Terms to Know

Familiarize yourself with these terms and know how they relate to the floral industry.

Filler — Floral material that has an “airy” look to create the finishing touch.

Dry Pack — The storage or shipment of flowers out of water.

Processing — Cutting flower stems properly and providing the appropriate treatment at any stage of the distribution process.

Mechanics — Supplies, methods and materials that designers use to place and hold flowers and foliage in an arrangement.

Retail Florist — Sells floral goods and services to consumers.

Vase Life — The length of the useful life of cut floral materials after being received by the customer.

Bundling — Firmly wrapping or tying similar materials together to form a larger, individual unit.

Photosynthesis — The process of converting nutrients, water, carbon, dioxide and sunlight into food for plants.

Light Intensity — The level of light received on a plant's surface.

Framing — A design technique in which branches of flowers are used around the perimeter of a floral arrangement to direct attention to the materials in the center of the arrangement.

Pillowing — The tight positioning of flower clusters at the base of an arrangement forming rounded hills.

Terracing and Layering — Similar design techniques to place similar materials horizontally on top of each other.

Ikebana — The Japanese style of floral arrangements characterized by their linear forms.

Corsages — Number 3 ribbon is the appropriate size for a corsage bow. The appropriate wire gauge for corsages is #24 to #28, depending on the weight of the flower. Construct a corsage so it is as lightweight as possible.

Bent Neck in Flowers — This is due to the inability of water to enter the stem.

Pavè Arrangements — Flower arrangement heights should not vary in pavè arrangements. The pavè design is a technique characterized by parallel or surface-contoured insertions that create a uniform area with little or no variation in depth.

Abstract Designs — Contain more than one single focal point.

Vegetative Design — A feature of this design style is the seasonal compatibility of the plant materials in the design.

Stair-step Manner Design Placement — This is the placement of cut material in a parallel design in each group to create depth.

Waterfall Design — Shorter stems of mass flowers provide a color and focal point near the container's rim.

Customer Education — Florists must educate the customer to help them enjoy their flowers to the fullest extent.

Processing Flowers — Growers, wholesalers and retail florists must process their flowers.

Floral Preservative — A chemical consisting of a mixture of ingredients that when added to water extends the vase life of cut flowers by lowering the water PH.

Hydrating Solution — A citric acid solution that causes flowers to take up water rapidly to prevent dehydration after flowers are dry-packed.

Respiration — Cell process in which stored food reserves are converted into useful energy for the plant.

Transpiration — The process of plants losing water through stomata in their leaves.

Interpretive Design — A combination of natural and man-made materials in an unnatural manner to create new images.

Formal-Linear Design — An asymmetrically balanced design of few materials usually placed in groups that emphasize forms and lines.

Parallel Design — Design that consists of clusters or groups of flowers and foliage that strengthen the element of line moving the eye through the arrangement.

Line Flowers — Used as primary flowers to establish the skeleton outline height or width of an arrangement.

Form Flowers — Used to create focal point with unusual and distinctive shapes.

Mass Flowers — Usually a single stem with large rounded heads used inside or along the arrangement to fill in.

Cascade Design —The design consists of several layers of materials, varying in size and texture to create a flowering effect.

Focal Point —The location within a design that attracts the most attention; the center of interest. In a corsage, the focal point is where the largest flower is placed.

Primary Colors — Red, yellow and blue are primary colors.

Scale — The relationship between the completed arrangement and its location.

Secondary Colors — Two primary colors combined in equal amounts.

Proportion — The relationship between the flowers, foliage and container.

Skeleton Flowers — Primary or line flowers used in a design to establish the outline of the arrangement.

Balance — The impression of the design being stable and self-supported.

Conditioning — The process in which cut flowers and foliages have been tested to extend their freshness.

Piercing Method — Corsage wiring technique in which a wire is inserted through the calyx and bent downward along the stem.

Asymmetrical Design — A triangular pattern with a strong “L-line”.

Symmetrical Design — A formal, equilateral triangular design.

Round Designs — Designs that are round do not require a focal point.

Hook Method — Wiring technique in which the wire is inserted through the flower and a small hook is formed in the wire before it is pulled back into the flower.

Hairpin Method — Corsage wiring technique in which the wire is shaped into a hairpin.

Intermediate Colors — Combination of equal amounts of primary color and an adjacent secondary color.

Filler Flower — A type of flower used to complete a design.

Wedding Flowers — Bride’s bouquet, bridesmaid’s bouquet, corsages, boutonnieres, alter flowers, pew flowers, on the candelabra, bride’s throw bouquet, table decorations and on the wedding cake.

Foliages — One purpose of foliage is to hide the mechanics in a flower arrangement.

Line Element — The element of the line in a floral arrangement is the visual path the eye follows as it proceeds through the arrangement.

Form — This is the geometric shape or line design that forms the outline of the flower arrangement.

Color — The color spectrum is made up of 12 major colors. Using color properly is just one important design element essential in creating a well-designed floral arrangement.

Bacterial Growth — Removing all foliage from the stem that is below the water level in an arrangement helps prevent bacterial growth.

Wire — Remember that #28 gauge wire is a finer (thinner) wire than #16 wire. Also note that #20 and #22 gauge wire are best suited to support roses, carnations and chrysanthemums.

Intensity — The brightness or darkness of a hue.

Tone — The measure of color intensity when gray is added to a hue.

Shade — A hue darkened by adding black forms a shade of the hue.

Value — This term describes the lightness or darkness of a hue.

Tint — Adding white to a color lightens its tint.

Re-cutting Stems — Re-cutting stems of fresh product helps prevent stem blockage, increase water uptake, maximize the freshness of the product and keeps the stem from sealing to the bottom of the container, if the cut is slanted.

Refrigeration of Fresh Product — Refrigerating fresh product with a combination of low temperature and high humidity helps slow down respiration, reduce water lost by transpiration, slow down maturity and reduce microbial growth and development. An ideal temperature range for your refrigerator is 38 to 40 degrees.