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So your going to bring your grocery store or florist bought
flowers home, now what! I have seen many people just plunk them
in a vase of water and that's it. Sometimes that works but here
are some simple tips to make you look like you're a pro at it.
1) In a clean vase, take your greens first, snip the ends off to
the size you want and then start criss crossing the stems into
the vase so that you have stems all around inside the vase.
There are two reasons for this. One is because you now have a
base for the flower arrangement and two; a criss cross of stems
makes it easier for flower placement.
2) If you are making a small, low arrangement, slide in the
flowers in a criss cross so that the stems are all around the
inside of the vase. You should now have a vase with a ring of
flowers on the out side and nothing but stems showing in the
middle. (The more stems you have in the vase, the easier it will
be to have flowers stay put!) The rows of flowers are going to
be higher each time you get them in until you have a nice
rounded arrangement.
3) If you are making a tall arrangement, then use a tall slim
vase. Your flowers will hold up better and it will look well
proportioned. Great flowers to use are gladiolas, blue
delphinium, lilies, snapdragons etc. Sometimes you can get tall
tulips and that looks fantastic too.
4) A design mistake I have often seen is placing the flowers in
a vase perfectly even. The reason this does not work is because
it looks unnatural. Have a look at any garden and you will see
some of the blooms are sticking out, some are tucked in; some
are almost hidden but still contribute to the overall look.
Mimic nature and you won't go wrong! Don't be afraid to tuck
some of those flowers in a bit.
5) A good rule of thumb is to use odd numbers of flowers. What I
mean by that is to use 3 roses together or 5. Even numbers are
not as effective. If you use 5 roses for example, Place 3
together (touching but at slightly different lengths) near the
bottom center of the vase and then two more higher up.
6) The next best advice I can give you if you are really new at
floral design, is to collect pictures of floral arrangements you
like and with the tips I've stated above, practice while looking
at the pictures. Before long, you'll be looking like a pro!
About the author:
Willie Jones is a freelance writer, researcher, floral designer,
and artist, for Art Inspires, Inc. Make sure you enroll in the
free motivational poster drawing at http:/
/www.artinspires.com
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