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Cut Flower Arranging and Care

Every one of our floral creations is delivered beautifully arranged by our creative florists. But that doesn’t mean you can’t also try your hand at some fun floral arranging. Here is a beginner’s guide to floral vase arrangements so you can brighten up your home:

Essential equipment 

• A clean vase filled halfway with fresh, room temperature water
• A small knife 
• Flower food to add to your vase water
• Sharp scissors

Preparing the stems

Remove any leaves that would fall below the waterline in your vase to reduce the chances of bacteria growing and keep your flowers fresher for longer.

For roses, use a small knife to remove any thorns; you can also remove any hardy outer rose petals (guard petals) that are discoloured.

Cutting the stems

When you cut your stems, do so at an angle to encourage your flowers to drink up as much water as possible and avoid cutting at nodules or notches. 

Also, cut the stems according to the rule of thirds i.e. ensure the stems extend at least one third or at most two thirds out of your vase. E.g. a 25cm vase filled with a flower arrangement will reach a height of 50–75cm.

Make sure that as soon as you cut your stems, you place them into the vase half-filled with water as stems can seal over quickly (especially roses). 

Get arranging

If inspiration hasn’t struck, a good tip to start arranging is to let the shape of your vase direct your arrangement. E.g small round vases work well for compact, short arrangements while longer vases are all about long-stemmed beauties.

When placing your stems, criss-cross them in your vase to help hold your arrangement in place.

• Start with a base of greenery or foliage
• Then add in your ‘filler stems’ that will form the basis of your shape, specifically smaller flower heads or subtly coloured flowers
• Save the most stunning, colourful flowers for the end; these are your ‘focus stems’, which may be the brightest, biggest or simply most eye-catching 
• Finally, select a centrepiece flower — this doesn’t have to be the biggest or brightest but one that best showcases your entire arrangement. 

Large-headed lilies are a popular choice for centrepiece stems but remember, when these open up they can cover up or overwhelm the rest of your flowers. 

While arranging, keep an eye on your numbers — odd numbers look best and don’t include your centrepiece flower in the count.

Finally, remember to spread colours and flower types evenly throughout your arrangement. 

Once you’ve completed your arrangement, stand back and take a look from all angles. And then make any tweaks you need — practice makes perfect!