Biedermeier Flower Arranging: a Tutorial

As a lover of flowers and a seasoned traveller, I have admired my fair share of stunning floral arrangements.  But it was  in a restaurant a few miles from home, that a floral display stopped me dead in my tracks.  I was on my way to the powder room when I paused to admire a flower arrangement created on a cake platter that looked, well, like a cake!

Nonchalantly I tried to figure out how it had been made. I thought the flowers had to have been set in some sort of shaped oasis.  After a more than reasonable time fixated in front of this beauty, I thought it best to get moving.  On my way back from the powder room,  I couldn’t help myself.  I returned to the flower arrangement and slipped a finger into the flowers to see what was holding them in place….and got caught, literally with my finger in the flower~cake!  A woman who identified herself as the manager inquired if she could be of assistance.  How embarassing!  By then, my girlfriends had come looking for me as I’d been gone for such a long time!  We explained we were passionate about flowers and were from a local garden club.  The manager, Terri Dow, had actually been the floral artist and she began explaining that this beautiful creation was a Biedermeier floral arranging style and the flowers were held in wet sand.  WET SAND?!!!  We were blown away and promptly invited Terri to teach us a class in this art.

Biedermeier flower arranging is considered a floral design where the flowers are arranged in a pavé technique, in compact and  concentric rings of alternating colors.  The arrangements are usually rounded or conical.  Each ring contains one type of flower which contrast with the ring adjacent to it usually in color, form and texture to create interest in the design and to showcase each flower.  This style of arranging is suitable to low bowls, cake stands and footed  compotes.

Biedermeier floral arranging originated in Austria and Germany during the post war years of 1815-1848 and is associated with the famous furniture style of this era.

19th Century Biedermeier chest of drawers(Google images)

Modern arrangements can depart from the traditional Biedermeier technique in arranging the flowers in spiral or linear patterns.  Berries, small fruit or even small objects such as Easter eggs might even be introduced.  What remains consistent is the linear, dense arranging in one color per row.  I invite you to search for Biedermeier flower arranging on Google images or on Pinterest to be blown away by countless examples of this fun floral art.  Here are a few of my favorites!

Pinned by belfleur.be  No concentric rings of one color here but a pavé style of flowers in a very modern design.

Lemon Lime Topiary Pinned by Lynne Thompson

Pedestal table arrangement pinned by Lynne Thompson

Succulent topiary pinned by Lynne Thompson

Biedermeier dress form by houstonweddingblog.com MY FAVORITE!

Join my garden club in a class in Biedermeier floral design. Learning how to design with wet mounded sand was exciting!   Not all Biedermeier is done on sand but the technique I will demonstrate uses a sand base.  The sand is the sandbox stuff you can get at the hardware store.  It should be new sand to prevent bacterial growth and all used sand discarded after each arrangement is dismantled.  Using sand instead of oasis is a really economical way to create shaped arrangements.  It is also far easier to work with than shaping oasis to the form you are seeking.

My finished design

Start shaping a mound of dry sand with your hands, on top of your chosen vessel, here a cake stand.

Once you have the desired shape, create a volcano well on the top of your sand. You will now pour the water in this well until the sand is well saturated, but not slopping wet.  The well will be filled with sand before you begin arranging flowers.

Once your sand is wet, you can modify the shape, such as making it taller,  as we are doing here, and pour on more dry sand.  Wet the additional sand.

Once you are satisfied with the shape, start arranging your flowers. Cut each stem very short, about 2-3 inches long. Just place them in the wet sand in your chosen design, remembering to set the flowers close together. You want to achieve a very dense covering of flowers.

To guide your design, it is important to create a line through the middle of  your arrangment and set a row of the flowers you will be using,  as shown above. This will help you visualize the rows of flowers and keep your design aligned precisely.  Start with the top flowers and work towards the base.  Once you have determined your design, you can work from the bottom up in arranging each row of flowers.

An evolving design.  The design can be tweaked as you work.  Nothing is etched in stone here!  I had started with astromeria in my center and switched them out for hypericum berries later on.

A darling finished design

Another lovely creation

Note the concentric rings of flowers. This design features small bits of foliage inserted here and there to give a looser feel to the finished arrangement.

My creation seen from above.

Choose flowers with similar life spans and your arrangement will look great for up to 2 weeks.  Every 4 days or so, add a bit of water to keep the sand wet.  You can do this by simply pouring water in the top of your arrangement as you would to water a plant.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about Biedermeier floral design as much as I did.  Get in touch with your inner child and play in the sand again! Thank you to Terri Dow and The Ship Inn  for hosting The Scattered Seeds Garden Club.