An exciting breeding breakthrough at Ball SB produces “Sunshine”—a new spray version of Delphinium grandiflorum.
Floral designers: Get ready to get excited! A new flower type has been developed and will be available soon from your favorite wholesaler (be sure to ask for it!).
“Sunshine” Delphinium, created by Ball SB, a premier cut-flower hybridizer in Colombia and partof the Ball Horticultural Company, is a new spray-type of Delphinium grandiflorum. With its glorious, rich deep-blue hue, stem lengths of up to 27 inches (70 cm), multiple lateral stems of blooms and buds,and blooms uniformly clustered at the tops of the stems, this new darling-of-a-Delphinium is perfect for bridal bouquets—and so many other types of designs, as well.
On these pages (and in two YouTube videos, see sidebar on the opposite page), celebrity floral designer Sarah CampbellIntrigue Design & Décor and Intrigue Teaches in Annapolis, Md. (you might recognize her from Netflix’s Th e Big Flower Fight), creates sensational light and airy centerpieces and hand-tied bouquets using these new spray “Sunshine” Delphinium.
1. Fill the liner of a large pedestal-urn container with floral foam, soaked in flower-nutrient solution.
2. Begin arranging stems of “Sunshine” spray Delphinium by creating an initial arch-shaped radiating “fan” of stems in the center of the container, from one side to the opposite side. Campbell describes these initial stem placements as a “mohawk.” Create two levels of Delphinium so that the lower level of blooms covers the upper stems of the taller flowers. Use both full stems and lateral stems of both blooms and buds.
3. In a similar manner, create a second arch-shaped radiating “fan” of stems, perpendicular to the first—again, from one edge of the container to the opposite edge. This will create an “X”-shape arrangement of blooms, leaving four pie-shaped quadrants to be filled in.
4. Arrange additional stems of “Sunshine” spray Delphinium to fill in the four pie-shape quadrants, creating a loosely structured, airy, mounded round design.
1. Remove the lateral stems from 15 stems of “Sunshine” spray Delphinium, and set them aside. Some lateral stems will have blooms, and others will have buds.
2. Using the spiral hand-tying technique, create a casual, loosely structured, airy bouquet, with a “picked-from-the- garden” look. Alternate placing stems with blooms and buds. Create depth in the bouquet by arranging stems of blooms and buds at varying levels.
3. Bind the stems of the finished bouquet with binding tape or stem wrap. Wrap the taped binding point with a decorative ribbon of your choice.
4. Cut the stem ends to equal lengths.
