How to Keep Floral Designs in Place with Floral Mechanics
What is a Floral Armature?
An armature is a mechanism that creates structure in or on a container to hold a floral design in place. Sometimes an armature is used in place of a container, like in the instance of a grid in a hand-held bouquet. It is especially needed when you are working with a container with a wide opening. Without an armature, floral stems would slip and slide and not hold shape.
Floral Foam and Other Mechanisms
Although not technically an armature, floral foam (commonly called Oasis) is the most popular mechanism for keeping flowers in place. It also conveniently holds water therefore preventing spillage. By using floral foam designers can create in containers that wouldn’t normally hold water- like baskets, shallow dishes, cages, saddles, and more.
Another mechanism is a flower frog. Flower frogs are weighted metal disks with spikes to be inserted at the base of a container. Flower stems are pressed into the spikes, thus holding the stems upright. Not all stem thicknesses work however, and designers are limited by the size of the frog relative to the size of your container.
At the end of the day, nothing beats good old fresh water (with floral food) when it comes to flower vase life. That’s where floral grids come into play.
How to Create Floral Grids
A favorite method for creating a grid on a vase or container is using waterproof tape. Cut several strips of clear floral tape the diameter of your container and secure them across the vase’s opening, first horizontally and then vertically to create a hash pattern. Stick the tape close together or further apart depending on how tight you want your grid to be. Then design your arrangement, placing the stems between the pieces of tape, into the water, resting at an angle at the tape edge for support. Derita carries ½” and ¼” thick clear floral tape, along with waterproof floral tape for securing foam inside containers.
The key to using a tape grid is ensuring the tape is not visible by covering it with flowers. If this is not feasible, or if a grid at the top of your container isn’t ideal, try creating an armature “cage” inside the vase under the water line. To do this scrunch up a ball of chicken wire or submerge a structure of grass, rocks, bound up moss or curly willow - all of which can double as a visual element of the design.
Armatures can, in fact, be made from many different materials and are often decorative—tape-wrapped wire, chenille stems, colored wire, woody or branches—the creative possibilities are endless! Derita can help you find the perfect fit.
Also available at Derita are premade plastic grids that can be placed on top of your container, like the Holly Chapple Pillows. These come in different sizes and can be reused, which makes them favorable for event work.
Nothing on Hand?
If you have nothing on hand besides your fresh greens and flowers, use the stems to build a “nest.” Simply crisscross the stems at an angle in a spiral pattern, building the design upwards and on top of the other pieces. The overlapping stems will create a grid to support the final design. Just remember to always strip any leaves or foliage on the part of them stem below the water line to prevent extra bacterial growth, leading to stem rot and shortened vase life.
Derita sells of myriad of armature materials- from standard floral wire, chicken wire, colored wire, plastic grids, tape, foam, and more! Call us, and an experienced sales reps can lead you in the right direction for wherever your creativity takes you!
Holl Chappel Pillow Grid