Gerberas! What I generally find is that either people love gerbera flowers or they hate them. There’s kind of no middle road with this flower, also known as gerbera daisies.
However as they are available all year round, you find them as a popular option in many florists’ arrangements.
Personally I’ve been exploring different ways of arranging gerbera flowers creatively in my ikebana arrangements. So what makes gerbera flowers so versatile?
- Firstly, gerberas are one of the best flowers for injecting colour into any flower arrangement. They come in a range of colours such as red, orange, yellow, bright pink, light pink, light yellow and white.
- Secondly, if you wire the gerbera stems, you can manipulate the stems (very carefully) to create movement in an arrangement.
- Thirdly, if you use the centres of the gerbera flower (minus the petals), the resulting look can be rather unique.
Now onto some flower arrangements I have made using gerberas.
Creative Ways of Arranging Gerbera FLowers
Arranging Gerberas with Twisted Willow and Foliage
In the first arrangement, I internally wired the gerbera stems before placing the flowers in the vase. Wiring them allows me to bend the gerbera heads without breaking them off their stems. Then I added some twisted willow which I manipulated to form curved lines. This creates dynamic movement as well as negative space in the arrangement.
The addition of the strelitzia leaf creates height in the arrangement. Also the leaf helps to draw the eye towards the focal point of the arrangement.
The addition of the philodendron xanadu leaf (to the right of the gerberas) provides visual balance to the arrangement.
Arranging Gerbera Flowers in a Coffee Table Arrangement
The second arrangement is one best viewed from above. This type of arrangement is great for the coffee table. Here I combined Queen Anne’s Lace flowers with red gerberas. You might have noted I’m applying the complementary colour theory in this arrangement. The red and green colour combination makes the flowers “pop” against the black container. For more info about colour theory, you can also check my other post here.
Additionally, to add interest to the arrangement, I removed the petals of a couple of the gerberas. I find this to be a great creative solution when you do not have many varieties of flowers to work with. You can also use this “trick” with sunflowers.
Experiment with the ones you have and see what results you can come up with when arranging gerbera flowers.
(Note: I used a couple of kenzans (metal pincushions) as the mechanics to position the flowers in place for this arrangement.)
An ikebana Style arrangement using Gerbera Flowers
The third arrangement is one which is quirky and influenced by the Sogetsu ikebana style. In fact Yayoi Kusama’s artwork was the inspiration behind this arrangement. She has a penchant for brightly coloured polka dots. You can see more of her work on her website or just Google her.
As for me I had fun creating this arrangement with gerbera flowers. I introduced movement by using and manipulating chicken wire into different forms. The wire also served as the mechanics for keeping the gerberas in place.
How To Keep Gerbera Flowers Fresh For Longer
- Use a clean vase and fill it with fresh, clean, shallow water. Gerberas are susceptible to bacteria which can cause them to droop.
- Cut the gerbera stems at an angle (in water if possible) and place them immediately into the vase.
- Place the vase away from heat as gerberas prefer cooler temperatures.
- Change the water regularly, preferable every other day. And when you do so, re-cut the stems.
If maintained well, gerbera flowers can last between 7 and 10 days in an arrangement.
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TIME TO DE-STRESS WITH IKEBANA
Studies have shown that arranging with flowers can help you relax and reduce stressful feelings. Ikebana is a great way for you to get in touch with nature while being creative with flowers. No prior training required – just A LOVE OF FLOWERS!
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Fun Fact About Gerbera Flowers
Gerberas are a fun-loving flower and like sunflowers, they turn towards the sun.
If you are interested in sunflowers, check out my other blog post for more creative arrangement ideas as well.
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