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A mass arrangement may be defined as one that emphasizes a large mass of flowers as a whole unit, rather than individual branches or flowers. A mass arrangement always has a thick full-bodied look. Since mass arrangements require a large quantity of flowers and also suggest seasonal abundance, gardeners usually make them in summer and autumn when their flowers are most plentiful. 
Many trained flower arrangement dislike mass arrangements because they do not allow the plant materials to show at their best. The general public, however, likes them and florists sell many of them. They are especially suitable when done in scale for large rooms. Occasions of importance can usually be well expressed by large, impressive, formal mass arrangements. They are generally used for cemetery arrangements. Some themes in flower shows suggest lavish displays of masses of flowers. Two different kinds of mass arrangements, period type arrangements and stylized arrangements, are usually exhibited in American flower shows Natural mass arrangements are used mostly in homes.
Period type Arrangements:
Most period arrangements are mass arrangements. True copies of period styles are sometimes exhibited in flower shows for educational purposes, however the schedules usually call for an adoption of a specific period, an arrangement influenced by a specific period, or one in the manner of a specific period. A flower arranges of today tries to express the mood of the historic period rather than its accurate details.
Flowers from the garden may be used and the design freely adapted to suit the furnishings.
Early American furnishings call plain, primitive containers and sturdy plant materials, simply arranged without stylization.
Colonial adaptations are usually large exuberant, colorful, elegant and asymmetrical and are made in reproductions of traditional containers.
Federal (post-Revolutionary) adaptations are tall, slender, symmetrical, pale, fine textured and well designed and made in classical containers.
Empire (Nepolenic) adaptations are large, richly colored, strongly textured and masculine and often placed in containers suggesting Egyptian or Roman forms.
Victorian adaptations are large, board, curvaceous, asymmetrical, fine textured, cool colored and spotty, often made in decorated containers.
Mixed combinations of old furniture found in many homes, call for rather old fashioned mass arrangements. These bouquets usually have no particular characteristics except that they are full-fashioned and may include any garden flowers.
Stylized Mass Arrangements:
These arrangements are smart, up to date and truly American for they express young America’s desire for clean cut designs. Stylized arrangements should be firmly based on the principles of good design. Three or more kinds of flowers are usually combined: the plant materials are segregated therefore each variety is plainly seen. Colors are segregated, too and placed in patterns having rhythm. The center of interest is well designed and located at the core of the arrangement. The silhouette is carefully planned.
Stylized mass arrangements cannot be made without generous quantities of the same materials. For example a large free-standing stylized arrangement for a formal tea table in a large room requires about four dozen spikes of one kind. Three dozen shorter spikes or secondary materials and three dozen target flowers as roses for the center of interest. Small quantities of many kinds of flowers cannot be made into a stylized arrangement. Flowers with strong stems that can be controlled and placed in definite spots are necessary for such precise designs.
The forms or shapes of stylized mass arrangements vary greatly. Pyramids with more or less open sides are appropriate for formal teas. Low symmetrical domes are standard designs for dining table centerpieces. Right angled triangles, crescents, semi-circles or ‘S’ curves become stylized mass arrangements by the addition of sufficient volume at the central part of the design.
Stylized mass arrangements may be used in homes with modern or traditional furnishings, depending upon the kind of plant materials that are employed. They do not suit primitive, natural or unstudied backgrounds. They may be used for church or platform decoration as well as for formal table decoration for important occasions.
Natural Mass Arrangements:
Sometimes a compact flowering branch or spray of flowers makes a very satisfactory natural mass arrangement. For example, a thickly flowered branch of azaleas or some fully branching stems of crotalaria or cosmos can form large pleasing, natural mass arrangements.
Art Principles:
The art principles apply to all mass arrangements. Proportion. Balance calls for a strong vertical stalk and a compact effect at the center of a mass arrangement. Rhythm in mass arrangements is achieved largely through color placed in linear patterns. Dominance of one kind of plant material and one color is important in a composite arrangement. Emphasis on a center of interest is necessary where so much variety occurs. Variation is desirable in mass arrangements. Several varieties of plant materials are usually combined to produce a good design. suggest that a mass arrangement should not have similar dimensions in its height and breadth and that the total area of the plant materials must be at least one and the half times as large as the area of the container and base
Airiness is a goal to be sought even in mass arrangements. Open space should be left for the flowers to “breathe” and to move in the breeze.
The third dimension is important in mass arrangements. Lines that extend forward over the rim of the container are usually desirable. Lines and areas should be designed for depth to lead the eye back through the plant materials
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