1. CONSTRUCTING A CIRCULAR MOUND ARRANGEMENT Written by: Holli Bowman & David Lynn Hall County Board of Education April 2003 Modified by Georgia Agriculture Education Curriculum Office September 2005

2. This presentation is designed to supplement the textbook, Floriculture: Designing Merchandising, Unit 10 “Circular Arrangements”. The author is Charles Griner and it is published by Delmar Publishers.

3. Step 1: Selecting Materials  low, round container (6’ design bowl)  1/3 block of floral foam  waterproof anchor tape  9 standard carnations  3 stems pompon (daisy) mums  3 stems baby’s breath  8 stems leatherleaf fern  floral preservative

4. Step 2: Preparing the Container  Cut approximately 1/3 block of floral foam.  The floral foam should extend about one inch above the rim of the container.  Saturate the floral foam in a warm preservative solution.  Secure the floral foam to the container with waterproof anchor tape.

5. Step 2: Continued  Criss-cross the tape over the foam and attach the ends to the container.  Tape it off center to leave room for a flower stem in the middle of the foam.  Do not attach more than one inch of tape to the container.  Long strips of tape will be difficult to hide.

6. Step 3: Greening the Base  Place a circle of leatherleaf fern around the rim of the container.  Allow the fern to overlap the side of the container.  Save the remaining part of the fern stem for later use.

7. Step 4: Adding the Base Flowers  Place four standard carnations straight into the foam, opposite each other at the rim of the container.  These four carnations should form a square pattern.  The base of the carnation blooms should extend just past the fern tips.  These carnations should be equidistant from the center of the arrangement.

8. Step 5: Establishing the Height  Place the carnation, with the straightest stem, in the center of the floral foam at a height of 1 ½ to 2 times the width of the container.  This flower will establish the uppermost boundary of the floral design.

9. Step 6: Placing Additional Greenery  Place one piece of fern on each side of the center flower stem with the back of the fern facing the stem.  Use the remaining fern stems to green the foam.  Leave pairs of leaflets on the stems to reduce the number of holes in the foam.  Remember that the stems should radiate from the foam.

10. Step 7: Adding Remaining Primary Flowers  Insert four additional carnations at 45 o angles halfway between the two base carnations and center carnation.  Vary the height of these carnations slightly to prevent creating a row effect.  These flowers should be equidistant from the center of the arrangement.

11. Step 8: Adding Secondary Flowers  Place the pompon (daisy) mums in the spaces between the carnations.  Use large blooms in large spaces and small blooms or buds in small spaces.  Do not crowd the arrangement (no petals touching).  Leave some space around each flower.

12. Step 9: Adding Filler Flowers  Filler flowers such as baby’s breath or statice are added to soften the design.  Cut small pieces of baby’s breath and carefully place them between flowers in the arrangement.  Allow the filler flowers to stick out slightly around the flowers and foliage.

13. Step 10: Evaluating the Design  Step back and examine the arrangement from all angles.  Check for holes and add greenery or flowers where they are needed.  Move flowers, if necessary, to create equal space between flowers.  If you move a flower, insert it into a new hole.