Shape Up Your Arrangement by Choosing the Right One

Who knew that eight basic flower shapes could hold a world of difference? Use shape to achieve your design goal, whether the simple or dramatic result of using one shape en masse, or creating a particular effect in mixed arrangements.

Excerpted from Fresh Flower Arranging
Filed under: Decorating, Flowers, Vases, Color, Wildflowers

Dome

Hydrangea and cockscomb flowers are dominant blooms in these designs. Their strong domes dictate the shape of the display.

Floral Cupcakes
Including hydrangea with roses and peonies adds weight and drama to this design, and echoes the shapes of the full-blown peonies(image 1).

Fruit Cube
Dense-headed, textural red and green cockscomb create interest and impact when arranged as a seasonal hand-tied bouquet and placed in a vase (image 2).

Hydrangea Ball
Dome-shaped flowers often work well on their own in a display, as this curved fishbowl of domed hydrangea flower heads with short stems shows (image 3).

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Flat-Topped

Flowers such as trachelium and dill can be used in both tall displays and in low floral foam arrangements to define shape and add texture.

Winter Wedding Table Centerpiece
These frosty trachelium are a perfect contrast to the other flowers: their abundance of small, dainty flower heads break up the intense clusters of freesia and rose petals (image 1).

Summer Long and Low
The dark dill flowers in this design create a smooth contour and help to define its shape. They also add depth of color to what could be an all-too-pink display (image 2).

Vegetable and Fruit Bouquet
Using purple trachelium in this quirky, hand-tied bouquet helps to inject color and texture in what is otherwise a dense, all-green design (image 3).

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Regular

Flowers that have a regular shape work well in many designs, and add symmetry to minimalist arrangements.

Gerbera in Lines
This display is a perfect example of how to use regular flowers in a modern, architectural design to create uniformity and order (image 1).

Daffodil Tree
Using these daffodils to create a topiary tree in effect creates another regular shape: the gathered blooms look like one large flower (image 2).

Sunflower Vase
Although this arrangement uses different varieties of sunflowers — all of which are a regular shape — it still has impact because of the contrasting colors (image 3).