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Arrangements of fresh flowers make delightful home accents and thoughtful gifts. However, they can also be expensive when you purchase them from a florist. This guide on how to arrange flowers will show you how to make your own beautiful bouquets and stationary arrangements.
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Flower Arrangement Tips
- Flower bouquets make great gifts.
- Tie flowers in a tight, round bunch for a nosegay.
- Consider the space where you'll place the flowers when choosing an arrangement.
- Focal flowers provide the center of attention in an arrangement.
- Line flowers create the shape of an arrangement.
- Add non-floral elements to an arrangement for interest and texture.
- The color of the flowers you choose help to create a mood.
- A container, scissors and clean floral supplies are essential tools.
- Cut flower stems under water.
- Water cut flowers regularly to prolong their life.
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Introduction
- Flowers can breathe light and air into a room. They convey comfort, sympathy, love, and friendship, depending on the occasion. Floral design has been around since the time of the Ancient Egyptians and is considered a form of art.The Flower Expert: History of Floral Design Buying professional arrangements can be prohibitively expensive, but you can learn to create your own beautiful arrangements at home with only a few supplies. Buying arrangements also cuts you out of the process of creation and design. When you arrange your own flowers at home, you become a flower artist.
Step 1: Decide on a Type of Arrangement
Bouquets
- Flower bouquets make great gifts and can be placed in vases or carried in the hand, as with wedding bouquets. A bouquet can be as simple as a bunch of fresh-picked wildflowers, but wedding bouquets in particular have more specific, traditional forms.
- A nosegay, or round bouquet, consists of flowers arranged in a tight, round bunch.WeddingVeil.com: Types of Bridal Bouquets (January 25, 2008)
- A cascade bouquet is a formal arrangement with a circular bunch of flowers that fall down in a cascade in the front. The cascade part of the bouquet can be as long or as short as desired.Truly Wedding Blog: The Many Types of Wedding Bouquet (December 9, 2007)
- A hand-tied bouquet is a less formal arrangement—the stems of the flowers tied together and with their ends showing.Truly Wedding Blog: The Many Types of Wedding Bouquet (December 9, 2007)
Stationary or Table Arrangements
- The names of the different silhouettes, or shapes, of stationary flower arrangements are largely self-explanatory. A fan arrangement resembles a fan, while a pyramid arrangement takes the general shape of a pyramid. Think about the space where you intend to display the arrangement as well as its purpose before deciding on a silhouette.
- A dome arrangement is just what it sounds like—a symmetrical dome of flowers. Other than the bouquet, the dome is the simplest possible arrangement.Flower Arrangement Advisor: The Ten Basic Arrangement Forms
- A pyramid arrangement is tall with a triangular base.Flower Arrangement Advisor: The Ten Basic Arrangement Forms
- Crescent flower arrangements can be created using flowers with curving or flexible stems.Dgreetings: Types of Flower Arrangement The two tips of the crescent typically point up into the air.
- Horizontal arrangements are low, symmetrical, often linear arrangements that sit close to the surface on which they're placed.Flower Arrangement Advisor: The Ten Basic Arrangement Forms You use a shallow container, one focal flower and several side branches to create this silhouette.Dgreetings: Types of Flower Arrangement
- Vertical arrangements, as their name implies, are tall and relatively thin.Flower Arrangement Advisor: The Ten Basic Arrangement Forms
- An L-shaped arrangement is asymetrical, like the letter for which it's named.Flower Arrangement Advisor: The Ten Basic Arrangement Forms
- Fan arrangements are defined by flowers with long, strong stems.Flower Arrangement Advisor: The Ten Basic Arrangement Forms
- Triangle arrangements have tall central flowers and shorter flowers to form the sides.
- An inverted T arrangement looks very much like a triangle arrangement.Flower Arrangement Advisor: The Ten Basic Arrangement Forms
- Oval arrangements form a sort of floral portrait, with the biggest, brightest flowers in the center.Dgreetings: Types of Flower Arrangement
- A Hogarth's curve arrangement trains flowers into the shape of an 'S.'Dgreetings: Types of Flower Arrangement
Step 2: Pick Your Flowers
Structure
- Consider the structural qualities of individual flowers. What kind of shapes do you need to create your chosen silhouette? What flowers will provide the focus for your arrangement? Will many larger flowers overcrowd your bouquet, or will the lack of them underwhelm the viewer? Many florists classify the flowers in an arrangement as belonging to three categories:
- Focal flowers provide the focal points of an arrangement, and are often the largest and brightest in the arrangement. Typical focal flowers include roses, peonies and hydrangeas.SaveOnCrafts: Using Focal, Filler & Line in Floral Design
- Line flowers create the silhouette, providing a sort of visual scaffolding for the arrangement. Typical line flowers include delphiniums, gladiolas and snapdragons.SaveOnCrafts: Using Focal, Filler & Line in Floral Design
- Fillers help fill out the silhouette of an arrangement. Baby's breath, dianthus, and wax flowers often serve as fillers.SaveOnCrafts: Using Focal, Filler & Line in Floral Design
- Floral arrangements can also contain non-flower elements. For instance, vines, berries, fruit, ferns and other greens provide interest and texture.
