Floral Inspiration :: A Pop of Pink

The garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature. – Jeff Cox

I love and much prefer to work within the rhythm of each season. When garden blooms are lush with textures and pretty petals, it’s hard not to feel inspired at every moment. The natural world is a canvas painted in unique detail, and with a character that changes daily — and what a remarkable piece of living art when you have a garden to work with. When certain flower varieties are at their peak, they become more than physical beauty. Their seasonal return gives us the empowering feeling of joy — the reminder that like them, we are blooming once again.

As spring’s soft hues embrace summer’s boldness, the way one can interpret and tell a color story through floral arrangements has no bounds. While rainbows of flowers are delightful and a single color focus rich…there is something special when we let a pop of color hold its own. And come this time of year, there is no shortage of pink in every way. So today we are looking through some arrangements I’ve made over the last two months where the floral intention is, a pop of pink.

Floral Inspiration :: A Pop of Pink || Dreamery Events

And how many ways can one do this you ask? Well plenty, but we’re focusing on four foundations to effortlessly add pink whatever your flower style. Through blending the same lush Peonies from soft to bold, using colored fabrics, creating a soft base of varying pink hues or highlighting a singular bloom.

Whether it be pink or any other of your choosing, I hope this inspires you to create floral designs where one color can stand out amongst the rest…

T H E P E O N Y

Peony season is so incredibly brief, that we will do whatever we can to soak up every moment with them.

I can’t express the excitement I felt watching the first garden Peonies bloom this year when I thought I might miss their beauty before leaving for Portugal. The chance I might not witness their continuous growth, truly saddened me — that is the attachment I have to nature. Yet on the morning I was to leave, a few bloomed and I arranged this centerpiece. It was a simple gesture of gratitude for what the garden had given me, and a “see you soon”.

My intention was to not make an arrangement with a specific design, or stems in particular lines or shape. I simply embraced the moment and the almost rhythmic dance I had with the blooms. Creating a floral design that reflects very much our personal style; organic, a bit wild and romantic, and intentionally full of life.

A piece that captures the briefness of a moment in nature, and of seasonal presence.

‘Peter Brand’, ‘Festiva Maxima’ and ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peonies might steal the spotlight, but it’s the pink Roses, Clematis seed pods, Astilbe leaves and seeded Parsley that truly make them shine. And yes herbs make great foliage in centerpieces, not only when their leaves are fresh, but when flowering and seeded. It’s a great way to add seasonal texture in your designs.

F A B R I C U S E

Adding a pop of color within arrangements, does not always mean actually using flowers in that particular color. We can convey that design story through other elements when styling. And fabrics are an effortless and beautiful way of doing so. We’re embracing fabric use more and more these days, seriously the more the better. Whether it’s layers upon layers, delicate laces, whimsical patterns and colors that stand out.

The following three arrangements were created from an abundance of leftover flowers from reoccurring events. With Butterfly Ranunculus, reflexed white Tulips, and a few sprigs of Feverfew Daisies — I knew I wanted to embrace their daintiness by pairing their creamy hues with this sheer dusty rose fabric. And with the warmth of candlelight, the colors and details would simply glow! While the flowers are be neutral, they allow the fabric to shine as the focal element.

Floral pieces made in small vessels are great additions atop a tablescape when placed between larger centerpieces, like I have done for this playful spring table design. You can use small bowls and dishes, or get really creative with different objects. Here we used glass votive holders with a tiny kenzan pin frog and small thin stems. These make great elements at a wedding on cocktail/lounge tables or tabletop space guests will encounter. And in your home, they make the prettiest things to add onto a bookshelf, nightstand or any little corner in need of fresh flowers.

A S O F T B A S E

Having a pop of pink in floral design, doesn’t only come in the form of a punchy pink flower. In fact you can still create that with softness, especially when building a base for your centerpiece highlighting different pink hues and tones. We can verge into the peachy pinks and mauvey purples, but together they are all the colors pink can reflect.

This centerpiece is a slight variation of what I created for this event design. When I went to pick up my material from the client’s home the following morning, I was surprised to find the five main centerpieces atop the table. Because they had stayed within the tent, and it was surprisingly cool for early May — the flowers remained perfectly intact. Some of the cosmo petals had fallen and certain stems had moved with the wind, but nothing a bit of rearranging could help bring it back to life.

My client’s daughter picked the design for her communion, with our focus on playful soft colors and delicate patterns. The whimsical centerpieces were one of the main pieces on the table, which already had plenty of color with its layered linens and place settings. To make the plethora of pink hues make the most impact without being too cluttered, we chose to concentrate them at the base of our bowls. Height was only done with Cosmos mostly in white, with a stem or two in apricot. There were pops of color, but by keeping it low, it allowed the colors to flow more naturally with the rest of the table design.

And these bowl centerpieces were full of texture and dimension! Can you guess how many different flowers were used in just one piece??

Cosmos {in white and apricot}, White Tulips, Champagne Blush Carnations, Phlox Creme Brule, Light Pink Alstroemeria, Berzillia Berries, White Rice Flower, Ladies Mantle, Yarrow Cottage Peach, Mums {in Cushion Salmon, Cremone Blush and Spray Lavender}…yes about 13 different stems were used in this one piece!

S I N G U L A R S T A T E M E N T

Just like this arrangement made with offshoots from Larkspur and Queen Anne’s lace, this centerpiece gets its pop of pink from singular Quicksand Roses. Left behind in the studio and unused at my event, now making a statement of soft romance. We added white Yarrow for a voluminous texture and a hint of white with mini Carnations and a single Rose — but the eye is immediately drawn to the blushy pink Roses.

While our foundation was neutral in green and whites, this can be recreated with more color, say in a purple or yellow focused arrangement. The contrasting pop of pink can be done minimally with one single large bloom or a small cluster of three stems. Subtle works best here, especially when using prominent and larger sized flowers.