Why Texture Speaks to Me
By Laurie Lemek AIFD, CFD, PFCI, AAF
When asked to choose my favorite Element of Design, my answer comes easily: Texture.
Texture is defined in The AIFD Guide to Floral Design: Terms, Techniques & Traditions as “the surface quality of a material, as perceived by sight or touch.” Such a simple definition—and yet, for me, texture is anything but simple.
Texture is what makes me want to reach out and touch a design.
As floral designers, we have the extraordinary opportunity to work with materials that provide an almost endless vocabulary of texture. Think of the velvety softness of a rose petal against the hard surface of a branch; the delicate translucence of a sweet pea beside the substantial form of a succulent; the shine of a tropical leaf contrasted with rough bark; or wispy grasses floating above a mass of hydrangea.
Each has its own personality.
I have always loved the way texture can transform a floral composition without changing its color palette. A monochromatic design can become incredibly complex simply by combining flowers and botanical materials with different surface qualities. Smooth against rough. Glossy against matte. Soft against coarse. Delicate against substantial.
Texture creates contrast, depth and visual interest, but I believe it does something more—it creates emotion.
We don’t actually have to touch something to imagine how it feels. Our eyes remember.
We know the softness of moss. We understand the roughness of bark. We can almost feel the silky surface of a petal or the prickly edge of a thistle simply by looking at it. That ability to suggest touch through sight gives the floral designer another powerful way to communicate.
Perhaps that is why texture has fascinated me throughout my career as both a floral designer and an educator. I have always believed that good design is about more than placing beautiful flowers together. It is about understanding why those materials work together and recognizing what each contributes to the finished composition.
Texture also encourages us to look beyond the obvious. A seedpod, piece of bark, dried grass, feather, vine, leaf, branch or weathered piece of wood may provide exactly the contrast a design needs. Sometimes the material that might initially seem insignificant becomes the element that makes everything else more interesting.
And isn’t that one of the joys of being a floral designer? We see possibilities in things others may simply walk past.
After more than five decades of working with flowers, I am still fascinated by the incredible textures nature gives us. I can pick up a botanical material I have used hundreds of times and suddenly see a different surface, movement or relationship that inspires an entirely new idea.
For me, texture makes floral design something you don’t simply see—you experience it. And perhaps that is why it remains my favorite Element of Design.