Color
- Create a mood with color.Quamut: Principles of Floral Design: Color Some colors tend to contribute a somber tone, while others are cheering. Remain conscious of how the different colors of your flowers work together to create harmony or disharmony. Decide on a color palette and choose flowers in accordance with it. Color theory and the color wheel offer some suggestions on creating pleasing color combinations:Color Wheel Pro: Color Theory Basics
- Warm colors, such as reds, oranges and yellows, have a different affect than cool colors, such as blues, greens and purples.Quamut: Principles of Floral Design: Color
- A monochromatic arrangement uses variations of a single color.Color Wheel Pro: Color Theory Basics
- An arrangement based on analogous colors combines colors that lie immediately next to each other on the color wheel.Color Wheel Pro: Color Theory Basics
- An arrangement of flowers with complementary colors makes use of colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel.Color Wheel Pro: Color Theory Basics
Meaning
- Understand the language of flowers. Over the course of history, certain flowers have accrued traditional meanings specific to certain cultures. For example, red roses can indicate romantic love while white roses stand for purity.The Language of Flowers - Roses Ophelia associates pansies, or heartsease, with thoughtfulness in Shakespeare's Hamlet.NJ.com: Name Calling (March 26, 2008) While it's unlikely that the recipient or viewer of your flowers will understand all of the subtle nuances with which the Victorians imbued their flowers, you should still keep in mind that certain flowers may be more appropriate for specific occasions than others.Victorian Bazaar: Language of Flowers See the this site for more on the language of flowers.The Language of Flowers
Step 3: Assemble Your Supplies
- If you're making a simple vase arrangement or informal bouquet, you won't need much more than your flowers, container and a sharp knife or scissors. However, more complicated or formal arrangements necessitate some other tools. You can find floral supplies at craft stores or online retailers, such as Afloral.com, Joann and Crafta.Official Site: Afloral.com Official Site: Joann Official Site: Crafta
Vase Arrangement
- In addition to some of the tools listed for hand-held bouquets, some of these items may be of use:
- Waterproof floral tape can can form a grid through which to stick flower stems.SaveOnCrafts: Waterproof Floral Tape
- Cut flower preservatives extend the life of an arrangement when mixed with the water supply. You can buy professional mixes, or About.com provides recipes for homemade preservatives.About.com: Cut Flower Preservative Recipes
Other Stationary Arrangement
- Use the same tools listed above, plus:
- Floral foam comes in many shapes and provides a base for an arrangement.SaveOnCrafts: Floral Foams Some types of foam soak up water to feed the flowers, prolonging the life of the arrangement.
- A knife is a useful tool, in addition to scissors. You can use it to cut floral foam.SaveOnCrafts: Floral Designing Tools
- Waterproof floral tape holds foam in place, or you can use hot glue.SaveOnCrafts: Floral Designing Tools
- Anchor pins and prongs also secure foam in place.SaveOnCrafts: Floral Designing Tools
- Waterproof clay holds dry elements in place.SaveOnCrafts: Floral Designing Tools
- Candle cups allow you to illuminate your arrangement, providing a safe base to help set candles in foam.SaveOnCrafts: Floral Designing Tools
Step 4: Prepare the Container
- A proper container is an integral element of a beautiful flower arrangement.
- Choose a container appropriate to the bouquet or arrangement you've chosen to create.Better Homes and Gardens: Flower Bouquet Basics The smaller the arrangement, the smaller the container should be.
- Clean the container thoroughly before use to prevent infection of the flowers by bacteria.SaveOnCrafts: Flower Arranging -- Pre-Arranging Fresh Flowers
- If using a container that's not waterproof, you must place a waterproof container inside it.SaveOnCrafts: Preparing Containers for Your Arrangements
- Secure any floral foam you intend to use in the container with hot glue or waterproof floral tape.
Step 5: Arrange the Flowers
- Once you've chosen a form for your arrangement and the particular flowers you will use, you've done much of the work. The shape you've chosen will decide the placement of the focal and line flowers.
- If you plan to place your arrangement in a vase, organize the flowers in your hands first.Better Homes and Gardens: Flower Bouquet Basics
- Support the blooms of heavier flowers with floral wire and tape so that they won't droop.SaveOnCrafts: Flower Arranging with Fresh Flowers -- Wiring & Taping Stems
- Your arrangement must have a sense of balance. You don't want it to feel lopsided in any way. Don't put all the large, vibrant flowers to one side, or that side will seem heavier.SaveOnCrafts: Western Elements in Floral Design
- Cut the flower stems to the appropriate length for your container.Better Homes and Gardens: Flower Bouquet Basics Cut the stems under water to prevent air from closing the stems.
- Some types of flower may require special treatment, such as cauterization or mashing of the stems, before they're placed in a container with other flowers.SaveOnCrafts: Flower Arranging -- Pre-Arranging Fresh Flowers
- Cut off broken and dead material, as well as any leaves that fall below where the water line will be.SaveOnCrafts: Flower Arranging -- Pre-Arranging Fresh Flowers
- Insert the stems of your stationary arrangement into the floral foam you've secured in its container.
- Insert your line flowers first to outline the overall shape of your design.SaveOnCrafts: Using Focal, Filler & Line in Floral Design
- Add focal flowers after the line flowers. Place them at the center, or focal point of the arrangement.SaveOnCrafts: Using Focal, Filler & Line in Floral Design
- Once the major elements of your design are in place, use filler flowers to flesh out the spaces between the focal and line flowers.SaveOnCrafts: Using Focal, Filler & Line in Floral Design
Conclusion
- The right floral arrangement can bring warmth, freshness, and beauty into a home. Flowers can be used to express love, sympathy, spirit, and much more. While you may still prefer to work with a florist to supply arrangements for special occasions, learning how to create your own works of floral art can give you a sense of pride and accomplishment, as well as save you money on less formal occasions.
