Summer may be coming to an end but there is still an amazing selection of flowers available to you for the next few weeks. Besides great food and company the one thing Summer entertaining has in common is beautiful flower arrangements. Whether in your home, as a gift or when entertaining, flowers are always the best accessory this season!
Everywhere I go I’m seeing gorgeous flowers in bloom so whether you’re cutting flowers straight from your backyard or heading to your local florist or flower mart, this Summer you have the chance to take advantage of all of the all of the occasions to incorporate flowers into your life and your budget. Today I want to share my top 10 floral tricks and tips with you.
- Buy the freshest flowers available. Make sure you choose buds that are somewhere in between slightly closed and open. If you are ready to use them right away go for buds that are more opened. If you have a day or two before you use them opt for the more closed buds.
- If your flowers haven’t opened up enough when you’re ready to use them place them in warm water and warm air, this will help them open quickly.
As soon as you bring your flowers home be sure to keep them hydrated. Cut the stems diagonally cutting off about 2 inches. Add a capful of bleach, a TSP of sugar and a TSP of lemon juice to the cold water to make your flowers last longer and add your flowers. Leave in until you’re ready to work with them.
- If you’re using a clear vase make sure your stems look nice and clean. A fun tip is to add some petals, lemons, limes or even kumquats to the water giving your arrangement some extra color and beauty. Begin by binding your stems together like a bouquet then placing the flowers in the vase first and then add your fruit slices.
- Work in odd numbers. With any aspect of design, ascetically it always looks better when you use groupings in odd numbers
- Build a color scheme. The most beautiful arrangements generally don’t involve lots and lots of hues but they are also rarely just one color. If an arrangement is Pink for example there are most likely a few different shades of pink giving it depth and contrast. When in doubt if you choose different types of flowers but stick to the same shade your arrangement will look beautiful.
- If you’re not sure what flowers work together use one flower in a large quantity.
- A fun way to add extra body and oomph to your arrangements is by taking a floral pick or even a chop stick and adding a piece of fruit to the end, then placing it in your arrangement just as you would a flower. Apples and Pomegranates are amazing for this. You can also hot glue on pretty glass ornaments or any object you think would add a little extra shine and sparkle.
- When using a medium or small vase try using floral foam. This will keep all of your flowers in place and help you fit as many flowers in your arrangement as possible without them falling out.
- Start with your biggest blooms in the center and build around them.
- To make an arrangement with a lot of depth use Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers. The thriller is the star. The filler takes up the space around the thriller and the spiller cascades over the edge of your arrangement making it look very organic and beautiful.
- Adding a ribbon, taffeta or trim to your vase gives your arrangement a gorgeous finished look. Feel free to use your hot glue gun for this.
- Add 1 TSP of sugar for each cup of water to feed your flowers.
- Place a penny in your vase. This acts as a natural fungicide and will make your stems stand up straight.
- Don’t be afraid to use a lot of greenery in your arrangements. Using greenery or even less expensive flowers in your arrangement not only looks gorgeous but it also saves you a lot of money. If you use fillers right you can cut the price per arrangement in half!
I hope these tips and tricks will help you as much as they’ve helped me! Happy flower arranging! Xo Courtney
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