How to Buy, Arrange, and Care For Flowers Like a Pro?
Arranging flowers? We know. It's scary. Which is why it's so easy to go for the pre-made bouquets at a flower shop, or to stick to one, simple type, or to forgo flowers altogether and dive into chocolate cake instead.
Pick a color sequence of no more than three colors. It's easy to get carried away while browsing a flower shop—but making something beautiful is easier when your flowers match each other. In the winter, we're fans of purple and orange; white, green and blue; or, in honor of a holiday like Valentine's Day, red, white, and pink.
If you're making multiple bouquets, pick a base flower. Look out for an inexpensive, filler flower in a neutral color—and then stretch it throughout all of your arrangements. This allows you to buy in bulk—and to have fun picking special items for each separate bouquet.
Big flowers stretch the farthest. If you're on a budget—or if you're nervous about making your own arrangement—go for a larger type of flower. They take up more space in a bouquet, so you can buy less of them—and they're easier to work with while building a bouquet.
Think about timing. Some flowers, like roses and tulips, benefit from a night in water. If you're building a bouquet for the same day, it's important to keep this in mind.
Pick your vase. For a rustic look, we're fans of circular, wide-mouthed vases — even pitchers. For a more refined arrangement, go for a tall, skinny vase.
If you're using a round, wide-mouthed vase, make the arrangement in your hand first. Start with the flowers you'd like in the center, and start building around them, rotating the bouquet in your hand. When you're satisfied, you can cut them all together—and just plop them in your vase! If you're using a tall, skinny vase, think about height. Since these vases look beautiful standing against a wall, take advantage of your point of reference. Starting from the front, build your bouquet upwards, so that the tallest flowers stand up in the back. Here's where your filler flowers come in; use them as your tall backdrop, while letting your colors pop in the front.
Work on symmetry. When you're starting arrangements, it's easiest to make things beautiful by working in symmetry. Putting a pink flower on the left? Put another on the right. Is there a big flower towards the front? Try framing the bouquet with them.
Prune........ Just because you buy the flowers a certain way doesn't mean they're finished. Trim away all extra leaves, thorns, branches, and other distractions; you want the flowers themselves to shine.
Change your water every day. If you have time, wash the vase with soap and water, and add a tiny bit of bleach to each new change of water (this will kill the bacteria). Each time you put your flowers in new water, you should give the stems a fresh cut.
