Inspiring Floral Designs

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta commissioned floral designers to create arrangements inspired by artwork for Art in Bloom. Find your own design inspiration in their ideas.

By: Nia Testamark

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Photo By: Image courtesy of Mike Jensen/The High Museum of Art

Peachy Keen

Mark Rothko's 1952 painting, #73, inspired Jill Helmer to color block his floral arrangement to go along with Rothko's artwork. The arrangement includes roses, cinnamon spray roses, carnations, miniature carnations, lilies and forsythia.

Color Blocking

Mark Rothko's 1952 painting, #73, inspired Jill Helmer to color block his floral arrangement to go along with Rothko's art work. The arrangement includes roses, cinnamon spray roses, miniature carnations, lilies and forsythia.

Art in Bloom

For the High Museum's Art in Bloom exhibition, floral designers created flower arrangements inspired by artworks in the museum's collection. Floral designer Terry Furuta created this arrangement of yellow oncidium orchids inspired by artist Ellsworth Kelly's 1982 work Red Curve IV.

Honoring Orchids

Two Hummingbirds with an Orchid, painted by Martin Johnson Heade (hummingbirds were a favorite subject of the artist), was the Peachtree Garden Club's inspiration for their floral arrangement. It included cattleya orchid, heather, maidenhair fern, sphagnum moss and Spanish moss.

Tropical Rainforest

Sylvia Stone's colorful 1966 artwork, Interchange, on display at the High Museum. Peachtree Petals designed the floral piece with grandiose tropical flowers as a centerpiece. It included heliconia, red ginger, bird of paradise and mood moss.

Interchange Art

Sylvia Stone's Interchange alongside floral design by Peachtree Petals.

The Tropical Plant

Ellsworth Kelly's 2005 painting of Blue, Green, Red is filled with bold colors. Ryan Gainey added his tropical twist by creating a floral piece with bird of paradise, agapanthus, philodendron, anthurium and cast-iron plant foliage.

The Flower Lady

Robert Henri's Lady in Black Velvet is accessorized by an elegant arrangement from Hall's Flower Shop that includes white hydrangeas, Phalaenopsis orchids and blush garden roses.

Your Favorite Flowers

Feminine curves define this arrangement by Hall's Flower Shop inspired by Robert Henri's Lady in Black Velvet.

Sitting Pretty

Inspired by Albert Herter's 1892 painting Portrait of Bessie, Barbara Crank pulled from the emotion in the painting to create this floral arrangement. The arrangement includes dried white mitsumata branches, grapevine wreath, L.A. hybrid white lilies and sweetgum balls.

Pop Art

Sasha Cox created this floral piece including cotton, Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria), calla lilies, trachelium, chrysanthemums and kangaroo paws to complement artist Thornton Dial's painting, Heading for The Higher Paying Jobs.

Autumn Flowers

This autumn floral piece was designed by Holly Bryan Floral Design. It includes seeded eucalyptus, berzelia, leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’, eryngium ‘Deep Blue Jackpot’, forsythia branches, feverfew, gerbera daisies, orchids, privet berry, agapanthus, curly willow and nandina. This arrangement was inspired by Norman Wilfred Lewis's 1960 painting, Torch.

Mirror, Mirror

Spaulding Garden Club topped off Anish Kapoor's hypnotic artwork with a floral arrangement incorporating chrysanthemum (Dendranthema × Grandiflorum), philodendron ‘Xanadu’, and Corypha elata.

The Silver Flower

Spaulding Garden Club created this floral piece to accompany the art work Untitled by Anish Kapoor.

Waterfalls

De Witt Clinton Boutelle painted Trenton Falls Near Utica, New York in 1873. Showcasing the natural acts of nature, Flora by John Grady Burns designed a floral arrangement to also show the painting’s tranquility and its calming, serene mood. This arrangement included White Phalaenopsis orchid stems.

Simply Orchids

Flora by John Grady Burns created this floral arrangement for the painting Trenton Falls Near Utica, New York by De Witt Clinton Boutelle. The arrangement includes white Phalaenopsis orchid stems.

Blooming Carnations

Inspired by Adolph Gottlieb's 1962 painting Duet, David Cordell Designs created this natural floral arrangement. It includes carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus), grapevine, native mossand Hypericum berries.

Natural Art

Adolph Gottlieb's 1962, Duet, is paired with floral design from David Cordell Designs that echoes the painting's double theme.

Red Morning Sky

Gerhard Richter's 1994 piece Lesende (The Reader) bursts with vivid shades of red, sapphire blue and silvery green. Foxgloves and Ivy Floral Design Studio composed this colorful floral piece. It includes bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax), red ginger (Alpinia purpurata), red anthurium (Anthurium scherzerianum), hanging amaranthus (Amaranthus caudatus), blue delphinium (Delphinium ‘Atlantis’) and red twig dogwood (Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’).

Flower Retreat

Foxgloves and Ivy Floral Design Studio composed this colorful floral piece for the painting Lesende (The Reader) by Gerhard Richter.

