How To Style Fresh Cut Flowers
So you have cut some fresh flowers from your garden. Or you have bought some flowers from the local supermarket or florist shop, got them home and need to put them on display. Now what? Most people will just plunk them in a vase of water and that’s the end of it. Sometimes that works ok, but here are some simple tips to make you look like you’re a pro.
- Prepare Your Flowers
In a clean vase, take your greens first, snip the ends off to the size you want and then start criss-crossing the stems into the vase so that you have stems all around inside the vase. There are two reasons for this. One is because you now have a base for the flower arrangement and secondly a criss-cross of stems makes it easier for flower placement.
- Criss-Crossed Stems
If you are making a small, low arrangement, slide in the flowers in a criss-cross so that the stems are all around the inside of the vase. You should now have a vase with a ring of flowers on the outside and nothing but stems showing in the middle. (The more stems you have in the vase, the easier it will be to have flowers stay put!) The rows of flowers are going to be higher each time you get them in until you have a nice rounded arrangement.
- Choice Of Flowers
If you are making a tall arrangement, then use a tall slim vase. Your flowers will hold up better and it will look well proportioned. Great flowers to use are gladiolas, blue delphinium, lilies, snapdragons etc. Sometimes you can get tall tulips and that looks fantastic too. Keep this in mind when you are considering your garden design, and plant for the future!
- Don't Be Rigid
A design mistake often seen is placing the flowers in a vase perfectly even. The reason this does not work is because it looks unnatural. Have a look at any garden and you will see some of the blooms are sticking out, some are tucked in; some are almost hidden but still contribute to the overall look. Mimic nature and you won’t go wrong! Don’t be afraid to tuck some of those flowers in a bit.
- Odd Or Even
A good rule of thumb is to use odd numbers of flowers. What is meant by that is to use three roses together, or five. Even numbers are not as effective. If you use 5 roses for example, place 3 together (touching but at slightly different lengths) near the bottom centre of the vase and then two higher up.
- Using Pictures
If you are a novice at floral design then a good piece of advice is to collect pictures of floral arrangements. While using the tips above, practice arranging the flowers while looking at the pictures. Before long, you’ll be looking like a professional.
View this gardening article in pdf: How To Style Fresh Cut Flowers
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