The Art of Arranging Flowers: A Beginner's Guide

DIY Guide to Arranging Flowers

While some people think that flower arranging is a simple and boring task, others find it to be an exciting and rewarding challenge where they can turn small and simple bouquets into intricate and beautiful pieces of art.

Whether you're trying to decorate an event, spice up home decor, or blow off some creative steam, this task is easy and fun! This guide will show you how to arrange your own flowers, starting from picking the right kinds to displaying your work of art.

Step 1: Get the Supplies You Need

Before you start, you must get all of the supplies that you will need. This will make it easier to start.

• Flowers: Get a selection of flowers that differ in shape, size, and color. A great arrangement needs a good balance of each type of flower along with some foliage.
• Vase or Container: Consider a vase or container that fits the shape and size of the design you want. This container will also dictate the dimensions.
• Foam or Flower Frog: Depending on the vessel you chose, you will want to have some form of wet floral foam to hold the stems in place or a flower frog, this is really useful for shallow containers.
• Floral Shears or Sharp Knife: It is important to have sharp and clean floral shears or a specific knife to ensure you cut stems without crushing them. This is crucial for making sure your flowers can absorb water.
• Water: Make sure to fill your vase with clean water that is at room temperature to help hydrate your flowers.
• Flower Food: Packets of commercial flower food supply the flowers with food and also stop bacteria from growing, which keeps your arrangement from going bad.
• Tidy Work Area: Make sure you have a clean, roomy space prepared to work on your arrangement.

Step 2: Selecting Your Flowers and Foliage

Choosing flowers for your arrangement is important to make sure it is appealing to the eye. Make sure to take into consideration the event you are going to, the color scheme, and the overall look you want. Be sure to use a variety of flowers, colors, and textures to help the overall look.

Different Flowers Have Different Jobs

• Focal Flowers: The largest, most dramatic flowers will be the focal point of the arrangement. This can be roses or large peonies. An excellent example of a focal flower is the Hydrangea that can be large and is very elegant in blue, purple, pink, and white shades.
• Secondary Flowers: Smaller blooms like the tulips and daisies add interest to the bigger flowers and hang nice textures to an arrangement.
• Filler Flowers: These flowers help create full and fluffy arrangements. Baby's breath and statice add a nice dainty touch.
• Foliage: Many ferns add to the structural design and can soften the arrangement. Maidenhair ferns and eucalyptus help create an organic feel to the arrangement. Maidenhair ferns soften the arrangement with their delicate fussy shapes.

You can also add the cardinals flower to help create added height and an awesome pop of color. The coneflower also has a rustic feel and helps add a third dimension with its daisy-like blooms.

In Step 3: Preparing Your Flowers

Next, arrange the flowers the way you want. If you prepare the flowers well they will last longer.

• Cut the Bottom Stems: Using your flower scissors, cut a little bit off the end of each stem at a 45 degree angle. This will help them absorb more water.
• Remove the Leaves: Take off all the leaves that will be below the water level to prevent further rotting and growing harmful bacteria that will reduce the lifespan of your flowers.
• Get Watered Right Away: Place the stems you cut in a bucket of fresh water and flower food for the next hour or two. This way, they will soak up enough water.

Step 4: Build Your Arrangement

Here is where you can let your imagination go wild! There are many methods you can use to style your bouquet, but for beginners, a more patterned approach can be a little easier.

1. Start by making a crisscross with a stem or two to create a small support base for the other flowers.
2. Then, go ahead and start placing the focal flowers. Think of these flowers as the main characters of a book, because they need to be placed with the most thought. Try and add some differences in height by angling some of the stems. This is so that the flowers can be seen all around the whole flower arrangement.
3. Next, grab your secondary and filler flowers. Weave them in and around the focal blooms to fill in any gaps. These smaller flowers should be the same in color and texture to the main flowers and add some detail to the mix.
4. Lastly, add some extra foliage around to soften the outer edges, cover any mechanics like floral foam, and add a green, natural appearance. The foliage should surround the entire bouquet to give a nice finish.

Step 5: Master Balance and Proportion

While adding flowers to the bouquet, be sure to look for balance and proportion. Space out the colors and shapes in the bouquet to add a nice even distribution. Try not to stick the same flowers and colors in the same area to avoid clumping.

Make sure to pay close attention to how the balance and proportion of the flowers look as you are arranging them. Make sure you distribute the colors and shapes evenly throughout the arrangement. As a general rule the height of the arrangement needs to be about one and a half to two times the height of the vase. So be sure to step back often as you arrange to assess the shape and proportion of your arrangement to the vase.

Step 6: Water and Ongoing Care

You should already have a bowl of water. Now, grab your flower food and dump in the appropriate amount to the water and then stir. Be sure to watch the water level for the flowers daily and add more water when it runs low.

To keep your arrangement lasting as long as possible, replace the water completely every two to three days. When you do, be sure to recut the stems to keep them absorbing the water as best as possible.

Step 7: Enjoy the Finished Piece

After completing your arrangement, it is time to find a place to keep it. Make sure to think about the light and feel of the room. It's best to keep the arrangement away from windows, heaters, air conditioners, and fruit, as these will all make the flowers wilt faster.

Discover the Elegant Plants in your Home and Garden

Have the desire to grow flowers for your arrangements? A garden filled with flowers is a great source of inspiration. Having many different plants to use as a backdrop for your flowers will make them look better.

Go to TN Nursery to look at all the different flowering plants, as well as shrubs and trees, to get started on your floral arrangement journey.

FAQs

What is flower arranging called?

This is known as floral design. It is the art of skillfully arranging flowers and other plant materials (perhaps a piece of wood, stone, etc.) with other elements of design and art, by both amateurs and professionals.

What is the basic rule in flower arrangement?

The main rule of floral design is having a focal point, which is usually a large flower or a cluster of flowers in the design that draws the eye. Everything else in the design is built around that point, to create balance and harmony in proportions.

What is the 3 5 8 rule for bouquets?

The 3-5-8 rule is a guideline of floral design derived from the Fibonacci sequence. Also, in design, odd numbers when grouping elements are more pleasing to the eye than even numbers. Therefore, flowers should be grouped into 3, 5, or 8 stems when making a bouquet.

What is the art of arranging flowers?

Using design principles such as balance, proportion, rhythm, and color harmony to make flower compositions. It is more than just putting flowers in a vase. It is a feeling, a style, and a creativity expressed through nature.

What is a professional flower arranger called?

A floral designer or a florist is what a professional who arranges flowers is called. A floral designer works to make flowers a career. They design arrangements for events, businesses, and individual clients through floriculture and design principles.

What are the three rules of ikebana?

The art of flower arranging in Japan is called ikebana. It is ruled by many principles, but 3 of them are more emphasized. They are shin (heaven), soe (human), and hikae (earth). These make a scalene triangle that shows harmony of the 3: the cosmos, humanity, and nature.