Art, Women and Flowers

Arthur Bowen Davies' regal painting Air, Light and Wave flanks Eleanor Buckholdt and Sharon Compulucci's floral arrangement featuring calla lilies, mini calla lilies, hydrangeas, kangaroo paws, monstera leaves and bear grass.

Dancing Flowers

Eleanor Buckholdt and Sharon Compulucci wanted to implement the rythmn and movement from the painting Air, Light and Wave by Arthur Bowen Davies. This floral arrangement includes Calla lilies, mini calla lilies, hydrangeas, Kangaroo Paws, small Monstera leaves and bear grass.

Abstract Art and Flowers

In 1986, Julian Schnabel created She Mistook Kindness for Weakness. Tony Brewer and Company's floral centerpiece was inspired by the color and shapes in the painting. The floral arrangement includes galax (Wandplant), green ti leaf, seafoam statice, Atlantic blue agapanthus and heather.

Cast-Iron Plant

Floral centerpiece arranged by Sand Hills Garden Club . This piece includes Freesia, Carolina palm, Aspidistra ‘Cast-Iron Plant’, and russet moss.

Blooming Apple Trees

Painter Edward Bannister gave us a look into the landscape of 1890 through his painting Apple Trees in a Meadow. Accompanying the work is Sand Hills Garden Club floral arrangement, which includes freesia, Carolina palm, Aspidistra ‘Cast-Iron Plant’, and russet moss.

A Wild Flower

Tony Brewer and Company created this elaborate floral piece for the painting called She Mistook Kindness for Weakness by Julian Schnabel. This floral arrangement includes Galax (Wandplant), green ti leaf, seafoam statice, Atlantic blue agapanthus and heather.

The Pink Orchid

The elegance of Two Hummingbirds with an Orchid, painted by Martin Johnson Heade, was Peachtree Garden Club's inspiration for their floral arrangement. It included cattleya orchid, heather, maidenhair fern, sphagnum moss and Spanish moss.

Coke and Flowers

These Coke bottles are filled with Poppy anemone (Anemone coronaria) and Las Vegas daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus). The Cherokee Garden Club created this floral arrangement based off the painting Yard Sale by Mattie Lou O' Kelley.

The Yard Sale

Family time and fun is what Mattie Lu O' Kelley's painting, Yard Sale, shows. The Cherokee Garden Club created this floral arrangement which includes Poppy anemone (Anemone coronaria) and Las Vegas daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus).

Artistic Branches

The Garden Club of Georgia created a floral arrangement to depict what they saw and felt from the Portrait of Bessie. It included dried white Mitsumata branches, grapevine wreath, LA hybrid white lilies, and sweet gum balls.

Fencing Flowers

Inspired by Maxfield Parrish's painting Masquerade, The Roswell Garden Club used fabric and a fence to create this abstract floral arrangement. It includes anthurium and heliconia leaves.

The Masquerade

The Roswell Garden Club created this floral arrangement for the painting Masquerade by Maxfield Parrish. It includes Anthurium and Heliconia leaves.

Hydrangeas, Hydrangeas

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah , 1929-1930, inspired the Concord Garden Club to create this floral arrangement of hydrangeas, Helleborus orientalis lenten rose foliage, and silver spray brunia.

Cool Colors and Flowers

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah , 1929-1930, inspired the Concord Garden Club to create this floral arrangement of hydrangeas, Helleborus orientalis lenten rose foliage, and silver spray brunia.

Anne's Flowers

The Cherokee Garden Club used white and blue flowers to reflect the little girl's innocence and purity in the painting, Portrait of Anne, by George Bellows. It includes blue hydrangeas, white roses, white spray roses, Waltz delphinium, white 'Casablanca' lilies, pittosporum and Italian ruscus.

Roses and Hydrangeas

The Cherokee Garden Club used white and blue flowers to reflect the little girl's innocence and purity in the painting, Portrait of Anne, by George Bellows. It includes blue hydrangeas, white roses, white spray roses, Waltz delphinium, white Casablanca lilies, pittosporum, and Italian ruscus.

Winter Landscape

The Peachtree Garden Club emulated the painting, Winter Landscape, by Alex Katz and created this floral arrangement. It includes pussy willows, Kochia Scopana, fern acacia, and Lilium Oriental lilies.

Flowers and Branches

Inspired by Alex Katz's painting, Winter Landscape, The Peachtree Garden Club created a floral arrangement with pussy willows, Kochia Scopana, fern acacia, and Lilium oriental lilies .

Italian Flower

Nikki Michel designed a floral arrangement that expressed the same Italian love in the painting, Specchio d'Italia (Mirror of Italy). It included white hydrangeas, red Corazon roses, variegated Aspidistra and green hanging amaranthus.

Mirror of Italy

Johanna Grawunder's painting, Speechio d'Italia( Mirror of Italy), is a true celebration of Italy. Nikki Michel designed a floral arrangement that expressed the same Italian love. It included white hydrangeas, red Corazon roses, variegated Aspidistra and green hanging amaranthus.

