"Fiery Red Topiary" Closed Form Flowers

To florists and floral designers, “form” is the word used synonymously with “shape” and refers to either the outline or three-dimensional shape of a flower arrangement. There are two key forms in floral design terms. These are “closed forms” and “open forms.” Both are key elements of floral design and are essential to creating beautiful flower arrangements appropriate for any space or occasion.

Closed form flower designs can best be described as “dense” because these forms lack negative space. That is to say, the floral materials used to create the designs are tightly packed allowing little to no room for light to pass through, thus it is one seemingly continuous piece and consistent shape throughout.

An example of commonly used flowers with closed form designs are Beidermeyer style bouquets and centerpieces. These are very compact rings that together form a small dome shaped arrangement. Because there is little negative space (none) in a Beidermeyer style flower arrangement, these and other flower arrangements with similar styles are referred to as closed form flower designs.

"Tropical Flair" Open Form Flowers

Open form flower designs are the opposite. These are considered light and airy. They have more negative space which may prevent the outline from being fully defined. Not defining the outline allows the design to merely imply a geometric shape.

An example of commonly used flowers with open form flower designs are contemporary arrangements. While there are many closed form contemporary flower arrangements, most contemporary styles focus on the idea of the shape. Rather than present a shape, they present lines (linear flowers) that form unique angles, shapes, and appearances.

Consider placing a light behind both designs and looking at their shadow on the wall. Like mass flowers, closed form flower designs will reveal an easily defined shape. Open form flower designs will produce a shadow that looks like no particular shape, but rather a series of overlapping lines and patterns.

Most florists are naturally in tune with the shades and hues that make flowers complement each other properly. It’s something simply understood. We’ve already discussed the color use. In addition to this element of floral design, there are floral design principles surrounding what are often referred to as “warm colors” and “cool colors”.

"Colorful Harvest" Warm Colored Flowers

Warm colors are all of the shades of red, orange and yellow (red through yellow-green on the color wheel). These are called warm colors because of their association with sunlight. Most people associate with warm colors with sunshine, fire and energy. Warm colored flowers are often used to express a very energetic emotion such as passionate love, excitement and enthusiasm. When included in a mixed flower arrangement, warm colors often stand out and gather the most attention. Because they seem to “project” from the rest of the design, warm colors are often called advancing colors or aggressive colors.

Cool colors are all shades of green, blue and violet (green through red-violet on the color wheel). Flowers in these colors are refered to as having “cool colors” because of their association with water, sky, grass and trees. These more earthy tones are used to express calm, relaxing emotions. Because these colors lack the energy of warm colors, they are also often associated with sadness and melancholy emotions. Because cool colors often sit back and let the warm colored flowers take the lead, they are often referred to as receding colors.

"For All You Do" Cool Colored Flowers

It is important to note with both that flowers in both color groups unconsciously enhance certain emotions in individuals. For example, red roses automatically remind recipients of love and romantic occasions. Therefore, red roses would be great for an anniversary but are less appropriate for funeral flowers.

In the same way, cool colored flowers would be less appropriate for exciting occasions that merit indulgence and excessive emotion. There are exceptions (like new baby flowers for boys), but cool colored flowers should typically be used to enhance warm colored flowers, express a less enthusiastic emotion or encourage relaxation.

Learn more about the color wheel used by florists.

I thought it might be interesting to discuss floral design terms every so often. Today I thought we would discuss the term Tussie-Mussie or Tussy-Mussy.

A Tussie Mussie is a style of bouquet often associated with the Victorian Era. This bouquet is composed of a small compact cluster of flowers or herbs. The stems are bound to create a round bouquet. When fashioned this way the bouquet can be hand held as a bridal bouquets or as an easy way to give flowers to someone who can then drop the bouquet in a vase they already have.

The flowers and herbs used in a tusssie mussie are often very fragrant. In fact this bouquet is sometimes referred to as a nose gay.