Sunny bloom adds drama to floral designs
Sunny bloom adds drama to floral designs
“I am working with the enthusiasm of a man from Marseilles eating bouillabaisse, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to you because I am busy painting huge sunflowers.” — Vincent van Gogh
Sunflowers bear a striking resemblance to their namesake and they are considered one of the happiest of flowers. They exemplify sunshine, they uplift spirits, and they evoke feelings of cheerfulness, warmth and joy.
Sunflowers have inspired artists for centuries with their natural beauty — who isn’t familiar with Vincent van Gogh’s series of sunflower paintings? His famous “Vase With Fifteen Sunflowers” painting sold at auction in 1987 for a whopping $39.9 million.
Floral designers also appreciate the sunflower’s strong, towering stems and vibrant blooms. René van Rems, floral designer and consultant at René van Rems International in Carlsbad, CA, told The Produce News that sunflowers as cut flowers are rather new on the scene but they do really well in foam when the stem is cut on a severe angle.
“As a large, primary color mass flower, sunflowers bring more value to a design than almost any other,” van Rems said. “When using sunflowers in design, I like to make them look less uniform by using various stages of opening; some fully open while others in tighter bud stage.”
Sunflowers come in a wide variety of sizes and colors and can create a dramatic design impact even on their own.
“Sunflowers are perfect as mono botanicals with just some foliage or botanicals,” said van Rems. “But do not use sunflowers with tropical flowers or flowers that don’t fit well. The ‘Country’ and ‘Lodge’ looks are so big at the consumer level that one can’t go wrong with all-natural and uncontrived looking garden-type flowers.”
And van Rems believes that sunflowers are even useful once they are past their prime and their petals drop.
“Don’t discard them,” said van Rems. “Use the petal-less center as a point of interest in a design.”
