By Lisa Belisle AIFD, Sustainable Florist, Delafield, WI

Orchid Flower Design

The Sustainable Florist today needs to be mindful of creating waste—the less we toss in the bin, the fewer piles we create at the landfill. Sometimes this is just a matter of being mindful of the things we roll. It’s easy to get caught up in the “Don’t waste time, just throw it away since we can buy a new one for x dollars,” line of thinking. Having some of your procurement team members go through returned corporate items may be the best place to start.

If you are a shop or event company and have weekly corporate orders, especially one with orchid rotations you can create new ideas such as orchid arrangements using recyclable items, take the metal stakes out when the orchids are returned. The metal is like a gold mine to me! Not only are these stakes straight, sturdy, and in the particular gauge I often need, they save money because the wire is expensive.

Furthermore, the currently trendy air plants have great reusable potential. They last forever if you give them some excellent loving and great additions for corporate weeklies, orchid plants, terrariums, and succulent planters.

Granted, they may not last as long in a hotel or office building as you will only be servicing them weekly, and the temperatures and dry air are harsh on the little guys, it’s a great textural element that people are excited to see and know more about.

I still keep them around my studio after they wilt because of the graceful movement that they create after they lose moisture and curl. I spray the plants with flat white, copper, or rose gold Design Master paint (depending on the color pallet of my design).

Thanks to the spray paint locking in the remaining moisture, I have had some pieces last me a year and have re-used them for corporate events, competitions, and Art in Bloom.

Let’s talk about foam core, which may be an item that most people don’t use regularly in a retail shop. However, huge event companies with an art department are guaranteed to have stacks of foam. I don’t want to talk about the fresh board that you can charge bucko bucks for, let’s focus on the wastage and cutoffs.

I used to freelance at an event company where almost daily, there was a bag filled with pieces of foam core cutoffs. The janitor would roll past my office with a clear bag, and I would light up like a child at Christmas! “For me? Thank you!” Then I would toss them in my trunk, and away I went to use this item for my orchid arrangements design.

Orchid Floral Arrangement

For this month’s design, I would like to walk you through a design I made for zero dollars—only labor can be calculated as I re-used and upcycled every item in my orchid arrangements piece.

I had around, wood tray in my studio that one of my students had given me years ago. Into the tray, I drilled holes every 1.5 inches around the diameter, followed by another row 1.5” from the first row between holes. If you want a lusher look, you could drill the third row.

Take your orchid stakes and cut them into sections of 5”, 6” and 7”. Paint them to coordinate with your design and allow them to dry. Place the stake over the drilled holes and use a rubber mallet to tap them down snug. Make sure you alternate the heights to make an even ring.

In order to add a new texture, I wrapped wool around an Oasis 1” flat wire. Normally I cut a one-yard section and use U-Glue to start and finish the ends.

Using an Exacto knife and a small L-shape ruler, I cut the foam core into varying sizes of triangles. Keep in mind the size of your tray and spaces when cutting shapes. Cut at least one shape for every orchid stake. Pierce some of the pieces by pushing them firmly on the stakes while keeping the center in line as you push them toward the bottom. What I did next is not for the faint of heart.

I took my Xerographica plant that came back from a corporate account and pulled all the leaves off one by one. Trust me; it’s worth the sacrifice. Place one U-Glue dash on the bottom of the Xerographica blade and squeeze around the wire for a clean look. Place in varying heights to create great texture. Continue to place your foam core and layers while covering all the wire ends with either foam core or Xerographica blades.

Lastly, I had Phalaenopsis blooms that were rotated from a very large corporate order. I removed all the blossoms and placed them face down. Then I sprayed them with Design Master “flat white” very lightly, allow them to dry before spraying them a second time. Put a wet paper towel in a box or tray and place the faces of the blooms down and place them in a cooler overnight in order for them to harden off.

Do not cover the backsides. When you are ready, deconstruct the orchids and arrange them like butterflies floating around the foam core pieces and Xerographica. Use Oasis cold glue to adhere to the orchids when you are finished spray with an anti-transparent like Crown and Glory. Enjoy your orchid arrangements ice breaking design!