Have you ever been at a wedding or an event and been in awe of the flower arrangements on display? They lift a room, giving an event or a home, style, beauty and colour. How do florists do this and how can you?
Arranging flowers is a form of art and with a little bit of knowledge you can create something magical in your own home.
We take a peek behind the displays to give you eight handy flower arranging tips and tricks, for longer-lasting and more beautiful flower arrangements.
- Create a grid
Do you tend to throw your flowers into your vase with no real thought given to how you place them?
Here is a great tip. Make a grid across the top of your vase with your Sellotape or clear floral tape. This will give you direction on where to place your flowers. It also helps to hold your flowers in place and gives them greater structure.
- Secure your stems
If you have a large vase or container it can be hard to keep your stems in place. Try using chicken wire to do this. The good thing about chicken wire is that you can reuse and reshape it depending on the containers you use.
The other alternative is flower foam. Flower foam not only offers stability and keeps your flowers in place, but holds a large amount of water too.
- Odds over evens
In design, the ‘rule of three’ says that odd numbers create a more visual experience. So it is that an odd number of flowers work better for your arrangement. They make it look less uniform and more natural.
An odd number also focuses the eye on the centre of the flowers, giving your display a focal point.
- Choose your vase
Have you ever arranged your flowers in a vase with too wide a neck? The flowers have no form or structure and tend to fall leaving nothing in the centre. Or if you have an opening too narrow, your flowers and your arrangement have no room to manoeuvre.
Give thought to the width and height of your flowers and stems before choosing a vase, or why not choose a unique container instead?
- Clean your vase
You wouldn’t serve a drink in a dirty glass so don’t display your beautiful flowers in one! If you are choosing to arrange your flowers in a vase or container, make sure it is clean, as bacteria from previous arrangements can affect your new ones.
Use a mild solution of bleach or white wine vinegar and baking soda in warm water. Then once you have rinsed, clean well with a bottle brush to get all those marks and residue off.
- Open those buds
If you buy flowers with closed buds you can encourage them to open should you need too.
Place them in a bucket of warm (not hot) water for a few hours, and the blooms should open. Make sure the water level is high to travel up the stem. As you will have already cut your stem this will help with the absorption of the water.
You can then move your flowers to a container of room temperature water.
- Place them in a good spot
Don’t place your arrangement near direct sunlight and heat. This will cause them to die out much earlier. So choose a spot that is cool and in the shade.
Also, avoid placing them near to fruit and vegetables. Ripening fruits such as bananas, emit a gas called ethylene which can cause your flowers to age and wilt rapidly.
- Remove dying flowers
Apart from making your arrangement look poor, dying flowers will contaminate the healthy ones. They produce mould and bacteria, so once they start to wilt and die remove them.
Don’t view these tips and tricks as something to stress over. They are easy pointers to follow alongside the basics of flower arranging, for fresh and vibrant displays.
With them, you will create an impactful and beautiful floral display every time.