WHAT’S NEW IN FLOWER ARRANGING TRENDS?
 Flower trends can come and go almost as fast as trends in the fashion world. Different "looks" go in and out of style. Particular colors get hot - while others just cool down.
To find out what’s new in floral and flower arranging trends, the Dutch are a good place to start. More flowers come from - or pass through - Holland than any other country in the world.
"Trends start in many pockets of the world - but the best ones tend to sweep the globe," says Mieke Stap, a floral design expert at the International Flower Bulb Center in Hillegom, the Netherlands, who stages international photo shoots year-round. Following is Ms. Stap’s list of top floral style trends to watch for during the spring-blooming season when bulb flowers such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, lilies, Star of Bethlehem (ornithagalum), Persian buttercups (ranunculus), and grape hyacinths (muscari) are at peak availability.
Single Color Concepts - A hot trend in Europe and espoused here by such lifestyle arbiters as Martha Stewart: the monochromatic look achieves a special lushness by repeating one color in mixes of all-the-same kind of flowers, or various types of flowers in closely-related hues. Arrangements are often densely packed with flowers.
 Outside-In Arrangements - Here, both the stems and the flowers appear totally INSIDE clear vases so the flowers appear "under glass" as if in a jeweler’s or museum case. The vase envelopes the flowers completely, with the flower tops aligned near the upper rim of the vase. Water is kept low, and topped off regularly.
Repeat Performances - This is a style designed to show off the singular shapes of particular flowers. Groups of identical containers are featured, each holding one perfect flower. How many containers? Anything goes - more than three and as many as you choose. Continuity creates unity.
Low-Slung & Topsy-Turvy - With appealing results, trend-setting designers are choosing to flip-flop the traditional design formula of 1/3 vase topped by 2/3 stems and flowers. The new topsy-turvy look is bottom heavy, with the vase occupying the lower 2/3 of the arrangement, and the flowers just cresting over the top.
Unearthed for All to See - One fun trend in Europe now making its way "across the pond" (as some Europeans refer to our side of the Atlantic Ocean!), is to display spring-blooming bulb flowers such as tulips, hyacinths or amaryllis as complete units with the flower and stem still attached to the bulb and roots! The effect is reminiscent of historic botanical drawings. The bulbs-and-flowers can be displayed inside a vase balanced among stones and moss (using the outside-in technique). Another design idea groups the bulb flowers standing upright in a small circle, with the stems tied just below the flowers. In either case, water is provided at the root level. To do this at home, purchase potted bulb plants, gently remove the pot, rinse off the soil and arrange.
 A Different Twist - Designers with deft hands have adapted hand-tied bouquets, in which stems are carefully angled in a spiraling fashion, to create free-standing arrangements that stand on their stems in plates or bowls of water. While it appears that the flowers are standing upright without support, the water and tied stems provide just enough oomph to hold the flowers up.
Sticks & Stones - Adding structural elements from nature to floral arrangements is a continuing trend. The seashells of three years ago are waning, but sticks continue to fascinate. Fruits, berries and intriguing leaves of all sorts are favorite ways to augment flowers with character-building color and texture. Flowers can easily adopt multiple personalities. How we arrange them can be as simple as trimming the stems and dropping them into a vase, or as adventurous as threading them through a screen to make a wall divider or hanging display. With flowers, whatever one LIKES is just the right style.
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