WILD + FORAGED Floral Tutorial \\ By Rosie of Rose Tinted Flowers

Last month we caught up with the lovely Rosie from Rose Tinted Flowers while we were shooting for the next edition of our annual Wild Hearts Magazine. When we choose our vendors to work with for our creative collaboration shoots, the one thing we look for is someone that can take the inspiration and turn it into magic. And Auckland Florist Rosie did exactly that.

She has a beautifully wild, calming soul and loves to share her floral knowledge with workshops and tutorials. We were lucky to have Rosie at our Wild Hearts Auckland Wedding Fair last year hosting her sold out floral workshops, which we are sad to be missing this year. So today on the blog we thought we would have a little chat with Rosie about what inspires her creative process and to keep you inspired at home during lockdown with a Wild + Foraged Floral Tutorial.

Tell us a bit about Rose Tinted Flowers, how it began and how long you have been in the floral world for? I started Rose Tinted just over 5 years ago (it’ll be our 5th birthday on Wednesday). It came about because I was working in the advertising/marketing world and quickly realised it wasn’t an area which I was going to thrive. I always had a love of flowers so thought now was as good a time as any to take the leap and start my own business.

Do you have a favourite floral combo? OOOh that’s a tricky one, it changes so much – I’ve gotta say anthuriums and amaranthus. The contrast of the very rigid anthuriums with the trailing tendrils of amaranthus are lush.

What inspires your creative process? It sounds cheesy but my team inspire me. We all have our own strengths so I always chat to them about my ideas for the business and collaborate with them on just about everything we do. 

With all of New Zealand currently in lockdown, what are you doing to keep creative while in isolation? I’m using my down-time to create florals ‘just because’. It’s not often I have time to play with flowers, without a brief to work to. It’s been so much fun trying different floral combinations. From a non-floral perspective, I’ve also been re-watching lots of Ghibli movies. They’re visually so beautiful and inspire me not just in a floral way but the way I live, cook, dress. They’re a visual feast.

Wild + Foraged Flower Tutorial

A little something for the wild creative inside you. This extra dreamy floral arrangement is ideal for someone who loves OTT and isn’t afraid to try different colours, textures and flower combinations.

I’m really inspired by the autumnal leaves, the colour range of burgundy and maroon to ochre and mustard tones are so beautiful and add a much needed colour injection. If, like me you are surrounded my kauri trees, their fallen seeds are the most beautiful golden colour  Also keep an eye out for berries or fruit, they make a beautiful addition to floral arrangements too.

If you’re uninspired by the neutral or dull tones of your dried flowers, try spray painting them (or take the kids paint set and create your own floral colour palette). If it’s a sunny day, you could get the kids outside, doing some painting for you.

When choosing a vase, remember to choose one that compliments your florals (in colour and shape). If you want to create a wide, sprawling arrangement, choose a low, wide vase. If you want to create a tall, linear arrangement, choose a taller, narrow vase. 

Now you’ve got your florals, it’s time to create…

What you’ll need

• A vase
• Snips
• Chicken wire
• Floral tape (great but not essential)
• A lazy Susan (again, awesome if you have one but not essential to the process)
• Spray paint or paint if you’re feeling extra creative
• A selection of dried flowers and foliage

Step 1: Prep your flowers and foliage
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Before you create your floral arrangement, you want to process your flowers and foliage, this means trimming your stems. Using your snips, trim excess leaves, thorns or unnecessary greenery from each stem.

Step 2: Getting started

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Please your vase on your lazy Susan or in the centre of a table. Mould your chicken wire into a ball shape with your hands and place it into your vase, filling the space inside. Use some floral tape to hold it in place if you need to.

Step 3: Get arranging!
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Onto the fun part…
Start by ‘basing out’ your arrangement. This is flower speak for adding your leafy foliage to the vase. Adding these helps establish the shape of your arrangement and cover much of the chicken wire. 

As you build onto your base, remember to rotate the vase around so you can see if you have any gaps. Fill any gaps with more luscious flowers and greenery. Play around with the placement and shape until you achieve the look you want. It doesn’t have to be perfectly symmetrical – wild is good! 

Step 4: When is enough, enough?
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If you’re like me, you want to add just a little bit more and a little bit more to your arrangement. If you think you’re done, step away from your arrangement for a while, come back to it later and see if it needs anything extra. I find it’s always looking at florals with fresh eyes always helps.

Then – Voila! You’re done (I think you deserve a wine) x

See more from Rosie over at www.rosetintedflowers.com and you can a follow all the floral goodness on Instagram at @rose.tinted.flowers

Wedding Fair images by Hill Collective and Stories By Bianca