Leaves

Sand Hills Garden Club was inspired by Patrick Henry Bruce's painting Leaves. The floral arrangement resembled the painting. It included white dendrobium orchids, horsetail (Equisetum), blue delphinium, yellow calla lilies and philodendron.

Leaves on Trees

Sand Hills Garden Club created this floral arrangement based off the painting, Leaves, by Patrick Henry Bruce. It included white dendrobium orchids, horsetail (Equisetum), blue delphinium, yellow calla lilies and philodendron.

Shapes, Colors and Flowers

Burgoyne DIller's painting, Early Geometric #267 is abstract with a splash of color. Peachtree Petals replicated the painting by using the same colors and shapes in their floral arrangement. It includes white dendrobium orchids, horsetail (Equisetum), blue delphinium and yellow calla lilies.

Geometric Flowers

Peachtree Petals replicated Early Geometric #267 by Burgoyne Diller by using the same colors and shapes in their floral arrangement. It includes white dendrobium orchids, horsetail (Equisetum), blue delphinium and yellow calla lilies.

Self Portrait

The Peachtree Garden Club created this floral arrangement inspired by Chuck Close's painting Self Portrait. It includes alstroemeria and leucadendron.

Shapes and Flowers

George L.K. Morris' painting Concretion shows shapes in a abstract and colorful light. The Peachtree Garden Club created a floral arrangement based off the painting. It includes agapanthus, eryngium, flax and eucalyptus pods.

Floral Art

The Peachtree Garden Club created this floral arrangement. Inspired by the painting Concretion, the arrangement includes agapanthus, eryngium, flax and eucalyptus pods.

Floral Display

Sandy Springs Garden Club designed this floral arrangement. The West Wind, which was sculpted by Thomas Ridgeway Gould, inspired the garden club to arrange Aspidistra lilies together.

Lilies

This floral arrangement was designed by Sandy Springs Garden Club. It includes aspidistra lilies and was inspired by Thomas Ridgeway Gould's sculpture, The West Wind.

Full of Flowers

Shanna Springfield incorporated beautiful white hydrangeas, crystal pink calla lilies, Gerbera Jamesonii, and fern shoots in this floral arrangement. The Crochet Chair was designed by Marcel Wanders.

Flawless Hydrangeas

The Wooden Floral

Habersham Garden Club designed this Oak tree floral arrangement by using seeded eucalyptus, roses, acacia fern, calla lilies, and oak tree branches. The artwork Cemetary Gate was designed by Carter Stalvey and Susan Higley.

Oak Tree

Habersham Garden Club designed this oak tree floral arrangement by using seeded eucalyptus, roses, acacia fern, calla lilies, and oak tree branches. The artwork Cemetary Gate was designed by Carter Stalvey and Susan Higley.

The Kiss

Love is shown in Linda Anderson's painting, The Kiss. Darryl Wiseman Flowers created a floral arrangement. It includes magnolia branches, moss roping, mood moss, woven bradied minora peach rose petals, and black magic red roses.

Hydrangeas and Roses

With his range of blues and violets and the touch of complementary orange, Frederick Carl Frieseke painted Girl in Blue. The Cherokee Garden Club created a floral arrangement for the painting. It includes quince, hydrangeas, larkspur, stock (Matthiola incana), feverfew, spray roses, anemone and sun star (Ornithogalum dubium).

Antique Floral

Julie Mehretu's painting, Mogamma (A Painting in Four Parts): Part 2, inspired The Cherokee Garden Club to create this floral arrangement. It includes kiwi (Actinidia chinensis deliciosa), silver spray brunia, seeded eucalyptus, eucalyptus gum drop, foxtail lilies (Eremurus), carnations, pussy willows, red medium dogwood (Cornus sericea) and dusty miller.

Subtle Effect

Julie Mehretu's painting Mogamma (A Painting in Four Parts): Part 2, inspired The Cherokee Garden Club to create this floral arrangement. It includes kiwi (Actinidia chinensis deliciosa), silver spray brunia, seeded eucalyptus, eucalyptus gum drop, foxtail lilies (Eremurus), carnations, pussy willows, red medium dogwood (Cornus sericea), and dusty miller.

Wood and Leaves

Hector Esrawe's creation, Centepede III Bench, inspired Ray Thompson and Ann Howington to create this floral arrangement. It includes crocosmia aurea leaves, bradford pear branches, deciduous native magnolia leaves, and ash tree seeds.

Flower Nest

The Tree of Life

Darryl Wiseman Flowers created a floral arrangement inspired by Linda Anderson's painting, The Kiss. It includes magnolia branches, moss roping, mood moss, woven bradied minora peach rose petals, and black magic red roses.

Girl in Blue

The Cherokee Garden Club created a floral arrangement inspired by Frederick Carl Frieseke's Girl in Blue. It includes quince, hydrangeas, larkspur, stock (Matthiola incana), feverfew, spray roses, anemone, and sun star (Ornithogalum dubium).