Balancing Act: Your Guide To French Hand-Tied Bouquets With Jordan Cirillo
Florist and gardener, Jordan Cirillo, gives us an important lesson in balancing the desire to control, using a surprising medium—flowers.
"Some of the coolest flowers always seem to have the shortest vase life, but that's just life, right?"
Jordan Cirillo's serene attitude flowed through the entirety of Mary Mae Gardens, the floristry shop he co-owns on the west side of Erie,PA. From the dappled sunlight beaming in through the large windows at the front of the shop, to the plush carpet and the warm scent of orchids emanating from the back corner, the message rang clear—floristry is an art which requires a gentle and accommodating mindset.
Flexibility is a praiseworthy attribute in this industry, and heavy-handedness rarely churns out anything sufficiently charming. Giving in to the urge to control a living medium will almost always result in the finished product lacking soul. "I let the flowers do the work how they want to do it; I only guide them in the vision," he chuckled while carefully unwrapping a new box of garden roses for our project, creating bouquets of autumnal blooms using the French Hand-Tied bouquet technique.
A perfect symbol of French style gardening, utilizing the French hand-tied bouquet technique simultaneously demands control over lines and the overall structure of the bouquet, while also consciously leaving space for the individual personality of each stem. This attitude of balance must also be reflected in the body while building the arrangement, from the fluid grip the fingers have on the stems, to the restrained movement of the wrist as the bouquet is rotated each time one is added. The ultimate goal is to create a beautifully full and uniform spiral presentation of stems that truly looks impressive when placed in a clear vase, and a graceful but somewhat irregular flow of blooms on the top. Its sheer versatility makes it a worthy technique for any beginner to learn to master, but before you pick up a single stem, keep in mind the golden rule: never fight the flowers.
Selecting Flowers Like A Pro
Selecting your blooms is arguably the most important, and perhaps most overwhelming part of building any arrangement. It is where a florist can shine even when putting together the simplest of bouquets. In order to build a great bouquet, you should be looking at four things: color, shape, texture, and movement.
First begin by selecting your central or primary blooms. Ideally, Jordan reminds us, there should be an odd number of these. Think, three, five, or seven of these blooms depending on how large you want your bouquet to be. These few flowers will then create a base for your color story, so look at your primary flowers closely, and notice the different colors or shades present in these. Sometimes your flowers will have completely different colors in them, such as the dark brown disc of a yellow-petaled sunflower. Other times there may be different shades of the same color, such as the gradient shades of green found in a hydrangea. Notice these details and use them to inform what other blooms you select. This keeps the arrangement looking cohesive in color while still drawing interest.
Next, pick your secondary and tertiary blooms working with the color palette that you've just built. While these blooms may not be as visually striking or take up as much space as your primary blooms, they should still be able to pull their weight. For example, think of how the subtle elegance of a standard rose can support the flair and grandeur of a large peony. At this point, if you have not already chosen blooms that are diverse in texture and shape, take a look around and choose something that adds a fun element. Some of Jordan's favorite recommendations for the autumn season? Berry branches and amaranth. He also recommends that we, "...consider flowers that are particularly long lasting, or dry very nicely in the cooler months, as these will add great longevity to the arrangement."
Time for greenery. Considered a rather boring subject in some circles, just the mention of a fern could have you cast out of a room. But don't be afraid of greenery, friends! It creates the perfect opportunity for you to give your bouquet a sense of irregularity and height. By selecting your greenery wisely, you'll also be dictating how lines will be built into an otherwise helical creation. Look for greenery that has interesting movement, lean, and curve that will occasionally disrupt the flow of the blooms and generate intrigue.
Now you are ready to create something beautiful.
Mastering the French Style
Begin constructing the bouquet by taking one of your primary blooms and orienting it upwards, making it the central focus of the piece. Then take one of your secondary or tertiary blooms and add it across at a 45 degree angle. Rotate your wrist counterclockwise, and add another bloom, again crossing the stems at a 45 degree angle, effectively layering them as you turn the bouquet. Rotate, and add at an angle. Rotate, and add at an angle. This is the basic premise of the technique which creates the spiral effect.
As you initially begin adding stems around the central bloom, use their structures to support and secure it exactly where you want. One tip from Jordan as you do this: respect the natural and individual shape of your bloom, finding elements that your stems already have, then building on those. Does its head lean down? If so, follow that curve with the supporting flowers as you add them, keeping your grip light and loose enough to allow for this show of personality, but firm enough to keep the situation manageable.
Remember to alternate evenly between your primary stems, secondary stems, tertiary stems, and greenery to avoid overcrowding and give each bloom enough room to shine. Don't be afraid to push or pull your stems up or down, especially utilizing the height of your greenery, to create dimension. This is actually a great opportunity to work in those disruptive lines we mentioned earlier; v-shapes make for attractive floral designs and are particularly whimsical.
Presentation Matters
Finally, the piece is almost finished. A clear rubber band is a florist's best friend when it comes to bouquets. Jordan has an easy trick that keeps things from getting too complicated when it comes time to secure the bouquet: Loop the rubber band over a single stem, wrap it all the way around the entire bouquet making sure to bypass that same stem, then loop it around another stem. Very simple. Cut off the ends of your stems with clean, sharp scissors, and place in your vase.
Voilà! Be prepared to marvel at the spiral design of your bouquet and impress everyone with your floristry skills. How sophisticated, they'll sigh. How elegant!
Want to watch the video? Here ya go!
Want to learn more about Jordan Cirillo and Mary Mae Gardens?
Visit their website at https://www.marymaegardens.com/
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