How to achieve Jeff Leatham’s signature “Four Seasons” look.
Once again my inspiration comes from a trip to Paris and a visit to the Georges V Hotel to see what Jeff Leatham, in-house floral designer, is up to. Last October it was a design similar to the one shown in this article, with cubes, and then in March he was using cylinders. Both shapes work equally well, so the choice is yours! Let’s begin:
1. Arrange the containers.
I like a combination of tall and short vases, although you can stick with all one height if you’d like. When choosing containers, keep in mind that the wider the mouth of the vase the harder it is to get the flowers to stand up tall (I like 4″ to 6″ wide openings). Start with the tall vases in the center and build around them. Stacking the vases creates a third height, just be sure the vase you are stacking on top of is strong enough to support the weight (I like the glass to be 1/8″ thick). It is best to arrange the containers in the spot where they will be used because it is very difficult to transport this type of arrangement…really, it is impossible.
2. Fill the containers with water.
I fill all the tall vases in the middle with the same level of water – they need a lot to support the taller stems and keep from falling over. I vary the level in the shorter vases for added visual effect. If I’m floating a flower, I make sure the water is low enough so that I have room for the flower to float without rising up over the top of the vase. If I’m standing flowers up and leaning them against the taller vases then only a few inches is necessary. For stacked vases, the one on the bottom needs enough water to elevate the flower within view but not float it too close to the top of the vase sitting on top (I usually fill the ones on the bottom about halfway). The water level varies depending on how you plan to place the flowers in the vase. I usually fill them up at different levels and then add flowers accordingly.
3.Choose the flowers.
There are several things to consider when choosing flowers for a Leatham arrangement and I made a chart in hopes of simplifying things. These are just some of my favorites and, of course, you can use other flowers than the ones I have listed here.
| To Float Roses Peonies Dahlias Amaryllis |
Clean Stems Callas Tulips Nerines Eremurus Rose petals Anemones Ranunculus Stock All Orchids |
Strong Stems Bells of Ireland Cymbidium Orchids Gerber Daisy Vanda orchids Amaryllis Roses Nerines Viburnum Spray Roses Snapdragons |
To Dunk Callas Tulips Hydrangea Cymbids Arabicum |
4. Add flowers to the tall vases.
Start with the tall vases first. I usually dunk flowers in an odd number of vases. For example, if you have seven vases, maybe you would dunk in three of them, and if you have 13 vases maybe dunk in five of them.
Choose a type of flower and group all the stems in your hand and place the bundle in one of the corners of the top of the vase. You may have to adjust them further down into the container to prop them up – it’s a balancing act. I think of it as flower yoga in my head.
Stay close to 5’s, 10’s, and 15’s. Use five stems of a flower, like hydrangea, if it’s got a big head, 10 stems for most flowers (Most come in bunches of 10), and 15 stems for roses or other smaller flowers. Cymbidium orchids can be used only 1 stem because they are powerful enough to stand alone. Althoug,h if you have the budget they are spectacular massed.
I like to work all angles and have flowers leaning in all directions. I have seen Leatham do a more stylized look with all the flowers in the tall vases leaning to the right and flowers in the shorter vases either floating at the same level or leaning to the left. Just make sure to distribute color and texture evenly.
5. Add flowers to the shorter vases.
I have more fun with the shorter vases because there are more options. Stand flowers up against a taller vase, lean them out away from the center, float a big head like a peony, or submerge a hydrangea or some rose petals under water. If you choose to float roses like I did in some of the vases here, fill up the cube completely with rose heads, usually for a 5″ to 6″ cube it takes 9 roses and 16 roses for an 8″ cube.
Extra Notes
At night, I like to add votives clustered around the arrangement or sit them in additional vases mixed in with the ones holding flowers. Add floating candles to containers with submerged hydrangeas or rose petals and get some light up high. I didn’t use candles here since this was shot in the daytime.
For many reasons this is my favorite way to arrange flowers. Since flowers last longer in water as opposed to oasis this arrangement is long lasting. It can be made to accommodate its location by adding vases to fill up the space. It works well on sideboards, consoles, and dining tables. Create one for a buffet centerpiece and then for seating tables use a single short cube or cylinder with a floating flower and votives to continue the theme (also very cost effective).
Last but not least, EXPERIMENT! Don’t be afraid to expand upon my ideas and make it your own! And if you’re in Paris, stop by the Georges V and take a look – it’s impossible not to be inspired.
