How to Arrange Flowers

Flower arranging has been a popular art for centuries with many considering the ability to create a perfectly balanced arrangement a great skill. While styles vary across the globe, many cultures seem to enjoy using floral symbolism, whereby each flower or aspect of an arrangement has a specific meaning. While this is a fascinating and often sentimental concept, flower arranging in the main stream is becoming a lost art as people have less time to nurture their gardens and arrange the blooms they provide.

Steps [edit]Make sure the vase you use has been thoroughly cleaned and any residue has been rinsed off. Almost any vessel you have in your home can be used to house a gorgeous and individual arrangement - flower heads can be broken off and floated in a bowl of water with candles or a teapot can be used to house a posy of flowers. If you are using a regular glass vase it can be nice to add sand, pebbles or glass beads to the bottom. Not only will this help to support the stems, but will also give any arrangement an attractive finish.
Prepare your flowers by always cutting at least 1" from the bottom of each stem and remove any leaves that will lie below the level of the water in the vase as this will help to keep the flowers fresh.
Use room temperature water to partially fill the vase and add any flower food that you have. If you buy very fresh flowers and want the buds to open quickly you could try placing them in slightly warm water to encourage them to open. Alternatively, some people swear by searing the bottom of the stems very quickly on a hot pan so that they become sealed and stay fresh for longer.
Posies of smaller flowers tend to look best in shorter, stouter vases, whereas longer flowers tend to look more elegant in taller vases. However, you can always cut your flowers to the required length to fit the shape of your vase before you start arranging them.
Place flowers in your chosen vase and place the larger, more dominant flowers in first so as to create the focus of the arrangement. Try to place these flowers at different angles to make the most of their individual shapes and to give the arrangement a balanced feel. You should then add the smaller flowers and finally the foliage to fill any gaps and accentuate the mix of colours in the arrangement.
Learn that when using lilies or other flowers with pollenous stamens you should remove the stamens from their base with your fingers before including them in your floral arrangement as this will not only stop the pollen from discoloring the petals and staining anything and everything else it touches, but will also prevent the flower from becoming pollinated as so will increase its longevity.