Set three flowers in front of you. Select just one of them. Not necessarily the tallest. Not necessarily the brightest color. The focal flower is the one that leads the composition, in color, form or appeal. It is the first thing your eye will naturally pick out of the entire bouquet. The one that you will want to look at from the front, and from the side.
The focal flower is where your eye goes to settle in, and without it, a tiny bouquet gets cluttered fast, all the flowers trying to grab your attention. Roses, peonies, dahlias, tulips, carnations, chrysanthemums, or any other flower with a big head, might be your focal flower depending on what you are working with. The particular name of the flower is not nearly as important as its role in the composition. You will use that role to tell you where you are going to put your secondary blooms, your fillers, and your greenery.
Crowding often results from having too many major flowers at the same level, too close together. There is a struggle for visual dominance over every flower head, and the entire arrangement becomes out of focus. Don’t reach for a second large bloom next to the first one. Instead, step back for a second and notice where there is space. That little bit of open space around the bloom helps define it and can keep the composition from looking too crowded.
Start off by building a little group with one focal flower, two secondary flowers, and a few sprigs of greenery or filler. Hold the focal flower out a little higher or a little further forward and add your supporting flowers lower or to the side. After you place each additional piece, rotate your bouquet to see how it looks from all the different angles. If your focal flower is disappearing, your supporting flowers are probably too close, too colorful, or too tall.
Color can play a role in crowding. You may not realize it, but if you put a big red flower surrounded by other big red flowers, or even flowers in orange or purple, your bouquet can look very busy before it has even been finished. It can be helpful to use colors that are not as strong to make supporting flowers. The foliage is another useful tool, but you don’t want it to create a wall around your focal flower. Your foliage can be used to create flow, rather than to box your flowers in.
Another good place to check for crowding is at the angle of the flower stems. If they are all sticking straight out of the arrangement you have created, you may want to loosen them up a bit. Try leaning in the supporting flowers just a bit away from the focal flower and you can create more motion throughout the design. If you are arranging in a vase, try turning the vase to make sure your focal bloom still stands out. In a hand-tied arrangement, be sure you have left yourself enough room to move the stems before securing them together.
When done right, your main flower doesn’t overpower the entire design. It gives the bouquet a direction to move from. Next time you add a stem, check to see if it supports the design you have in mind. Or, if it is stealing the spotlight from your focal flower. A simple question such as this could be the difference between a cluttered beginner arrangement or a beautiful design that flows, long before the final ribbon or wrapping is attached.