5000 Alexandra Farms Roses in an installation?

Use of exclusive flowers explained

A design by Tomas De Bruyne

That’s a fair question! For any regular day florist, the works of large scale installations are sometimes hard to comprehend simply because you’ve never had the chance to experience the making of one. And most of us relate to such works through emotion, whether we are impressed by them or wondering how they get made, we tend to just react to them by either liking them or not. 

Having the chance of freelancing on building up large scale events, I have become accustomed to the “wow” effect and I can dive more into understand how certain design decisions are made. So Yes, why would one use 5000 exclusive garden roses in an installation? sounds like a fair question. 

There has to be a context in any decision a designer makes. From working around the best solutions to build-up of the structures that can hold the size and weight of large scale installations to every detail added to the composition, design decisions have to have a context in which they make sense. Every design has a purpose, a client in mind and the creation of such installations require attention to every detail. In this case, the design was created for an international event in Istanbul, table design exhibition. The event was hosted to bring together more opportunities of exploring Istanbul as an option for destination weddings. You can read more information about the actual event, the guests and the vision of the design here.

So what are Alexandra Farms so special and what made them the “must have” flower in this installation?

The colour story 

The detailed colour palette chosen for the design ahead of time involved many different tints and tones of pink in the design of the arches. The setup surrounding the table was just as important as the table design in itself. There was a purpose behind the decision of creating grandeur of the overall pavilion. Once the table was placed and set up in the middle, the very large size of the floral construction around it would be the one to contrast the intimacy from the table, underlying the latter. 

Overall, the design concept was playing with a refined opposition between elements incorporated in the outer pavilion and those used on the table itself. The colours were transitioning from the more saturated ones in the arches to pastel tones in the table. The garden roses were a perfect material to create such relations between elements of the same composition as they do not only provide the various colours but also the repetitive elements of shape and texture. 

The beauty of all these roses is that they each bear a very rich colour palette. The seamless transitions of colour that occur within the petals of each rose head connects all the roses in a beautiful symbiosis. The colour also differ and almost defy time as the rose opens, new variations of colour saturation develop and the rose transforms into a surprising flower. When this amazing phenomenon happens, you realise that those roses have been carefully curated, from breeder to grower every effort put into creating those roses can be experienced when seeing the flower. Multiplying this visual effect of the colour palette of the mix of roses involved in building the installation creates a new dimension of colour overall. Something is happening in every corner of the installation as the roses merge their colours into the greenery that creates the shape. 

In addition to the play of colour, the roses also provide a completely different texture than the mix of greens. It is an addition of finesse and delicacy which helps give that romantic feeling and create a space of serenity and beauty. Even if one places 5000 roses in an installation the individual qualities of each flower head still manages to shine and showcase beauty. As they capture light, the roses become a vibrant design element that lifts up the entire atmosphere. The intentional display of roses over the installation seeks to allow space to exist between the roses in order to achieve that natural feeling of a garden space. The number of roses is calculated in so as to fill in the space around the table, not to cover the arch. There's a big difference in approaching the design.

The beauty of Alexandra Farms roses lies also in its capacity to be both a centre-stage flower that can shine on it's own and a filler flower that creates a medium for other flowers to shine as well. For the Table Design Exhibition, Tomas De Bruyne has envisioned a design that blends into Istanbul, by borrowing specific symbolic elements such as colours or motifs, and integrating them into the lush, unique style of floral architectural creations he is known for. The final outcome tells a story of uniqueness and dedication, cultural fusion, and worldwide collaboration. 

The table centre piece itself was designed in a perfectly symmetrical disposition of a mix of roses, adding depth and merging textures. Later on, vibrantly coloured tulips were added to bring to life in details as well that Turkish blue colour that was integrated in the overall design. The lushness of the roses, the colour palette, the textures, everything supported the final touch-ups additions. It is rare to see a flower that so easily transforms itself from a "diva" flower to a "support" flower. 

The installation was not about the amount of flowers that have been used, but rather a display of clever and ingenious use of flowers in a context that also needed to reach a certain size. Working ajour when placing the botanicals, carefully mixing sufficient types of roses in order to create a garden effect, everything was used with care and dedication for a best possible outcome. The sheer number of roses involved in the project are a direct consequence of the size of the pavilion, of course. The stand was 4 by 4 meters and 5 meters in height, which means quite a large space to surround one intimate table setting. As the table in itself was the theme of the event: Table Design Exhibition. 

By presenting the unique beauty of the most exclusive flowers in the world, Tomas De Bruyne brings to life a dream design by merging styles, connecting people, and creating an unimaginable experience.