Elements and Principles of Floral Design
At a recent meeting of the Chester Garden Club, about two dozen members showed up to learn about the elements of design as applied to flower arranging in sanctioned competitions. Illustrating her talk with a large number of images of varied designs, Myra drew on her knowledge and experience as a flower show judge to outline the basic principles that are used by accredited judges to determine the prize-winners when studying entries in provincial and national flower show competitions. The universal elements of design include space, line, form, colour, texture and pattern. It is the arrangement of these elements according to the general principles of design, which are the factors that are considered during the judging of arrangements.
In brief, the principles of design involve balance (both in colour and in symmetry or asymmetry), rhythm within the arrangement, proportion of plant material to container, scale of individual components vis-à-vis the others, contrast of colour or shape, and dominance of one element over the rest.
In a move to encourage young people to take an interest in Chester’s annual Flower Show, Myra has run a short course for local children, where she teaches the basic principles and encourages lots of hands-on experimentation in arrangements. Her efforts have already brought dividends as several of her young pupils have won prizes in the children’s class of local flower show competitions in the last two years.
Members who attended the presentation as part of their own preparation for entering floral arrangements in this year’s Flower Show and Tea, enjoyed sampling the refreshments offered before the business meeting. Danielle took advantage of the meeting to promote the fund-raising raffle that is being held in conjunction with this year’s show.
The screen is a metal frame holding six hand-hooked samplers with scenes typical of Nova Scotia’s South Shore. A photo of the screen can be found on the page “Flower Show and Tea” (see menu at top of this page).