Believe it or not, floral design isn’t just haphazardly sticking pretty blooms into a vase. Professional designers spend a lot of time training and studying the art of technical floral arrangements. One aspect of this education includes the four flower design classifications: line, form, mass, and filler. Below is a brief summary of each one and a few examples. Keep in mind that certain flowers can fit into more than one category and this can vary by the variety!
Line
- Blooms grow along the stem
- Usually tall and create the outline of a design
- Examples
- Snapdragon, larkspur, eucalyptus, foxglove, stock
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Form
- Flowers with a unique shape or texture
- Draw and center attention
- Examples
- Daffodil, sweet pea, balloon flower, freesia, nigella
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Mass
- Large bloom(s) at the top of a stem
- Add weight to a design
- Examples
- Dahlia, lisianthus, poppy, aster, cosmos
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Filler
- Smaller blooms, multiple per stem
- Fill in gaps and create a cohesive look
- Examples
- Statice, amsonia, phlox, ageratum, celosia
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*DISCLAIMER* If you’re designing with flowers for fun, don’t worry about following all the rules - just use whatever flowers in whatever way makes your heart happy!
