Flower rangoli: how to make a rangoli with petals

A rangoli of flower petals is the kindest kind to make. There is no fine powder to breathe or to stain the floor, mistakes are picked up and laid again, and at the end the whole design goes to the compost or under a tree. Kerala's Onam pookalam is the best-known flower carpet, but petals suit any welcome: a wedding entrance, a housewarming, Diwali, a puja at home, a guest of honour at school.

Choosing the flowers

Use what is in season and sold loose in your local flower market. Petals that are small, firm and strongly coloured give the best result.

• Orange and yellow: marigold (genda), the backbone of almost every flower rangoli. One flower pulls apart into dozens of small petals.
• White: chrysanthemum (shevanti), jasmine (mogra), tuberose (rajnigandha) florets.
• Red and pink: rose petals, hibiscus, ixora.
• Purple and magenta: globe amaranth, aster, bougainvillea bracts.
• Green: leaves cut fine with scissors, or whole small leaves such as curry leaf, tulsi sprigs set at the edge, or mango leaves for an outer ring.

Large soft petals, such as whole rose petals, are best torn into smaller pieces for sharp shapes and kept whole for loose, generous rings.

How many flowers?

It depends on the size of the design and how thickly the petals are laid, so buy by trial, not by formula. For a first attempt at a design about two feet across, most people find that a couple of generous handfuls of loose flowers per colour ring is a reasonable start, with more marigold than anything else. Buy a little extra of the main colour. Leftover flowers are never wasted in an Indian home: they go to the puja, a bowl of water or a garland for the door.

Preparing the petals

1. Buy the flowers the same morning, or the evening before, and keep them cool, in a covered basket lined with a damp cloth.
2. Pluck the petals shortly before you begin. Plucked petals wilt faster than whole flowers.
3. Keep each colour in its own wide bowl or thali.
4. Shake marigold petals free of the green base and the seeds, which make a ring look rough.
5. Cut leaves fine for green filling.

Laying the design

1. Choose a shaded, sheltered place. Sun fades and shrivels petals within hours, and a breeze moves them.
2. Wipe the floor and let it stay very slightly damp, which helps the first layer of petals hold.
3. Chalk the whole design. Use string for the circles. Flower designs should be bold: rings, stars, large petals. Fine lines do not work in flowers.
4. Start at the centre and work outward, one colour at a time.
5. Lay thickly. Two or three petals deep, so that no floor shows through. Press lightly with your palm.
6. Sharpen the edges between colours with the side of a ruler or a card.
7. Finish with an outer ring of leaves or a line of whole flowers.

Two designs on this site are drawn specially for petals: the marigold rings for a first attempt and the pookalam star for a group. The eight petal flower and the sunburst also convert well, because their shapes are large.

Mixing flowers with other materials

• Powder outline, petal filling: a white powder or chalk line around each shape gives crisp edges, and the petals give the colour.
• Petals around diyas: a ring of marigold with diyas set on small plates in it is a five-minute Diwali rangoli. Keep flames clear of dry petals and leaves.
• Floating rangoli: a wide bowl or urli of water with petals and floating candles suits a table, a reception desk or a flat with no floor to spare.
• Whole flowers: marigold heads laid side by side make a strong border with no plucking at all.

Keeping it fresh

• Sprinkle water over the finished design with your fingers, lightly, once or twice during the day.
• Keep fans off and doors closed until guests arrive, if it is indoors.
• For an evening function, lay the flowers in the late afternoon, not in the morning.
• Marigold and chrysanthemum last the longest. Rose, jasmine and hibiscus petals brown first, so use them where they can be replaced easily.

Afterwards

Sweep the petals up before they turn slimy, by the next morning at the latest. Put them in the compost, at the foot of garden plants or in a pit. Petals that have lain wet on light marble or tiles for many hours can leave a mark, so in such places lay the design on a large tray, a sheet of plastic cut to shape, or a floor that is not precious.

A flower rangoli with children

Petals are the best material for small children: soft, safe and forgiving. Draw thick chalk shapes, hand each child a bowl of one colour, and let them fill. Plucking the petals is half the fun, and a good job for the youngest.

For the Onam tradition, the flowers used in Kerala and how the carpet grows over ten days, see Onam pookalam.

More on this site

• Dot rangoliThree designs made by joining a grid of dots, step by step.
• Border designsFive strips to frame a rangoli or run along a wall.
• Easy rangoliDesigns for beginners and children, with a practice plan.
• Diwali rangoliLotus, diyas and Lakshmi footprints for the festival of lights.
• Pongal and SankrantiSun designs and kolam for the harvest festivals.
• Onam pookalamFlower carpets: designs, flowers and how to lay them.
• How to make rangoliFrom an empty floor to a finished design, step by step.
• Colours and materialsPowders, flowers, grains and home-made colours.
• Names across IndiaKolam, muggu, alpana, mandana and more.
• Rangoli by festivalWhich design to draw for each festival through the year.
• Competition tipsPlan, practise and finish on time at a school or society contest.
• Colour combinationsWhich colours to put together, on light and dark floors.
• Flats and small spacesCorridors, landings, trays and tables: rangoli without a courtyard.
• Problems and fixesWind, smudges, uneven shapes, stains and how to deal with them.