Stop cutting your flowers this way
How to make designer bouquets at home
In designing an arrangement you become a designer.
You buy a bunch of flowers at the grocery store or market. You bring them home, trim an inch or two off the bottom of and pop them in a vase, knowing that you’ve been told by someone somewhere that it’s best to cut the stems of your flowers before you put them in water. They smell great. They make the room light up. But did you add your personal touch.
Even in instances when the bouquet is pre-made I still find they could use a little adjustment. A personal touch that only I or in your case you can bring. Sometimes the foliage is too much or an interesting texture that would be more exciting to arrange in some other way. Or there is no foliage at all except one fern frond or a spike of eucalyptus and a little wild foraging may be in order.
Sometimes the colors are mixed up - warm colors with cool, which in my opinion looks a little off. Maybe some flowers are supersaturated in color whereas others are muted. You’ve got wildflowers mixed with tropicals. It can be a complete mash up. Which leads me to the importance of laying everything out and rearranging the arrangement.
In some instances that initial bouquet may be exactly what you want. Other times it provides the perfect starting point to apply your artistic touch. Don’t sweat it if you’re just beginning with the whole artistic process. That’s all it is, a process. And frankly one that you’re likely participating in more often than you realize.
The next time you buy a bouquet of flowers try this. It’s an exercise I shared with a friend a while back.
Rather than putting everything together as one bunch you’re going to break them apart into two smaller arrangements.
Grab some clippers or scissors.
Lay all the flower stems out in front of you.
Begin to group them in two piles. Combine colors and textures that you think blend well. Brights together. Muted together. Muted with one blossom that pops. Go with your visual gut. This may take a few minutes, let it. If you missed this post, it’s worth reading. It will help.
Find two smaller containers in your kitchen.. Maybe it’s even a shallow dish. I’ve used glass tupperware or wide mouth glass jars from green chili, madras curry sauce, or ghee. Point being, the vessel can be anything. I like to find and use unconventional things so long as they don’t leak.
Begin to arrange the two piles of blossoms into their own vessel. Cut the stems at different lengths so that the flowers are on different levels or planes. This gives them space and the bouquet a bit of dimension and structural contrast.
Here’s what my friend shared after this exercise.
“I couldn’t believe how many flowers were in it once I took them all out! It was kind of insane.
I made a whole vibe for myself. I played some music, dimmed the lights. It felt like a nice artistic outlet. I had so much fun doing this!! I feel inspired to learn and practice more. No joke 🙂. Such an improvement.”
From the actual practice she was able to see and feel the concept of having structural elements that branched out to the side or straight up or what having more greenery in the form of foliage would do.
“They need some wildness or more dimension.”
“I recall you having a lot of plants in your patio garden. Cut some vines and things from your own garden and add it into the orange bouquet. Tendril-like elements coming out to fill the center and side,” I suggested.
“Yeah, I could see that. In the morning when it’s light I’ll snip some to play around with.”
I wish I had the before image, but you’ll just have to believe my friend and I that the transformation was not only real but fun!
Tell me how it goes for you.
By the way, this is exactly what I dive deeper into with Intuitive Arrangements, a self-paced digital series for flower lovers covering basic mechanics and botanical design. Expand your senses, hone your style, and connect to the elements behind the blossoms. Immediate access upon purchase.