J. Morris Flowers | Leesburg VA | Blog

Fall class blends earthy beauty and “hip” design

Written by Jennifer Morris | Aug 9, 2016 4:09:29 PM

A few months ago, Jennifer and I were combing through some images looking for something really special for her to share with her customers during the September flower arranging class. With her recent Summer Collection, Jenn put a lot of emphasis on locally inspired flowers, trying to capture an “organic” feeling in her arrangements. The summer collection has been very popular, so we thought we would return to this theme one more time with our Tuesday, September 27 class.

STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, STYLING BY LINDSEY TAYLOR.

Heather Lipp, Jenn’s sister

We discovered a photo of a bouquet created by Lindsey Taylor, a New York City floral designer, who creates arrangements that are inspired by some of the world’s most beautiful paintings. She writes about her floral designs for the Wall Street Journal. I have included a link at the bottom of this post so that you can see the painting that inspired her when she created this arrangement. Jenn has decided to mimic this design for that first class. She loves the vibrant colors and the style of vase.

Lindsey Taylor has given Jennifer and I permission to use the image so I want to be careful to give full credit to the people involved. The photography was done by Stephen Kent Johnson for the Wall Street Journal, styling by Lindsey Taylor, published on-line September 25, 2014.

Stone Tower Winery suggests wine pairings


Stone Tower Winery website: www.stonetowerwinery.com

Our good friends at the Stone Tower Winery are going to suggest some of their own wines to pair with this arrangement based on the mood and feel of the design. We will have some detailed information about the wines they selected and will share a glass with you that evening.

Local Grower Leah Foster contributes her own locally grown flowers

Leah Foster, Fleur de Leah, Hamilton, VA

Leah Foster delivers an assortment of freshly cut flowers from her gardens to our studio every week in the warmer months. She will be delivering flowers the day of the class for use in your arrangement. Her contributions will include stems like zinnias, colorful sunflowers, purple basil, dill, yarrow and Queen Anne’s Lace. We’ll tell you about Leah during the class.

More about the techniques Jenn will be teaching

Jennifer has been discussing the idea of helping her customers create beautiful arrangements at home from cut flowers for a few years. Arranging flowers that you have purchased in a bundle, or picked from a nearby Northern Virginia meadow allows you to create your own brand of beauty for your home.

Most fall flowers require water for survival so the class presents an opportunity to discuss some of the techniques designers use to create artful arrangement in vases (without floral foam). During the September 27th class (7:00 pm to 8:30 pm), Jenn will focus on how you can use each flower strategically to create an arrangement that has that elegant “designed by a florist” shape. The techniques will focus on the flowers themselves and how to strategically place each one to create a sturdy but elegant arrangement highlighting the beauty of each flower. She is also planning to teach you how to use chicken wire to secure more delicate flowers. Our final arrangement will not be as big as the one shown above as we want to keep the cost of the class reasonable.

What will you receive:

  • A vessel (6″ wide by 10 1/2″ tall)
  • All the flowers needed to create the arrangement
  • Floral materials needed to complete the design
  • Tools (provided for your use during the class)
  • A glass of wine and cheese
  • Companionship with like-minded aspiring floral designers

The cost of this class is $90. The class will be held at our studio in the Village at Leesburg from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Please complete the form below to reserve your space in this class.

We are excited to present two more classes this fall that will teach a different set of techniques. We will be working with lower arrangements, very seasonal, that will require foam, floral tape and other materials. Those classes will be offered Tuesday, November 8th and Tuesday, December 6th. Please visit our “Classes” page for more information.

Here’s the link to the Wall Street Journal on-line article written by Lindsey Taylor.