Flower Arranging at My Soulful Home - Get the Scoop!
Floral arrangements do not have to be expensive.
A few bouquets from the grocery store arranged with skill & style can look just as good or even better.
Sharing my flower arranging advice & tips - along with a step by step guide.
Beauty ~ accessible & inexpensive. You can do this! Go get some flowers, your little clippers and a vase...
You probably need to go to the market anyway, so pick up a few bunches!
Nothing picks me up like an arm load of flowers, even if I pick them up along with tp & pickles. Either way you get 'em, my tips will have you designing arrangements like a pro.
Once you have flowers in hand:
How to Arrange Flowers
- choose a container
In doing so, don't under estimate the power of a glass jar. I have personally never seen a jar I didn't like…akin to my affinity for pinecones. (another simple & inexpensive obsession of mine!). It is great to have bunch of clean jars on hand when the blooms start tumbling in...
Flowers, container & look in mind ( I am going for romantic & lush ) we begin to arrange. Nice work, if you can get it! (um,…"why was I a lawyer when I could have been doing this all along?")
Ok, back to the tips:
- add something to the bottom of the container to secure the stems. Especially if you are using a wide mouth one.
I chose the hand painted pitcher & filled it with about an inch of glass chips. You can use pebbles, floral foam or a flower frog. Anything heavy enough to sink which will keep the stems in place.
There are three general types of flowers in a mixed arrangement:
- Line flowers - focal flowers which give height & width - such as snap dragons, lilies, branches
- Mass flowers - the flowers that give mass - such as roses, tulips, stock
- Filler flowers - stems with lots of little flowers - such as heather, bachelor button, greenery
I like to start with the focal flower. Mine is a stargazer lily stem.
- hold focal flower and size it to the container
- trim the stem on an angle, if you want to be really professional cut under water
- you can always cut again, so when in doubt, trim longer & cut again if necessary
- then add in the mass
Use a mix of flowers in different stages from bud to full bloom. This will give your arrangement a sense of movement.
- use an odd number of each flower
- balance your arrangement
- have the colors & textures flow throughout
- make sure there is no "back" side - should look lovely from all angles
I added all three types of flowers to my arrangement and trimmed off wayward blooms.
- put in a .5 teaspoon of sugar to aid in absorption (1 TB to a quart)
- add more water to fill half way
- find a perfect spot
- stand back & admire
So what do you think? Lush & romantic? Amazing what you can pick up at the super market!
** Kelly **