You may have heard of “Pomander” that is also known as Kissing Ball. This is a ball of flower arrangement mainly used at weddings. Typically this floral ball is carried by a bride as a bouquet with a ribbon at weddings. Sometimes it is hung from a ceiling. Sometimes it is displayed on the table as a centerpiece decoration. Or it is used to decorate chairs at weddings. Anyway this floral ball is pretty popular at weddings and you may have found it at a wedding ceremony.
Although pomander made of fresh flowers is so popular at weddings, we can sometimes find another type made of artificial or dried flowers. They can be used for home decorations such as an ornament hung on Christmas tree or just as a simple ornament displayed as interior decoration for year round scent.
I would like to focus on pomanders made of fresh flowers which I teach to our students at our floral design school. In order to make the typical one using fresh flowers, we need to prepare flower ingredients, ball shaped floral foam and also ribbons. After soaking a floral foam ball in a bucket of water, flowers are inserted into the floral foam ball. Since the shape of foam is like a ball and also lots of flowers must be inserted into this ball, it may be a time consuming job. Once it is completed, it looks beautiful and you must love it. Regardless of the type of materials and ingredients, fresh or artificial, a pomander ball can be used not only at weddings but also as a centerpiece decoration displayed wherever you like in your home or even at your office.
Pomander has an interesting history as stated below. During medieval times, pomanders were silver containers which were filled with perfumes for chasing away odors or diseases. By Victorian times, a popular pomander was a clove-studded orange. From this, the pomander morphed into the floral ball which we know today. During the middle ages and the Renaissance, it was pretty popular among upper class people. Many people thought that carrying such scents would protect from disease. It was so popular especially as a protection against infection in times of pestilence or merely as a useful article to modify bad smells due to infrequent bathing and also the odors of public places.
Nowadays many people enjoy making and appreciation of pomanders made of fresh flowers which are nice looking. If you have never seen pomanders, why not visit a wedding to find a bride carrying a ball shaped bouquet of floral arrangements ?
California Flower Art Academy has been engaged in teaching a variety of floral designs in the San Francisco Bay Area (Burlingame, San Mateo County) and Silicon Valley (San Jose, Santa Clara County) since 1990 as a floral school certified by Flower Decorators Association. Among a WIDE RANGE OF PROGRAMS we offer, students can make a choice of their most favorite course considering their taste, budget, purpose and goal for learning floral designs. You can start from Introductory Trial Budget Program which costs only $69. For more information, contact info@california-academy.com
Comments