Tips for home floral selection and arrangements

Buying flowers for yourself or an event? Here are some tips for better decisions in each part of the process.

• Start with the freshest flowers. When selecting them, think about freshness for flowers like you do for produce. Check under the wrap and look closely at the stems. They should be firm and uniform in color. Examine each bloom in the bunch.

• Avoid flower bunches with any brown tinge at the edge of the petals or leaves. The exception here is roses, which have guard petals. Many professionals remove these outer petals, but they often have a beautiful color pattern.  In general, the less handling done to a flower, the better, but it's a personal preference. 
  

Prepare them. Conditioning flowers really does make a difference.

• Strip off leaves and cut the stems. Then, loosely place them in cool water and refrigerate until you are ready to arrange.  

Selecting your vase. Where will it go? A centerpiece arrangement will often go in the central part of the room where it's placed. A kitchen island, dining table, and foyer are well-suited for a centerpiece arrangement.

• A centerpiece arrangement requires a 360 orientation, and for these, a circular vase is best.  A centerpiece arrangement may be high or low profile. Depending on where it's placed. 

The priciest arrangements I've seen are often lower profile as they are designed to be on a dining table or another quiet conversational area, where their height won't disrupt seated conversation. So, how could a shorter arrangement be more expensive than a taller one? People tend to invest more in these styles because they are the most closely observed and appreciated.

Not every arrangement needs a 360-degree orientation. If it's going on a desk, in a bathroom, or against a wall, a 180-degree arrangement is desirable.

• For a 180-degree arrangement, a rectangular vase makes it easy to place your large focal flowers in the front, and more greenery in the back. 
  

Other vase tips

• Tinted glass or opaque vases are more flattering to your blooms because they obscure the stems and allow the eyes to rest on the flowers easily. Another option is to wrap the inside of the vase with a large leaf, which gives a polished look.

Design tips

Roses

• Stagger the height of the blooms, and also remember width and depth. The rose, America's favorite flower, is a tall and stiff plant. To soften it, use garden roses, and soft draping greens such as seeded eucalyptus. These add flow and width to your arrangement, offsetting the stiffness of rose stems.

Hydrangeas

• Hydrangeas are beautiful and add multiple tones that can tie an arrangement together. But often they are finicky. They need cool temperatures. Also, when arranging hydrangeas, I use them exclusively, as the only flower type in an arrangement, because they will easily overwhelm a mixed arrangement in a home.

• When using hydrangeas in a mixed arrangement, I cut them down to a third of their size to avoid them looking like a giant ball. Yes, it may sound wasteful, but flowers are there for you to design with. You form them as you see best. Don't be afraid to pull blooms on a flower to suit the design you're looking for. Or cut stems to create the perfect angle. Pee-gee or cone-shaped varieties are just starting to become more available. I find them more modern and easier to style than traditional mophead varieties.
  
  

Stockflower 

• Stock flowers are fluffy hydrangea-like blooms that smell heavenly and are much easier to manage in home arrangements. It’s often wilted-looking at retail, which may be why it’s not more popular. But if purchased very fresh and properly conditioned, stock is a fabulous flower. With a wide range of colors from soft peach and pale yellow to bright purple, stock is as long-lasting as it is beautiful, and can be a year-round favorite for home florists. 

When you're done, mist the arrangement like you would a fresh plant. Refrigerating the arrangement at night will prolong its freshness. Please visit www.realflowerseveryday.com for more tips on floral design.