If you’re interested in creating beautiful floral arrangements for your home, here are some tips to get you started.

Harvesting Flowers

1. Timing: Cut flowers in the early morning or at dusk.

2. Planning: Decide on your color palette. You can start with your favorite color or a focal flower and then choose complementary or contrasting colors using the color wheel.

3. Variety: Select a mix of line flowers, focal flowers, delicate blooms, and textural foliage.

4. Cutting: Use clean, sharp snips to make angled cuts. Cut deep to get long stems, even if it means sacrificing side branches.

5. Hydrate: Immediately place stems in clean water. Ensure the water is as clean as you’d drink.

6. Cleaning Stems: Remove any greenery, thorns, or blooms below the waterline to prevent dirty water.

7. Conditioning: Let the freshly cut stems rest in a cool, shaded spot for a few hours or overnight.

Preparing Your Vessel

1. Choose the Right vessel: Any clean, watertight container works, but wide-mouthed bowls or compotes are preferable for more design flexibility.

2. Mechanics: Use chicken wire and floral tape to create a structure for your stems. A floral frog at the bottom can provide additional support.

3. Clean Water: Fill your vase with clean water to prolong the life of your arrangement.

Designing Your Arrangement

1. Proportion: Aim for 1/3 vase and 2/3 plant material.

2. Shape and Movement: Start with line flowers or branches to establish the shape. Add focal blooms in odd numbers (e.g., groups of three or five) for dynamic interest.

3. Fillers and Foliage: Use filler flowers to add cohesion and hide the mechanics. Foliage adds texture and helps conceal the chicken wire and tape.

4. Airy Blooms and Negative Space: Incorporate delicate, airy blooms to enhance the design. Use negative space to give your arrangement a natural feel.

5. Stem Positioning: Not all blooms should face forward. Imagine them in conversation, some turned towards each other or tilted as if listening to a secret.

6. Inspiration and Play: Take inspiration from nature and trust your instincts. Your design style will evolve over time, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Recommended Flowers

Line Flowers:

  • Larkspur
  • Snapdragons
  • Delphinium
  • Bells of Ireland
  • Foxglove
  • Stock
  • Amaranth

Filler Flowers:

  • Yarrow
  • Feverfew
  • Gypsophila
  • Phlox
  • Saponaria
  • Dianthus
  • Nigella
  • Statice

Airy Blooms:

  • Queen Anne’s Lace
  • Poppies
  • Scabiosa
  • Agrostemma

Focal Flowers:

  • Roses
  • Ranunculus
  • Dahlias
  • Peonies
  • Zinnias
  • Sunflowers

Creating stunning floral arrangements from your garden is both an art and a joy. With these tips, you can bring the beauty of your garden inside and enjoy the luxury of fresh, vibrant bloom

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