How to Arrange Flowers & Roses

Arranging flowers is an opportunity to create a beautiful work of art. Success is within the reach of everyone. No special training is needed, no elaborate equipment is required and many approaches lead to spectacular results. Whether you create an over-sized vase arrangement to fill up space in an under-furnished room, or a delicate, fragrant bouquet for a guestroom night table, the creative process is the same. Choose a container, prepare the greens, prepare the flowers and build the arrangement. This works for all fresh flowers, including roses.

Flowers
Container
Sharp knife, flower shears or garden clippers
Roll of green florist tape (optional)
Roll of double-sided florist tape (optional)
Green florist wire in a packet of pre-cut lengths or in a roll (optional)
Florist foam (optional)
Clear rubber bands (optional)
Green string (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  
  The flower container contributes to the design.
  
  Choose an attractive container for the arrangement. Vases, jardinières and cachepots are obvious choices for holding classic flower arrangements. However, the possibilities expand immediately by opening cupboard doors in the kitchen or dining room. All pitchers serve beautifully to hold flowers, all coffeepots and teapots, minus the lids, are potential vases and even mugs and drinking glasses can be drafted to hold flowers. Baskets work well, if a suitable plastic liner is available. The choices are endless, so base the decision on the style, size and purpose of the arrangement. An unexpected container will give an ordinary arrangement a style boost right away.
- 2
  
  Greens and filler flowers enhance blossom display.
  
  Select greens and filler flowers, such as baby's breath or wax flowers, to complement the main flowers. Prepare them by trimming off 1/4 inch from the ends of the stems with a sharp knife. When stems are hard and woody, scrape the base of the stems to remove the outer layer and slit the ends to encourage water absorption. Do not scrape or split soft stems, because they will collapse. Remove all foliage below the water line in the vase, to discourage bacteria growth. Try to use two or more green textures and filler flowers to create interest. For example, combine lemon leaves and fine ferns, eucalyptus and bear grass, baby's breath with lily grass.
- 3
  
  Prepare each stem before arranging.
  
  Select the main flowers. For aesthetic balance, always work with an odd number of stems. Cut off 1/4 inch from each stem and strip all leaves below the water line. On woody stems, like hydrangeas, scrape away the outer layer and split the ends. When potential drooping flower heads are a concern, thread a piece of flower wire through the base of the flower bloom and turn the end under to form a loop, and then stretch the other end of the wire down the length of the stem for support. The wired stems may now be wrapped with florist tape for a more formal, finished look, or left unwrapped and natural looking.
- 4
  Create a support structure for the arrangement. This step makes arranging flowers less haphazard, and gives the arranger control in placement. One method of support is to weave the stems of the greens together inside the vase to form a foundation for the blossom stems. Another is to stretch a web of double-sided florist tape across the top of the vase in a grid to support both the greens and the blossoms. A piece of water-soaked florist foam cut to fit inside the vase and taped into place to hold the blooms, works well. A simple bouquet of a single type of flower, with or without greens, can be controlled with a length of green string, a length of florist tape or a clear elastic band to hold the cluster of blooms upright in the vase. Most successful arrangements use some kind of support.
- 5
  
  Flowers look their best in a thoughtfully created arrangement.
  
  Arrange greens first, beginning at the center with the tallest stems, which should be approximately
  
  1 1/2 times the height of the vase. Working out and down complete the basic shape of the bouquet. Repeat with the blossoms, beginning in the center and moving down and out. Rotate the arrangement as you build the design, ensuring that it is attractive and balanced on all sides. Allow the size and color of the individual blooms to help determine placement. Adjust the length of stems if necessary.

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