Equipment: vase, oasis, spray paint if required

Flowers and Foliage: eryngium (like thistles), protea, fynbos, leucadendron.

An arrangement with a fireworks theme. The objective was to focus on arranging the flowers using negative space (the space between the flowers / foliage) effectively. Many of the class used spray paints for this one, but I decided to keep it simple and rely on the flowers to dazzle.

I am learning that the sequence you build an arrangement is important.

Step 1: choose a vase - I used a lovely pink and lilac stoneware vase for this. It is one I acquired in Letterkenny, Donegal on a trip to Ireland many years ago. I added an oasis to stabilise the flowers.

Step 2: define the space you will use by establishing the lines of the tallest / widest materials. My width is defined by the two splayed leucadendron leaves, one to each side. My height is defined by the eryngiums - they represent my fireworks. People often use twigs to define the space of an arrangement and then work around them.

Step 3: use foliage to fill in the space between these lines, but making sure to leave some negative space for emphasis. It is important not to be too symmetrical: use shapes, size and colours that complement each other, but in a not-predictable, unexpected way. Symmetry is very predictable.

Step 4: add the focal point - I used the protea. Place it in the position you want the eye to lead to. Fill around this with much shorter branches to cover the oasis in the vase. By making this area dense it helps to draw the eye inward towards the middle.