Objectives:
istory
of
Floral
Design
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1. To identify the
aesthetic benefits of
floral design
2. To become familiar
with the history of
floral design
3. To understand the
origin and
development of
different styles
Significance of Flowers
• Used throughout
civilization
• Religious
significance
• Personal
adornment
• Addition of beauty
to dwellings
2
Significance of Flowers
• Special occasions
• Symbols of love,
friendship,
sympathy and
celebration
• Language of flowers
Red Roses symbolize and
communicate love
3
Why Know the History of
Floral Design?
• To understand the impact of earlier
cultures on modern design styles
• To see the derivation of design styles
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5
• To be able to create arrangements
depicting historical style or design
period
Classical Period of Floral
Design
Byzantine Period
Egyptian Period
Greek Period
Middle
Ages
Roman Period
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Egyptian Period
(2800 – 28 B.C.)
• Styles were simple and orderly
• Wide-mouthed basins or bowls
held flowers or fruit
• Wire loops or holes around
container rims held flower
stems
• Regimented rows and repetition
of identical floral groups
created patterned designs
• Primary colors dominated
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Lotus
Greek Period (600-146 B.C.)
• Did not arrange flowers
in vases
• Flowers were scattered
on the ground for
celebrations
• Wreaths and garlands
were worn or carried
during special
occasions
• Heroes, athletes and
dignitaries were
honored with wreaths
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Greek Period
• Potted plants were grown
indoors to supply flowers
• Professional florists were
hired to create wreaths and
decorations
• Cornucopia (horn of plenty)
was a symbol of abundance
and was used in an upright
position
• Grace, simplicity and
symbolism characterized
Greek design
9
Roman Period
(28BC - 325AD)
• Continued use of Greek
designs
• Wreaths and garlands
were more elaborate
• Blossom filled scarves
were placed on religious
altars
• Flowers were arranged in
containers or liknons
(baskets with high backs
and flattened fronts)
10
Byzantine Period (320- 600 AD)
• Continued Roman designs
• Garlands were twisted narrow bands
of fruit, flowers and foliage
• Introduced symmetrical, stylized tree
compositions
• Elaborate containers had nearly
pointed bases
• Color schemes used neighboring hues
with complementary accents
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Middle Ages
(476 – 1400 AD)
• Flowers arranged in vases
• Symmetrical groups in
Chinese flasks shows
Chinese influence
• Little known about floral
designs of this period
• Information found in
Persian art, rugs and
tapestries
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European
Periods
of Floral
Design
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• Renaissance
Period
• Baroque Period
• Flemish Period
• French Styles
• English
Georgian Period
• Victorian Period
Renaissance Period
(1400 – 1600)
• Arrangements were large,
tall, pyramidal and
symmetrically balanced
• Arrangement was twice the
height of container
• Flowers were loose, airy
and uncrowded
• Bright colors contrasted
with plastered walls
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Baroque and Flemish Style
Period
(1600 – 1775 AD)
• Classical Renaissance style
gave way to the lavish Baroque
style
• Baroque style originated in Italy
and spread to Holland and
Belgium
• Symmetrical oval shaped
designs
• Hogarthian curve or S-curve
developed during this period
Flemish Style
Jan van Huysum
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• Flemish artists painted
floral arrangements,
refining the Baroque style
• Better proportioned and
more compact
• Flowers were massed into
oval shaped arrangements
taller than the container
• Many arrangements in
paintings could not have
existed because the
flowers bloomed in
different seasons
French Tradition
• Influenced European, English
and American styles
• Influenced by Baroque art
• Feminine appeal
• Arrangements were bouquets
with no design or center of
interest
• Topiary designs were
introduced
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Topiary
English Georgian Period
(1714 – 1760)
• Moved away from formality and
symmetry
• Japanese influence affected
design
• Tuzzy-muzzy or nosegay was a
hand-held bouquet developed at
this time
• Nosegays were placed in bowls
of water on tables as
tuzzy-muzzy
centerpieces
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Victorian Period
(1820 – 1901)
• Floral designs were poorly proportioned
• Large masses of flowers with no focal point
crowded into containers
• Too many colors and flower types created
an unplanned effect
• Toward the end of the period, rules were
established for floral design
• Skilled designers established floral design
as a professional art
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History of Oriental Styles
Japanese Style
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Chinese Style
Chinese Styles
• Floral arrangements originally used to
decorate Buddhist temples
• Large, symmetrical arrangements with
central axis
• Only one or two types of flowers and foliage
used
• Bright colors were used
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Japanese
Styles
• Adopted Chinese style in 6th
century and created their own
highly refined art form
• Basic styles are Ikenobo,
Rikkwa, Shokwa, Nageire,
Moribana and Jiyu-Bana
• Ikenobo school of floral art
created the style known as
Ikebana
• Japanese styles are
characterized by linear forms
and open spaces
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ikenobo
rikkwa
0
shokwa
American Floral
Design Periods
Early American Period
Colonial Williamsburg Period
American Federal Period
Contemporary Styles
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Early American Period
• Early colonists had little time
for flower arranging
• Household utensils (kettles,
pitchers, pans, etc.) and
baskets were used as
containers
• Materials for arrangements
were wildflowers, dried
flowers and grasses
• Designs were informal and
massed
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Colonial Williamsburg Period
(1724 – 1780 AD)
• Trade with Europe influenced floral
designs
• Many southern arrangements were
copied from European prints and
tapestries
• Casual, open massed bouquets were
common
• Styles were fan shaped, rectangular or
round
• Visual weight concentrated at base of
design
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American Federal Period
(1780 – 1820)
• Influenced by French
styles
• Stressed individual
beauty of flowers
• Break from English
style
• Flower height was
greater than width of
arrangement
• Gave way to stuffy,
ornate Victorian style
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Modern American Styles
(Late 1800’s – Present)
• Development of floral wire services in
late 19th century established design
catalogs
• European mass designs were
combined with Japanese line designs
to create line-mass designs
• Advances in transportation and
refrigeration influenced availability of
cut flowers from local to world
markets
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1. List three ways flowers
have been used throughout
history.
2. _____ styles are characterized by linear
forms and open spaces.
A. Japanese
B. Victorian
C. Flemish
D. Baroque
3. The _____ period made extensive use of
wreaths and garlands.
A. Egyptian
B. Victorian
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C. Greek
D. Byzantine
4. Little is known about floral
designs of this period.
A. Egyptian
B. Greek
C. Roman
D. Middle Ages
5. Designs of this period were masses of
flowers with no focal point and poor
proportion.
A. French Tradition
C. Early American
B. Victorian
D. Chinese
6. The tuzzy-muzzy was developed by
A. The Romans
C. The French
B. Martha Stewart
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D. The English
Acknowledgements
McDaniel, Gary L. Floral Design & Arrangement. 3 rd ed. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Berrall, Julia S. A History of Flower Arrangement. London: Studio
Publications, 1953.
Sandra Balch – Production Coordinator
Jennifer Donaldson – Graphics Coordinator
Geoff Scott – Production Manager
G.W. Davis – Executive Producer
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