Chapter 10 Types of Floral Design 257
and foliage can be seen and admired, the
visual impact of mass pattern fl oral designs is
created by the abundance of plant materials
used to fi ll in a geometric form. Mass designs
are formed by massing fl owers, or gathering
and placing quantities of fl owers together in
close proximity.
Mass designs may be constructed as free-
standing, all-around arrangements or three-
sided arrangements. Free-standing designs are
decorative on all sides and are best displayed
in the center of a table or room, Figure 10-9.
Three-sided designs have a defi nite back and
are best displayed against a wall.
Line-Mass Designs
In the center of the continuum between
mass and line designs is the line-mass design
category. Line-mass design techniques are
also of European origin. These designs are
a mixture of line and mass designs. They
are not fully massed fl owers, but neither
are they line designs with a large amount
of negative space, Figure 10-10. In fact, they
depend equally on line and mass to achieve
their effect. This design category developed
with the introduction of fl oral foams. The various types of foam, discussed in
Chapter 3, Containers, Tools, Mechanics, and Safe Work Practices, allow for more
control over stem placement than the mechanics traditionally used for line
and mass style fl oral arrangements.
Fineart1/Shutterstock.com
Figure 10-9. A round mass design can be admired from all sides.
Line
Design
Line-Mass
Design
Mass
Design
A B C D E
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 10-10. Every fl oral design falls somewhere along the line-mass continuum, from pure line designs to pure mass designs:
A—pure linear design; B—mostly linear design with some mass elements; C—equal emphasis on line and mass; D—mostly mass
design with some linear elements; E—pure mass design.