Freddie’s Top 10 Arranging Tips
Hi everyone!
If you’ve been looking for all of the best tips and tricks of the trade to take your flower arranging to the next level in one place, you’ve come to the right blog. If you read nothing else, read this. Let’s get cracking!
Tip 1: Prep your Vase
Before you even think about arranging, you want to make sure your vase is clean and doesn’t have any bacteria left over from your last bunch. A quick mix of water and lemon juice or water and vinegar will do the trick.
Then, fill it about a third full with room temperature water, pop in a sachet of flower food, and give it a good stir - you can use one of your flower stems for that!
Tip 2: Lay Out your Stems
This tip is small but mighty important. Lay out all your stems in front of you and group the varieties together. That also helps you see which ones are your focal flowers, what’s your foliage, and what’s your filler flowers. I promise it’ll make arranging that much easier!
Tip 3: Snip as You Go
My top tip here is to snip as you go. Snip an inch off diagonally at the bottom, and then put it straight in the vase - this way, it won’t seal over already before you put it in water, which can happen really fast. Now the reason it’s important you still give each stem a sharp, clean cut is for it to take up water as you put it in the vase.
Also, the great thing about the flowers in your box is that we’ve already cut them to the right lengths for you, so if you snip a little off each one, there’s still always a nice variation in different heights to make your arrangement feel interesting.
Tip 4: Defoliate More than You Think
Defoliating basically means taking off all the leaves that would sit below the vase neckline or the waterline in your vase. It’s a super important step as leaves in the vase water make it go all kinds of murky because they encourage the build-up of bacteria and will significantly reduce the lifespan of your flowers. I recommend always taking off more than you think because it also improves airflow between your flowers, which helps them breathe better and therefore last longer.
Tip 5: Build a Stem Grid
Creating structure in an arrangement is super essential, as it helps your flowers work together and prop each other up. You do this by building a stem grid, or nest, with the stems that go around the edge of your vase (we’ll tell you on the arranging guide, which ones they are) and cross them over in the middle. This will help your other flowers to sit upright in the middle - especially ones that can get top-heavy, like sunflowers with their big ol’ heads!
Tip 6: Balance your colours
I always love creating something that’s a bit more asymmetrical, and a nice way to achieve that effect is by grouping some flowers of the same type or colour together on one side and then balancing it out with something else on the other side. It really goes a long way in making your arrangement more fun and visually interesting.
Tip 7: Weave your Foliage
Some of your foliage or filler flower stems have many smaller sprigs coming off a main stem, and you can take those ones and thread them through your other flowers in your arrangement to give it a fuller look. It’s a super nifty trick to create more volume.
Tip 8: Reflex your Blooms
Next up, this is one of my favourite tricks to give your flowers a different look. With certain stems, like roses or tulips, for instance, you can gently peel their petals backwards once they’ve fully opened. It’s called “reflexing” and it does give it a really cool, modern appearance.
We’ve shared a little video on what this looks like on instagram here.
Tip 9: Review from Different Angles
Another tip I can’t emphasise enough is: don’t stand still when you’re arranging. Always move around, spin your vase around, and look at your arrangement from different angles.
Tip 10: Switch up your Vessels
My final piece of wisdom is that everything can be a vase - a jug, a bowl, an old tin of baked beans (empty, of course). As you’re recutting your stems every few days and they’re getting shorter, just move them into smaller vases and dot them around the house, so you can continue to enjoy them for as long as possible.
And there you have it, my top 10 tricks for arranging your flowers. As always, there’s no one way to arrange your flowers, so be creative and have fun with it!
Freddie x
FAQ
What does 'conditioning flowers' mean?
Conditioning flowers refers to the steps we outlined to prep your arrangements, i,e, stripping the foliage and any thorns from the stems that will sit below water, cutting the ends, and placing them in water to re-hydrate.
Why is my vase water smelling?
The vase water may smell due to a build-up of bacteria. To prevent this, you need to make sure to change the water regularly and use flower food to aid keeping water clean. Keep in mind that some flowers release more into the water causing it to smell, like allium for instance, so they will need more regular attention.
Why are my tulips drooping?
Sometimes, these flowers will take up too much water into their heads and become heavy. It is also due their natural lifespan and movement as they grow in the vase to move downwards as they reach their peak.
Say it with a bunch
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