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Permanently Pretty
Dried and permanent botanicals are brightening up flower |
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Written by Carol Neshevich
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Dried and permanent botanicals are brightening up flower shops across the country
While fresh-cut flowers can certainly brighten up any room, they don’t last forever. That’s where dried and permanent botanicals come in. “A lot of people want more permanent arrangements,” says Sarah Geddes, owner of Gammage Flowers in London, Ont.
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| The quality of permanent botanicals has greatly improved over the past few years, which contributes to the growth of their popularity. |
Geddes – a florist whose shop does a lot of work in silks – says that sales in permanent botanicals had dropped off for a while, but are becoming more popular again. She attributes this popularity to the increasing interest in home décor these days. She also cites a generally better product: “They’re low maintenance, and a lot of the silks are really well done these days,” she says. “The quality of the silk is better, more lifelike.” At Gammage, some of the hot trends in permanents include very lifelike silk orchids in colours like white, pink and mauve, as well as “spectacular silk hydrangeas,” says Geddes.
Bright colours, like limes and oranges, are also hot this year in silks, says Geddes. But one of the most requested permanent botanical looks at Geddes’ shop is the all white silk arrangement. “Those are always popular, and they go anywhere,” she says. Generally, when Geddes puts together permanent arrangements, she doesn’t like to go too trendy since people may be keeping these arrangements on display for years to come. She tends to veer toward more classic looks, as they’ll always be in style. Such classic elements also include twigs and berries, which are still as popular as ever. Artificial berries are especially hot sellers at Christmas time, she says, and are frequently used in wreaths. But it’s not just about the red berries anymore, says Geddes – blueberries are becoming more and more popular in arrangements. “The red berries are always the first to sell though,” she admits.
Wholesalers agree that twigs, sticks and berries are enjoying continued popularity. “That very natural look is really hot now,” says Roslyn White of Mississauga, Ont.-based wholesaler Tri-W Imports. White says that the twig-and-berry look goes very well with another popular trend she’s seeing in permanent botanicals, which she calls “an antique look.” She describes this as a very old look, using artificial flowers like wild roses, hydrangeas and magnolias in muted greens, creams and burgundies. “It’s all muted, not bright,” she says. “It’s almost very Italian-looking, like something you’d find in a courtyard in Italy.”
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| Pods, bamboo, and branches like this curly willow, are all very popular in the ‘modern dried’ look this year. |
In the world of dried botanicals, on the other hand, it’s all about “clean lines,” says Diane Seymour, floral designer at Mississauga, Ont.-based wholesaler Botanico Ltd. “It’s all clean and simple, with a real focus on line.” Pods, branches and bamboo are all very important in this “modern dried” look, says Seymour, noting that there’s often more of a focus on a singular, simple element. “You might have just one element arranged in a vase,” she says. Seymour offers up a few examples of this type of singular-focused arrangement: a vase filled with only curly willows, or perhaps a clear glass vase filled only with different-coloured coquinho balls. According to Seymour, the older, more classic dried look has definitely lost popularity in favour of this modern dried look. It’s not about the traditional baby’s breath anymore, she declares.
Rick Sheldrick, of Sheldrick’s Decor Inc. in Mount Hope, Ont., has had a slightly different experience with his dried product these days, however. Although he too sells more of the simpler elements than anything else – “we do mostly sticks, branches and bamboos,” he says – he’s actually seeing the traditional drieds making a bit of a comeback. The baby’s breath, German statice and eucalyptus “weren’t too popular for a while, but they are coming back,” says Sheldrick. “We used to laugh when someone would ask for (dried) German statice, but it’s happening much more now.” These traditional drieds aren’t as popular as they used to be, he says, and they certainly aren’t as popular as the “stick, branches and bamboos.” However, he’s clearly been seeing a noticeable increase in sales of these more traditional elements lately.
Although it’s true that different customers will prefer different styles of dried or permanent botanicals, one thing is certain – these types of arrangements are now being seen as artwork, a welcome addition to any home decor. This is why Gammage Flowers’ Geddes says her shop lets people take these arrangements home and “try them out” to see how they will look in their homes. If they don’t like how it looks, they can always bring the arrangement back for adjustments, but she finds that “typically people are quite happy with it.”
In light of her attitude that these arrangements are works of art, Geddes likes to carry the best quality in permanent botanicals that she can. Although this means that her arrangements can get quite expensive, she finds her customers think it’s worth it. “It’s like an investment in a piece of art,” she says. “So it may be more expensive, but in 10 years, the customer will still love the product.”
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