BTS of an arrangement - 1
Post Christmas craving for cool & calm colors
The year 2025 has just started. One of the new things I will start this year is to share some behind-the-scenes process or story about an arrangement. I already share dozens of photos of my arrangements on Instagram and website but I’ve never made an effort to dissect my arrangements to analyze the why, what and how of these works. So, I am going to post about this on a regular basis in a personal and easy-going way. So, let’s get started.
This past December, I was busy with various workshops as you would expect from the festive season. While workshops were all fun and exciting, they also felt a bit repetitive. Because whether they were a wreath workshop or a centerpiece creation, the month called for repeated use of pine branches, red flowers and red berries. So by mid December, I was feeling color-fatigue from too much green and red.
But just then, in one of the workshops, a participant ended up making a green & white arrangement with a few white anthuriums that were available. I was instantly drawn to those cool and calming tones. And I was determined to create an arrangement of my own with those exact moods and color combination, that might express my longing for a post-Christmas quiet and cozyness. Well, that’s how the below arrngement was born.
This can be a perfect arrangement for January. You can still use the winter evergreens but then balance that out with white and eathy tones for a soft and cozy feel.
Ingredients
White amaryllis / White dianthus / White tulips / Yellow goose berries / Eucalyptus fruits (grey and stony looking fruits) / Mimosa branches (All the wonderful green-grey foliage here. They are pre-flowering and thus without any yellow flowers) / Ivy / Beech branch
Mechanics
Chicken wire ball inside a bowl fastened with two tapes across the bowl edge
My process
As I usually do, I start the base with the green foliage, this time with mimosa branches. I half-fill the bowl with these from the outside to inside of the bowl. This is where I decide the shape, height and width with approximate estimate using the mimosa as my first layer of structure.
Then I start to add the tulips. Not much rules here, just spread them out. Follow the existing structure made with the mimosa when cutting the height of the tulips.
I then placed the amaryllis inside the bowl. With its 2 cm diameter, it’s better to have a place for it early on while there are some space left in the bowl. I like my tall point to be slanted rather than stick-straight in the middle. So here you see my amaryllis slanted towards the left.
Add the carnatations. The number of these mid-size flowers should be less than the number of tulips but still at least 3-4 on each side.
Lastly, all the branches of fruits and berries will be added. And finish it off with Beech branches. Rather than spreading these too evenly, I like to have a group of yellow fruits here and a group of grey fruits there. The silvery & rock shaped eucalyptus fruits blended perfectly with both the grey green of the mimosa and white of the blooms. And to give it a warm stint, I added the yellow gooseberries so that the arrangement also has some warmth to it.
Amaryllis is now fully open after 4-5 days of making the arrangement. It’s so stunning that even my teenager daughter noticed it!
The elegant grey green of the mimosa leaves really set the tone from the start. I will say that these pretty and unique colored leaves inspired me for the whole arrangement. I loved every step of this creation.
Except for the tulips that have gone bad, the rest of this arrangement is still fresh after more than a week. With the amaryllis fully open, I’d say it’s even more beautiful. One tip I can share, is that it’s fine to go out and buy a new bunch of white tulips or roses and fill those holes left by wilted tulips that you threw away. Any supermarket will have a 4 Euro white flower bunch and voila, you have a full and fresh arrangement again. I love its vibe of peace and wisdom. I seldom use muted colors with such a level of harmony but I have to admit that this neutral tone is really growing on me.
So that’s my January arrangement and how-to guide in case you would like to give it a try. I think it’s a great counter balance to all the reds and sparkles we’ve had for some weeks. If any of you are going to try this arrangement, or a version of this, please share the resulting work with me. Send it to my email address at info.flowerandflour@gmail.com and we will chat about it.
I hope that January will be gentle and easy for all of you!