Floral Design Tutorial using Orchids and other Tropicals. Dramatic floral design created using the tatami method and amazingly showy oncidium orchids. Erik creates a floral arrangement using the tatami method of binding branches to create a screen within this arrangement of orchids, heliconia, and anthurium from Green Point Nursery. Materials used: Bronze footed compote, Oasis floral foam, waterproof adhesive tape, shish kabob skewers, tatami mats (created from dried reeds and Oasis Bind Wire) oncidium orchids, cinnamon brown anthurium, allen carr heliconia, ruffled calathea leaves, anthurium leaves, banyan roots, osage oranges, horsetail equisetum, dried dates.
Step 1: Set Oasis floral foam presoaked with floral preservative into footed compote and anchor with waterproof adhesive tape. Insert and anchor tatami mats into design in a staggered placement, using additional lengths of the same reed material and Oasis bind wire to secure.
Step 2: Wind banyan root around base of container and anchor upon itself with bind wire as necessary. Terrace anthurium leaves in groupings at base to begin breaking the edge of the container to begin concealing mechanics.
Step 3: Crisscross horsetail equisetum by inserting into foam and bend reeds from left to right through the tatami mats to create a connective horizontal line.
Step 4: Anchor osage oranges into design using two shish kabob skewers inserted at the base and then into the foam deeply to ensure good security. Add the allen carr heliconia above tatami structure to elevate and create the linear movement in the design and the cinnamon brown anthurium to create the focal emphasis. Step 4: Insert the oncidium orchids allowing them to extend and spill out of the design. Step 5: Finish the design with groupings of ruffled calathea leaves and dried dates at the base to visually connect all of the natural colors and materials together.
About the author
Erik Witcraft AIFD
Erik Witcraft AIFD is a Portland, Oregon-based floral designer and a regular contributor to Living Flowers.
- Erik Witcraft AIFD#molongui-disabled-link
- Erik Witcraft AIFD#molongui-disabled-link
- Erik Witcraft AIFD#molongui-disabled-link
- Erik Witcraft AIFD#molongui-disabled-link
