A free lesson for all flower arrangers using acid wash tinware, tukutuku panels and modern style plant materials. Maureen van der Heyden shows you how to make a floral design that has maximum effect, using silk or fresh flowers.If you want more exclusive designs each month subscribe now here and don't miss a single great idea!

Some times when several random ideas come together great things happen! The name Maureen van der Heyden keep on popping up on designs we seriously admired as we visited flower arranging events for floral design magazine, the fabulous acid wash tinware range was available and I had one in the car, and the Maori people of New Zealand make huge panels using flax strips which they call Tukutuku. Now how unrelated could those three facts be?

The design on the left is the answer! Maureen was a teacher at a huge workshop day I attended and I had the opportunity yet again to see this talented designer in action. During the lunch break I asked her , on your behalf, if she would like to design a piece for you to try, using the tinware sample in the car. Now Maureen is a cheerful lady who fortunately doesn't know how to say "no time" as she just loves working with floral design and developing new ideas.

Fast forward 3 weeks and I arrive at Maureen's house in the tiny tiny settlement of Waihou in the North Island of New Zealand. The first thing I see is her wonderful design, waiting for the photo shoot. I was stunned. There before me was 3 of the smallest tukutuku panels I have ever seen, which were just so right for the charcoal tinware and bright yellow gerberas. Maureen didn't even know her original design idea had been part of Maori traditions for at least 600 years!

If you would like to see more of these panels, the large Maori versions, click here.

So how did Maureen make this design so you can have a go? The process is really in three parts: The making of the tukutuku panels, the mechanics around the tinware, and finally the placements in the design.

The tukutuku panels
Maureen cut short lengths of umbrella grass stems. The Maoris use toetoe (pampas) stems but they would have been too thick and out of proportion.

Cutting two green lengths from her thin vegetable garden stakes Maureen wired the stems onto the stakes rather like rungs on a ladder, so they became a long, precise rigid 'mat'. When you do this don't forget to leave one end clear for several inches so it can be pushed into the floral foam! Decide on the length you need by considering the proportion of your container and the height your design will need to be.

Thin lengths of 'Yellow Wave' New Zealand flax were then striped off the leaf and folded in half. The loop formed starts at the top of the 'mat' and using a simple crossover technique the pattern is made, to cover the wire and also add yellow to give unity to the design.

Finally Maureen took individual berries from the Adesia tree and hot glued them through the holes in the panel into a diamond pattern. "Beads are all the vogue at the moment" said Maureen, "so these are my beads from plant material"

You will need to make three panels, one as tall as the height of your design, one smaller by about a third, to go in front of the first one, and the third panel needs to be exactly the length of your tinware container measuring from the underside of the rim to the bottom. Look again in the top photo at the top of the page and you will see again how they are positioned. Were you fooled into thinking the front panel traveled right through the tinware rim and down to the bottom? It's a great illusion!

The Mechanics
Cut a piece of thin wire long enough to go around the rim of the tinware, under the top 'bulge' and thread it through the first stem of the tukutuku mat which you measured to go down the side of the tinware. Place the wire so it sits in the little groove under the rim, becoming invisible.

Twist the ends with pliers to tighten and trim off neatly. The photo on the left shows you the wire going through the stem and back under the rim...look carefully, it is there!

Screw up tissues and put inside the tinware, to soak up any moisture that may get in.

Find a plastic container that will fit snugly inside the top of the tinware. Maureen used a plastic ice cream container which fitted perfectly so you may have to buy ( and eat) some ice cream to compete your mechanics! She trimmed the top so it didn't show above the foam as it was bright blue.

Soak green floral foam and fit it inside the plastic outer container and cover with wire netting, or similar. To attach this all firmly cut some wire and make a loop. Go around the chicken wire, and around the wire under the rim of the tinware, fasten together and twist with pliers to make it tight and firm. The picture above right is perhaps better at explaining this part! Repeat this wiring 4 times, once on each side of the container.

You should now have firm mechanics, and you can test by tipping the tinware upside down and nothing should move. Maureen did not add weight to the bottom of the tinware but if you plan to use heavy plant materials add sand or small stones under the tissue paper in the tin

The placements:
You will need 6 yellow gerberas, 5-6 leaves of variegated honesty, 3-4 pieces of aralia with the points cut off evenly, some large curvy vine painted black (Maureen used Supplejack) 2 bunches of adesia berries and 3-4 coils of dried palm wood or similar textured objects painted black.

Maureen wired the gerberas and then covered the stem with lime green floral tape, which closely matches their true stem colour...so much so I didn't notice it had been done.

Place the two tukutuku panels one behind and slightly to the side of the other, and push firmly into the floral foam, as pictured left. Then place the gerberas in a line, flowing from the rim of the tinware, through the panels and up to the full height of the tallest panel, ending with the last gerbera. This gives depth to the design as the tinware is quite square.

Add the variegated honesty leaves down near the rim on the front/side edge in an interesting group and the aralia leaves in the back/side to hide the foam and again to give the design depth. Cutting the points off the aralia give a more modern look.

Add the bunches of adesia berries so they tumble down the side, attaching them to a stick with florist's wire if you need to so they are firm in the floral foam.

Add the black coils on the other side in a group above the variegated honesty.

Now add your vine. It should have the same curve as the tinware in some places to give the design unity, and also curl through the front and back to add space and dimension Notice it also reaches the very bottom of the container and takes your eye through the design, one piece flowing on to the next so they sometimes look connected when they aren't.

Attach a little oasis fix to the bottom of the tukutuku panel that is down the container so it fits snugly against the tin wall. Finally cover any floral foam that is showing with green moss. Have a go, adapting the plant material if you need to so you can use flowers and foliage appropriate to your area.

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