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So your going to bring your grocery store or florist bought
flowers home, now what! I have seen many people just plunk
them in a vase of water and that’s it. Sometimes that works
but here are some simple tips to make you look like you’re
a pro at it.
1) 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 two;
a criss cross of stems makes it easier for flower placement.
2) 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 out side 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.
3) 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.
4) A design mistake I have 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.
5) A good rule of thumb is to use odd numbers of flowers.
What I mean by that is to use 3 roses together or 5. 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 center of the vase and then two more higher
up.
6) The next best advice I can give you if you are really
new at floral design, is to collect pictures of floral arrangements
you like and with the tips I’ve stated above, practice while
looking at the pictures. Before long, you’ll be looking
like a pro!
Willie Jones is a freelance writer, researcher, floral
designer, and artist, for Art Inspires, Inc. Make sure you
enroll in the free motivational poster drawing at http://www.artinspires.com
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