Hello,
April 2026 Flower Thoughts
Welcome to our April edition of Flower Thoughts. This month I’m bringing you more floral wonder from the Melbourne Flower Show, an Art Nouveau inspired design, my thoughts on interpreting a competition title and news of more learning opportunities.
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Design of the Month - April
Looking like it has stepped straight out of the Art Nouveau period, our April Design of the Month comes from the skilful hands of Dylan Decamp, of France.
Adding intrigue is a stone-like form integrated into the body of the work - actually a piece of wax.
The composition is a hand-tied bouquet with one binding point, standing in shallow water, supported by wire feet. The arching line, the fluidity of materials and the gently graded, tonal colour palette all speak to the Art Nouveau period. Sensitivity to colour is evident in how the Helleborous and Scindapsus leaves and vine bring out the colour in the wax, subtly contrasted with pale pinks and solid reds. The bouquet was created at the International Floristry Teachers Seminar at Boerma Instituut last month. Dylan’s expertise has been recognised with a Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France ) Award and he is the founder of Artis Florum Institut.
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Texture and repetition in an arching, structural composition.
Design - Dylan Decamp; Photography - Mark Pampling. Appreciate the details in Dylan's bouquet, and our see past Designs of the Month here:
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When a Line Defines
Competition titles are often intriguing - sometimes inspiring, sometimes puzzling. I still recall being asked to interpret the theme “Sugar, Sex and Sorcery”.
A little while back, I was asked (thank you, Priya) how to approach the title Defining Line and whether the interpretation requires a dominant line. The question came with an accompanying image of a fine linear sculpture - a small bird perched along an extended line (Winter Wren by Don Rambadt) - offering a useful, if non-botanical, point of reference.
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‘Winter Wren’ Sculpture by Don Rambadt.
It’s important to recognise that “defining” is not the same as “dominant.” Dominance relates to the principles of design; defining relates first to interpretation. The challenge is to integrate that interpretation harmoniously into the composition.
To define is to clarify, distinguish, or separate. With the title “Defining Line,” I would look for a composition where a line clearly separates, highlights, or articulates parts of the design. That line becomes the defining line. It may also be dominant - but it doesn’t have to be.
In the sculpture, a strong, dominant line is present. But what does it define? While it establishes direction and has presence, it does not clearly separate or clarify elements in a way that immediately communicates “defining.” The viewer may not instinctively read the longest line as performing that role.
This raises an important question: if the sculpture were titled “Defining Line,” would that meaning be immediately apparent? Perhaps the line suggests where the bird can perch - but that interpretation is not instantly clear. In competition work, the goal is to make the title readable without explanation.
A more effective approach might be to use line in a way that visibly divides or distinguishes areas - so its defining role is unmistakable, with other elements (like a focal point) supporting rather than competing with that idea.
Consider, like the illustration below, a composition where distinct areas of colours or forms are clearly separated by a strong line. Even without knowing the title, the viewer can sense the line’s role. With the title in mind, the intention becomes immediately more legible: the line is defining space, forms, or relationships.
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There are, of course, many ways to interpret this theme - that’s part of the pleasure, and the challenge, of competition work.
How would you interpret Defining Line?
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Connecting Ideas: Exploring Creativity with Gregor Lersch
With just four months to go, I'm looking forward to connecting with many of you, and Gregor Lersch, in Sydney for Connections '26. I hope you can join us for either the one-day symposium or the three-day workshop.
The symposium offers a rare opportunity to experience Gregor's creative process - following the journey from initial inspiration through to a resolved design.
The workshop centres on Linking - Gregor's framework for generating original ideas by connecting design styles, schemes and techniques in ways that produce genuinely new directions.
If, like me, you have more than a passing interest in baskets, one day of the workshop will be especially engaging. We'll take our understanding of basketry in design and combine it with abstraction - best experienced in the room, as ideas develop through Gregor's guidance and the shared creativity of the group.
Gregor is a warm and engaging presenter, pairing deep design insight with humour drawn from his extensive career. Time spent with him is always stimulating, thought-provoking, and enjoyable.
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Wall hanging design by Gregor Lerch at the 2026 International Floristry Teachers Seminar in The Netherlands Check out the Sydney program here and look at the connections you could make: |
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Defining Direction, Shaping Style
Most of us evaluate our own designs by feel. We finish a piece, step back, and decide whether we like it. But that instinct is not as reliable as it seems - it doesn't tell us what to change or where to look next. It doesn't teach us why something did or didn't work.
Design Directions replaces that habit with a more useful one. Over the course, we learn to see what's working in a design and what isn't - and why. We start finding solutions systematically rather than relying on instinct or someone else's opinion. That skill transfers to everything we make afterwards, regardless of the context we work in.
We do this through five tasks that move from upward-directed designs through horizontal and angled work to downward-directed proportions, each with its own combination of design style and line system. The constraints shift with every task, so what worked last time will not carry us through the next - we have to think from the principles up each time. And because we all work to the same brief, we learn as much from seeing how others approached it as from how we solved it ourselves.
The submissions below by Duc Thuan Bui are a good example of what this looks like in practice. The designs show a growing command of the Principles from task to task - in the handling of structure and proportion, colour, texture and space, and in the increasing deliberateness of every choice.
I love seeing this happen across every group. Nobody sets out to sharpen their personal style - but by the end of the five tasks, it has become more distinct in the work, more evident than it was before. The analytical rigor of Design Directions is what brings it to the surface.
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Leaning, long, formal-linear, parallel and horizontal designs - submissions by Duc Thuan Bui in Design Directions.Designs - Duc Thuan Bui; Photography - Duc Thuan Bui
Design Directions begins in two weeks, with sessions in two time zones - one for the Americas and one for Australia, New Zealand, and Asia Pacific. All live sessions are recorded. Want to join me?
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Kaleidoscope Highlights
There was so much to enjoy at this year’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show this year. Last month I shared the winning designs in the Floral Design section in the Great Hall of Flowers
Below are some more show highlights from medal winners in the Floral Design and the Hanging Installations sections, along with some displays in the new Petal Project display category. All exhibits worked with the overarching theme, ‘Kaleidoscope’.
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Gold Medal Installation by Marion Like Flowers. Each entry was given a different colour way to work with – Marion was allocated the challenge of working with blue – and succeeded. |
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Thank you for reading this edition of Flower Thoughts. I’ll land in your inbox again next month, after the rush of Mother’s Day has passed.
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Design incorporating a rectangular wax plate with reed spikes, presented by Gregor Lersch at the International Floristry Teachers Seminar 2026 in The Netherlands
Design - Gregor Lersch
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