materials in a mass of flowers indistinguishable as individual blooms differs from Grouping, because the grouped components retain their individual identity. Both are popular techniques for modern arrangements. The repetition of elements like color and texture in specific areas creates a stronger visual impact for the overall composition.

Framing and Shadowing

Photos: The Professional Floral Design Manual American Floral Services. 1989

Framing is the process of using linear branches, foliages, or flowers to showcase the floral materials inside a composition. Framing serves to outline and define the design space and typically leads the eye to the focal area of an arrangement. Framing integrates negative space as an element of the design.

Shadowing is the close placement of one or more materials directly behind or beneath a primary material portraying the concept of casting a shadow. This creates a three-dimensional form and heightens the perception of depth within the design. You can see this technique used for the vertical leaves in a design in a photo of above.

Sequencing and Zoning

Photos: The Professional Floral Design Manual American Floral Services. 1989

Sequencing refers to the process of placing flowers or other materials in an orderly succession, with a gradual shift of some aspect. It might be color (lightest to darkest), size (smallest to largest), or spacing between them. In the above photo the technique illustrates the sequence of growth from bud to opened bloom. The technique evokes rhythm and transition in a design.

Zoning is the process of segregating materials of the same type and similar height to specific growth areas or 3-Dimensional areas within a composition. In a vegetative design, for example, flowers of identical variety are positioned so as to suggest a natural growing habit, each extending to a similar height within the composition for visual flow. This technique mimics how plants grow naturally in nature. It can be helpful for creating a cohesive, unified look in large scale
designs.

Floral design techniques. such as the ones we have discussed today, are used to make visually appealing and harmonious flower arrangements of a creative flair that connects to the viewer.

Knowledge and use of proper design techniques demonstrates your expertise and artistry as a professional floral designer.

Increase your knowledge of design

Invest in yourself to increase your floral knowledge. Use floral professional resources such as the American Institute of Floral Designers purchase The AIFD Guide to Floral Design. Terms, Techniques, and Traditions visit www.aifd.org to purchase.

Please share Floral Hub Blog (for readers), or How we Bloom podcast (for listeners), with other designers. The podcast is available on Buzzsprout, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and similar apps. Both are available at oasisfloralproducts.com along with other valuable floral information.