As you may know, I’m not a formally trained florist. I’ve studied under Kevin, watched countless training videos, become addicted to #FlowerTok, and spent hours making arrangements and practicing the craft. It has been an incredible process, and I learn something new every day.
As I thought about what I would want to read on a florist’s website, I decided to share some of the foundations of floral design that I’ve learned along the way. These aren’t definitive rulebooks by any means. Instead, I hope they help you create your own arrangements, describe what you want for a wedding or event, or simply understand flowers a little better. When it comes to floral design, there really is no boring part.
The first foundation I want to explore is the role each flower plays in an arrangement.
A well-designed arrangement combines several different roles to create shape, balance, depth, movement, and texture. But remember: these are guidelines, not rules. One flower can play more than one role. Its function ultimately depends on its placement, scale, color, and relationship to the other ingredients. Not every arrangement needs every category, either. Different designs use different combinations of stems to express the artist’s vision.
Because I love a good metaphor, I’d like to think of each arrangement as a Broadway play. A memorable production depends on many different elements, each contributing something important regardless of its visibility or cost.
Foliage and Structural Branches
Most arrangements begin with foliage and structural branches. In our play, these ingredients are the stage that is the basis for everything that follows.
Foliage, or greenery, builds the foundation. It creates structure, establishes the silhouette, and provides contrast to the flowers. It can also contribute color, fragrance, and texture. Examples include eucalyptus, ruscus, salal, pittosporum, fern, olive, smilax, and camellia foliage. Side note - salal is the same as lemon leaf, a fact I learned relatively late in my lemon leaf journey.
Structural branches add architecture. These woody, branching stems extend the design and create strong, natural lines. Examples include quince, cherry blossom, forsythia, dogwood, curly willow, and beech.
Line flowers
Line flowers establish the arrangement’s overall shape. They create height, width, direction, and movement. In our Broadway production, line flowers are the scenery: they define the space in which the rest of the arrangement performs.
Examples include delphinium, snapdragons, stock, foxglove, gladiolus, bells of Ireland, liatris, and flowering branches.
Focal flowers
Focal flowers attract the eye. They are usually the largest or most distinctive blooms in the arrangement and often establish its main color and personality.
These are our leading actors: garden roses, peonies, dahlias, hydrangeas, lilies, sunflowers, protea, and large chrysanthemums. Because focal flowers are often among the most expensive ingredients, they should be placed thoughtfully and sparingly.
Form flowers
Form flowers bring personality and drama. Their unusual shapes create sculptural moments and make an arrangement feel sculptural and contemporary.
Think of them as featured performers. They may not always be the lead, but they make a memorable entrance. Examples include anthurium, calla lilies, orchids, protea, amaranthus, allium, and gloriosa lilies.
Secondary flowers
Like the supporting cast of our production, secondary flowers support the focal blooms. They add color and fullness without competing for attention. They also bridge the visual space between large focal flowers and the arrangement’s smaller ingredients.
Examples include ranunculus, standard roses, tulips, lisianthus, anemones, carnations, spray chrysanthemums, and alstroemeria.
Several more specialized stems fall within this category - the ensemble if you will:
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Accent flowers: These add contrast and surprise by introducting an unexpected color, unusual shape, or small point of emphasis. Examples include craspedia, eryngium, hypericum berries, astrantia, small anthuriums, and contrasting ranunculus.
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Textural ingredients: Textural stems add depth and interest. They keep the arrangement from looking flat or predictable. Examples include berries, seed pods, grasses, thistle, scabiosa pods, lotus pods, ornamental kale, and fruiting branches.
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Mass flowers: These are real workhorses; they create volume and visual weight. Their rounded or clustered forms fill larger areas and give the design substance. Examples include hydrangea, stock, carnations, chrysanthemums, celosia, and clusters of roses.
Filler flowers
In my opinion, filler flowers don’t get the love they deserve. Their small, branching blooms fill spaces and visually connect the larger flowers. They can make an arrangement feel romantic, garden-inspired, or abundant.
Filler flowers are the production crew: they may not always receive top billing, but you would certainly notice if they weren’t there. Examples include waxflower, limonium, baby’s breath, solidago, feverfew, asters, and rice flower.
Air flowers
Air flowers create lightness and movement. These delicate stems usually sit slightly above or beyond the main body of an arrangement. They give the eye room to travel and prevent the design from feeling too dense.
They’re the dancers of the arrangement, extending into the surrounding space and bringing the entire composition to life. Examples include cosmos, sweet peas, butterfly ranunculus, scabiosa, nigella, Queen Anne’s lace, and chocolate lace flower.
Bringing the whole cast together
A hydrangea might be a focal flower in a small arrangement and a mass flower in a larger one. An anthurium might be the star of a contemporary design or a surprising accent in a more traditional arrangement. The flower itself doesn’t determine its role—the designer does.
Like a Broadway production, an arrangement is most successful when its individual elements work together. Some flowers command attention, some provide support, and others quietly connect everything behind the scenes. The magic isn’t simply in choosing beautiful flowers. It’s in giving every stem a purpose.