Floral designer Paula Pryke demonstrates her art during a Garden Club of Virginia event earlier this year.
Internationally acclaimed floral designer, educator and author Paula Pryke likes to say that she decapitates flowers for a living.
Pryke shared her self-deprecating description during a Garden Club of Virginia event earlier this spring. The club brought her to Richmond from her native London to deliver a lecture and demonstration that she called “an expression of joy using the colors of nature.”
As she spoke, Pryke created 15 arrangements, telling tales and offering advice from her 35 years in the business of floristry. She reminisced about designing window displays for Marshall Field’s department store, lecturing for guests aboard Crystal Cruises and conditioning 3,000 roses on the loading dock at the Plaza Hotel, as well as traveling across Europe, North America and Asia to design for clients such as Sarah Ferguson, Kate Winslet, George Harrison, Cate Blanchett and Boris Johnson.
Pryke opened her first flower shop in London in 1988 after spending her summer holiday taking a Constance Spry floral design course. “I immersed myself in books and magazines in the way one did before online learning was possible,” she recalled, “taught part time during my apprenticeship, and then took more classes.”
Her innovative designs proved popular, and business took off. Three years later she had a book offer. “The New Floral Artist — A Step-by-Step Guide to Inspirational Flower Arranging” was published in 13 languages, sold half a million copies and introduced her to a worldwide audience. She’s produced 17 more books. “I like to say I’ve opened and closed nine shops since then,” she said, laughing. Today she focuses on designing for special events, contract work, teaching and publishing.
Pryke and another arrangement created during the event
Color is what Pryke loves most about what she does. “White flowers would be my last choice,” she remarked. And yet, for more than 30 years, she has honored Chanel’s request to use only white and green in the arrangements she creates for the fashion house. “Interpreting what your client wants and working within their requirements is not stifling, it’s challenging,” she said.
Pryke is most famous for popularizing the hand-tied bouquet. Rather than arranging flowers in a container, she gathers individual stems in the palm of her hand. The result has a fresh-picked feel — airy, unconstructed, accidental.
“Start with a strong, sturdy, upright stem like a rose, and build on it,” she explained. “Add five more stems in the shape of a fan, then twist and repeat, creating a spiral. It takes about 25 stems to make a bouquet.” When asked how she knows when to stop, she smiled. “As a florist, I’m working to what the client wants to pay for,” she said. “It’s not at all romantic.”
When she’s not hand-tying a bouquet, Pryke is inclined to use unconventional containers and unexpected accessories, often incorporating fruit and vegetables into her work. Foliage is a big favorite. “There are no colors that don’t go together — you just need greenery to balance things out,” she said. “I’m keen on using three types of foliage. It makes my work slightly more structural, more harmonious.”
In 2014, Pryke received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award for her contribution to floral design in the United Kingdom and her impact on floristry worldwide. She continues to train professional florists and inspire enthusiasts, celebrating nature’s artistry with her inspired arrangements.
