Tips On Flower Arranging
Preparation of flowers
You will need: scissors, a sharp knife, a clean vase and room temperature water.
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Fill the vase halfway and add the flower food.
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Prepare the stems: Strip off all the leaves that fall below the waterline.
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If you have roses be careful to remove the thorns with a sharp knife.
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Use a flower arrangement holder, which is a reuseable floral grid which fits over any vase. See this on our “flower sundries “ page Click Here
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Flowers should be 1/3 above the vase rim
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Cut the stem at an angle about 1 inch up from the bottom of the stem because when flowers have been out of water for any length of time they seal up and make taking up water difficult.
Arranging the flowers and foliage
Always arrange the foliage first, following the shape of the vase
Now add the smaller flowers criss -crossing the stems
Finish with the larger flowers and one centre flower
Check that your arrangement looks good from all viewing angles
More details on arranging
You need to consider where your arrangement is to be placed as this will determine its shape and height. For example if it is to be placed at the centre of a dining table you would not want it to be so high that you could not see the person opposite. Also, in this scenario consider that the arrangement will be viewed from all sides. A rectangular arrangement is suitable for the centre of the table and there is a very easy rectangular vessel available for this purpose. See our flower sundries page for this vase. Or you might want to consider a low circular arrangement here. Suitable vases for these circular arrangements can be found on our sundries page.
If the arrangement is going against a wall, then you need a flat triangle shape i.e one that is flat at the back of the triangle.
If you are a more advanced flower arranger, or you would like to become more advanced, then you would need to use floral foam. It is really too difficult to explain all that you need to know about using foam and all the shapes and designs you can create with it. If you are interested in this aspect and would like to advance your skills, then I recommend watching this video See The Video Alternatively you will find detailed instructions on different flower arrangements on our flower arrangements page
You may decide at this stage that if you are going to the trouble of creating an elaborate design that you would like it to become more permanent. In this case I would recommend using artificial flowers and a very good source of artificial flowers can be found here
Finally, you may decide that you want all this done for you as you may have a relative who lives far away. On our gifts page you will find a florist who even delivers vased arrangements See our Gifts page Click here