How I Improved My Flower Arrangement Skills in One Day

Flowers are those little beauties that bring joy to all of us. Who doesn’t love flowers? Just give your loved ones a bouquet of flowers and you’ll see their smiling face in an instant. Flower are a necessary part of our everyday life. Apart from being important for the environment, they are also needed in our day to day life. No social event is complete without flowers. Just imagine going to a wedding and not seeing any flowers or it’s your anniversary and you go home to your wife and you didn’t even bring flowers. It would feel very odd. Almost any sort of decoration requires flowers. But instead of always having to go to others to have your flowers arranged or having to pay someone to do it, wouldn’t it be much more fun to do it on your own? Just think about it, you arranging flowers in your own way with no limitations, just the way the lady of the house likes it or just the way you want for your party or event but sadly not all of us know how. Well worry not, today I am going to show you how I improved my flower arrangement decorating skills in one day.

Always Plan Ahead

Planning is the first and most important part in anything you do whether it’s your day to day job or something like flower arrangement and decorative work requires more planning than usual.

      Decide on a design: Firstly you need to settle on a design. Picture in your head how you want it to look like. Ask yourself a few basic questions like where will it go? Is it for a particular occasion? What kind of color should I use? Do I want it to last long or is it just for a day? This will help you choose your flowers as the lifespan of the flowers vary from one another. Once you have considered all of this, you are ready for the next step.

2.      Choose In season flowers: If you want to save some money, it’s best if you choose some in season flower and your arrangement also will be more seasonally appropriate. This is quite relevant when making the arrangement for special occasion such as wedding, anniversary or special birthday party.

·         Spring: daffodils, peonies, tulips, sweet pea, narcissus, hyacinths, anemones, ranunculus, lilacs, delphiniums and boronia are among the most popular flowers.

·         Summer: Lilies, gerbera daisies, sunflowers, snapdragons, hydrangeas, larkspur, freesias, lavender, forget-me-nots, bells of Ireland, chrysanthemums, tuberoses and many more are usually summertime flowers.

·         Autumn: You can find dahlias, marigolds, zinnia, statice, chrysanthemums and aster in this season.

·         Winter: camellias, poinsettias, star of Bethlehem, star gazer lilies, jasmine, holly, cosmos and amaryllis are popular winter flowers.

·         Year-long: You can find orchids, gardenia, roses, lily of the valley, carnations, baby's breath, protea, scabiosa, heather, gladiolus, eucalyptus and calla lilies all year round.

3.      Picking the perfect vessel: Now it is quite important that you choose a suitable vessel for you flowers. Your choice of vessel depends on the style you’re going for. You can use any container as long as it is of suitable height, weight and look.

·         When you’re choosing a vase, long, thin and trumpet-shaped vases work best for delicate, thin stemmed flowers like lilies. For large headed, shorter-stemmed flowers like roses and chrysanthemums shorter, wide vases are preferable.

·         You can also use your imagination. Use egg cups, champagne bottles, wide-brimmed bowls, old boots, umbrella stands, teacups or candle holders if you don’t want to do standard vases.

4.      Choosing the right flowers: Color is very important in flower arrangement but there are no specified rules. It depends on the style and mood you are going for. But keep some of these things in mind.

Adding complimentary color to your arrangement can give you a cheerful and varied look. Mixing red and orange flowers with a little green for freshness is a good idea. You can also mix a selection of pink and purple with a little baby’s breath to get that softness.

You can also mix a selection of flower verities in a single uniform color. Adding some depth with the inclusion of a cuff of green leaves around the outside would be nice as well.

5.      Some textures: Don’t let it be all about the flowers, add some textures. You can also add some greenery, woody stalks or other seasonal items.

6.      Consider the location: Don’t forget the location. You should consider the color scheme and general mood of the room you’re planning to place your arrangement in. Pay attention to the amount of space available. For example, some brightly colored flowers can brighten up a dark hallway or add a splash of color to a monochrome bathroom, while some softer, pastel colored flowers might compliment an airy, sun-filled room.

Now it’s Time to Prepare

Well, you’ve done the planning but now it’s time to prepare and here’s how.

1.      Gather Everything: You should have all the necessary materials available on hand before you start your arrangement. This will give efficiency to you work. You should consider the following steps:

·         A clean vessel to contain the flowers.

·         Floral foam or flower frog to secure flowers for wide-mouthed containers.

·         Floral tape or elastic band to hold the flowers together.

·         Preservative solutions

·         Flowers and greenery

·         A sharp knife or garden clippers for stems

·         A clean work surface with a lot of space, line it with newspaper if you want.

2.      Cut the Stems and strip the leaves: Cut the stems before you before you place the flowers in arrangement. It allows for more water absorption. Cut it diagonally about an inch from the stem.

3.      Prepare the vessel: For your next step you should prepare the vase, bowl or whatever vessel you’re planning to use. Make sure that the vessel is nice and clean free from residue or dirt.

4.      Add some water: This one is pretty self-explanatory. However if you’re using floral foam there is no need to add additional water.

Making the Arrangement

We are finally at the finish. Now you just need to put it all together.  Just follow these steps and you’ll be fine.

1.      Start with the larger, more dominate ones: Start with the largest or most prominent variety of flower first.

o   It is better to work with a single flower type. This way you will get to layer the different varieties, shapes and colors of flowers evenly and you’ll be able to create a more balanced arrangement.

o   Working in circle and placing flowers around the outer edge of the container is a good idea. If you use wet foam, the stems will slide right in otherwise use a sharp object to poke a hole and then insert the stem.

o   To make sure it looks even on all sides turn the arrangement as you work. 

2.      Layering: When you are finished with the first circle of flowers, you should move on to the second, using a different variety of flowers.

The circle should be inside the first. You can create a domed effect by leaving stems slightly longer on inner flowers. The completed arrangement should look like a bunch of flowers growing on a hilltop.

3.      Odd numbers: An important rule to follow is to use an odd number of flowers. The uneven number will help to make the arrangement look less uniformed and more organic.

4.      Height and Width: The height and width is another factor to consider. When it comes to height the general rule is the arrangement should be one and a half times the height of the base or container it’s held in. Rotate the arrangement to ensure that it’s even all the way round.

5.      Final touches: Leave the greenery and leaves for the last. This will add interest and texture to your arrangement. It will also help the greenery to separate the blooms, giving the air room to circulate in between them so the flowers stay fresh. You can use filler materials to give the impression that there are more flowers.

Just follow these steps and you’ll be able to improve you flower arrangement skills within a day.

References:
1. Flowers Arrangement HouseBeautiful.
2. Decorate with flowers Martha Stewart
3. HouseKeeping.