How to Do Floral Bouquet

Fill a large bucket 1/2 to 2/3 full of water. Add a flower preservative to the water in the amount specified on the package instructions. Stir the solution with a spoon until the preservative is dissolved.

Prepare 16 to 20 long-stemmed flowers to soak in the preservative solution. Remove all leaves and thorns from each stem, using a stem stripper. Cut off the bottom inch of each stem at a 45-degree angle, using a pair of stem clippers. Place the flower's stem immediately into the bucket of preservative solution after cutting.

Cut off the bottom inch of stem of four stems of greenery. Place the freshly cut stems into the bucket along with the flowers. Leave the flowers and greenery stems to soak for one to two hours.

Remove four stems of greenery from the bucket, and place them in one hand. Line up the stems so they are side by side in your hand, with the upper leafy portions overlapping.

Choose four flower stems from the bucket, and lay them in your hand. Place them over the greenery, so the flower stems are side by side with each other, but the blooms are grouped with three in back and one in front. Adjust the flowers so their tops are even with the tops of the stems of greenery. Twist the stems clockwise in your hand, one quarter of a turn, while squeezing the stems together. The flowers should now be facing to the left.

Remove four more flower stems from the bucket. Arrange them in your hand over the greenery to the right of the previous flowers. Position the stems side by side, with two blooms in front and two towards the back. Adjust the flowers so their heights are even with the other flowers and greenery. Twist the bouquet clockwise in your hand, one quarter of a turn, while squeezing the stems.

Add four more flowers to the bouquet in the same manner as before. Place three blooms in back with one in front. Twist the bouquet one quarter of a turn. Add the last four flowers with two towards the back and two towards the front. Look over your bouquet, and make any final adjustments to the arrangement.

Wrap a 12-inch piece of floral wire around the tops of the stems, just below the flowers. Pull on the wire while wrapping to ensure it is tight around the stems and will hold them in place. Do not wrap the wire so tight that it cuts into the stems. Twist the loose ends of the wire together two to three times. Trim any excess length of wire, and bend the ends in between the stems.

Grasp the stems together in one hand at the half-way point. Squeeze the stems together to bring their ends together. Cut off the ends of all the stems to make them even in length with the stem clippers. If you want the handle of the bouquet to be shorter, cut off more of the stems.

Cut a 6 to 8 foot length of 2-inch ribbon. Find the center point of the ribbon by folding it in half. Place the center point behind the stems where the wire is positioned. Wrap the sides of the ribbon around to the front of the stem. Twist the sides together, and wrap them around the back. Twist the ribbons in the back, and bring them once more to the front. Repeat this process, working your way down the length of the stems. Tie the sides together in a knot on the front of the stems. Leave the tails hanging loose, or tie them in a bow.