How do you feel about flowers? Flowers make us feel good with their sweet scent and beautiful appearance. The joy of being presented with flowers makes the day even more special. Flowers are beautiful by themselves, but this beauty can be intensified by human hands in flower arrangements. Flower arrangements can also put a creator's heart into the process of making a single bunch. This SMT reporter expressed her heart by experiencing a unique flower arrangement.
 

 

The beginning of fragrant art

Flower arrangement is the act of putting flowers and branches in vases and bowls in a beautiful composition and has been something that humans have attempted for a long time. Primitive people put flowers on their heads or decorated their homes with flowers, symbolizing their tribe. In the case of flower arrangements in Korea, when the people in the Silla and Goryeo periods performed their Buddhist rituals, they picked flowers and put them in small bottles. Flower arrangements, which were popular in Buddhism, gradually became decorative items in the house. During the Joseon Dynasty, there was even a custom called su-pa-ryeon of putting paper flowers on top of food. When there was a big feast, three lotus flowers were joined together in one piece and laid on top of the food. It is also easy to see lotus, peony flowers, and paper flowers inserted in jars or bottles in paintings related to Confucianism and Buddhism. A more sophisticated form of flower arrangement can be found in Moon-bang-gi-myeong-do, a work from around the 19th century. Flower arrangements were used not only at large events such as rituals and feasts but also in everyday life.
In modern times, the method and use of flower arrangements have evolved. Flowers are used for various events such as graduation ceremonies, weddings, and several holidays. As flowers can be used in many ways, more and more people look for them. Among these, as the profession of floristry has grown, flower arrangements have been developing in a more professional way. The florist determines the concept and mood, purchases flowers that match it, and makes an arrangement. In the process of understanding the characteristics of the flowers and arranging them aesthetically, it becomes natural to learn how to use them for creative expression. They are also in increasing demand as interior props. As flowers are used widely for decoration in interior design, such as exhibitions or stage installations, they have evolved from the concept of flower arrangement to the area of design. Now, flower arrangements are seen as an art.
 

 

My secret little forest

This SMT reporter took a one-day class at a flower workshop located in Seongsu-dong to experience flower arrangement. The flower workshop operates various classes for making a flower basket, flower box, or a real flower cake, but she chose the "Little Forest" class. In this class, you can create your own small forest in a transparent acrylic box. By using old wood to create the overall shape of a forest and decorating it with various things such as flowers, moss, and stone, you can create according to your own taste. Before the class, the florist introduced the flowers that would be used to create the work. There were a total of five flowers: sweet pea, Ranunculus, Spiraea thunbergii, Eucalyptus, and carnation. According to the florist, she selected the freshest and best flowers in the winter season. Overall, the pink flowers were the most attractive to the SMT reporter. The florist continued to introduce materials for decorating the forest. The ones she would use to decorate her work were floral foam, old wood, bark, and stone. The flowers would be set in the floral foam, a kind of wet sponge, and the surroundings decorated with old wood, bark, and stone.
After introducing the materials, this SMT reporter earnestly started to create a little forest while receiving advice from the florist. First of all, she separated the old wood and placed it on an acrylic plate to create a basic frame. In the reporter's case, she made a point by inserting a large old piece into the floral foam. After that, five flowers were inserted into the floral foam to begin the flower arrangement. She cut the stems of flowers diagonally and freely adjusted the length of the flowers, and inserted them into the floral foam as much as 1cm apart. According to the florist, it is more effective to arrange the large flowers first, and when inserting them, she emphasized avoiding using them horizontally. This SMT reporter first inserted the Ranunculus, which was the largest among the five flowers, and then the sweet pea, whose color emphasized the intense pink light. Spiraea thunbergii, carnation, and Eucalyptus, which were relatively small and with a less intense color, were placed around to highlight the first two more. In the case of Spiraea thunbergii and Eucalyptus, the three-dimensional effect of the artwork was created by emphasizing the curved beauty of the stems of the flowers. Then, she filled the empty acrylic box with stones. She completed her own little forest by covering it with bark to cover up the floral foam.
 

 

Deliver the flowers' house as a special gift

The SMT reporter attempted flower arrangement for the first time, the beauty of the flowers' shapes became evident to her. The class enabled her to create more meaningful and special art in a slightly different form from ordinary flower arrangements. She conveyed her emotion by presenting her sincere work to her mother. If you want to experience a more meaningful and unique flower arrangement class, the 'Little Forest' one will give you something special.