Nothing spells summer like a fresh bunch of fragrant flowers dotted around the house. They instantly bring a sense of wellbeing and let's face it, they're darn pretty to look at. Taking care of your blooms and arranging them in an elegant display may seem pretty forward, but I thought I would talk through some tips and tricks of what I learnt when I attended a floristry course at the
Convent Garden Academy of Flowers for work last year (which you can read all about over
here).
If you fancy trying your hand at floristry, there is no right or wrong, just simply whatever you feel looks fabulous. Let's jump in!
When it comes to choosing your blooms, it doesn't matter whether they are from your local supermarket, florist or flower market - as long as they are fresh and of your choosing they are perfect. I picked up a beautiful bunch of soft pink peonies as the main flower of bloom from good old M&S, then stopped by my local florist to choose a few stems of white buds and light greenery.
Now it's on to the prep conditioning stage. Setting your blooms upon a clean workspace, lay out your flowers and roughly gage how you want them to look in your chosen vase in terms of height and flower to greenery ratio. You also want to make sure your blooms will have breathing space and are not too overcrowded. Make sure to inspect each stem and remove any petals or leaves that look they are wilting already.
Taking each stem one at a time, strip the excess leaves using a pair of scissors or sharp knife. Clearing the extra foliage will allow the water in the vase to reach the flower bud quicker, ensuring that your blooms last fresher for longer (without polluting the water too). The key is to make sure there are no leaves below the water line, I prefer to completely strip them - the flowers have more room to shine that way!
If you have any loose stems or buds that are too small for your vase, keep them to one side and we shall make use of these a bit later on..
With your stripped floral stems looking rather naked, it's now time to size them up. Make sure to trim the stems at an angle, this will give them a larger surface area to drink from. I trimmed off at least a couple of inches to make sure they fitted perfectly.
Before we get on to the fun stuff, take your chosen vase (I pumped for a milk jug from Laura Ashley) and filled it with fresh water. Every florist and their mother has opinion on what concoction will work to keep your blooms in tip top condition, even some recipes calling for a dash of bleach (burgh!) I always stick to fresh water that I change every few days.
And should you get the plant food that comes in the supermarket? Plonk that in for good measure too. Since your cut stems aren't receiving any nutrients, the plant food will feed them and help to opened buds bloom.
Now, its time to get to the creative part! Starting with your greenery, take hold of your stems in one hand and begin to criss-cross over forming a bouquet in your hand, tucking in your floral blooms as you twist - it will start to form a beautiful shape in your hand. It's quite tricky to start with, but I find this much easier way to form your arrangement than shoving them in randomly to the vase. Take time and practice, nothing is ever perfect, just go with the flow (deep klaxon alert!).
Taking strong hold of your blooms, gently place into your jug and play around with the arrangement. In my blooming bunch, I felt the greenery was a tad overwhelming so I teased out the white buds and made sure to give the peonies plenty of room for when they finally bloom.
And there you have it! Super easy and very pretty indeed. Much better than a shop bought bunch, my very own personal masterpiece. My bunch of flowers worked out to be roughly £8, as luckily my florist is very kind to my purse. Why not even branch out (geddit?) to the garden and pick your own greenery, or your very own home grown florals?
A few pointers to ensure that your blooms look as beautiful for as long as possible I make sure to:
- Keep them directly out of sunshine, preferably some where cool.
- Change their water every few days to give them a fresh top-up.
- If a particular stem is starting to look a little tired, re-snip their stems for another burst of life.
- Fill your vase with luke-warm water - cut flowers absorb warmer water more easily.
- As each flower starts to wilt, make sure to remove them from the vase as soon as possible.
- If your blooms are a gift, lightly spritz a fine mist of water on the flowers to keep them looking their best!
Remember those loose stems and buds we kept to one side earlier? It's time to find them a new home, as there's certainly no waste to be had around here!
Suss out any smaller jam jars or mini vases you have lying around the house (I always recycle Nutella jars and my mum keeps a wonderful eye out for knick knacks in charity shops) and create your own miniature arrangement, perfect for your bedside table.
I hope you enjoyed these tips I picked up, I'm by no means a pro - so I would love to hear any of your suggestions in the comments below. And stay tuned for another floral post coming your way next Sunday, next up is bouquets.
