Flower Bouquet Arranging
Anyone can throw some flower in a vase, fill it with water and have a “bouquet” for a few days. Few people, however, know how to craft an elegant, beautiful and long-lasting bouquet of pristine flowers. We are attempting to educate these people.
Certain types of flowers will do much better with other types of flowers. Snapdragons and begonias do very well together, as do roses and lilies. All flowers go together; some just do better with each other than others. Using fresh flowers in your bouquet is almost essential and will ensure that your bouquet lasts as long as possible. Even if you are using a preservative solution (which we highly recommend), you should still change the water at least every 2 days. Without a preservative solution, changing it every day is essential. One mistake many people make when constructing a bouquet is they try and overdo it. Instead of letting the flowers provide their natural beauty, they attempt to cram bunches and bunches of vibrantly colored flowers in a single bouquet. This often causes not enough ventilation and a crammed and crowded look. You should also take into consideration the surrounding environment where the bouquet will be. You can arrange flower types and colors according to the walls, surrounding paintings, et cetera. Certain types of flowers are more appropriate for certain occasions. For instance, roses are appropriate for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or an anniversary. Lilies and daffodils are more appropriate for Easter. Pick an assortment of flowers that are all the same color is always a safer bet than just winging it, with a variety of colors and hoping it comes out looking beautiful.
To construct a quality bouquet you will need the following items:
-Fresh-cut flowers of your choice-A clean container, like a bowl or vase
-Floral foam or rock wool
-Floral tape (optional depending on how many flowers you use)
-Preservative solution
-A sharp knife
-Long, skinny, pointed tool like an awl or nail
Start by cutting the floral foam or rock wool to fit just smaller than the perimeter of your container, leaving enough space to add water, without having it overflow. Take the foam and immerse it in preservative solution. Most brands will require you to mix the solution with water. After you have done this place the foam in the container. If you are using a lot of flowers, or heavy flowers like roses, you may want to tape the foam down with floral tape. You may also want to tape it down if you are going to be transporting the bouquet. To hide the block of foam, use leaves from ferns or other appealing green vegetation, subsequently adding some flowers around the edge of the foam. The stems of the flowers should just slide right into the foam, but if they don’t use the nail or awl to poke a guide hole. If you make the hole larger than the diameter of the stem, the foam will not support the flower’s weight. After doing this, place some flowers in the center of the bouquet, just as you did on the edges. They should sit slightly higher than the ones around the edges. This will create a rounded, very eye-appealing look. It’s up to you, but now you can begin to put flowers of different types and/or colors in between the ones you put around the edges and in the center. Your goal is to have as even distribution as possible, creating an elegant and professional look. The last step is to fill the container with preservative solution and stand back to watch as your guests are amazed by the “professional” bouquet you have just made.
