If you enjoy growing beautiful hydrangea, lilies, and roses in your garden, follow these easy steps to arrange them into a centerpiece for your table. Have fun with your flowers … both outdoors and indoors.
For this design you will need –
Supplies –
Floral knife or cutters
Floralife Quick Dip
Fresh water, with flower food added
Vase
Flowers (depending on size of blooms) –
1 very large or 3 small hydrangea
5 to 7 Oriental lilies, use blooms and buds
7 to 9 open Roses
Prepare –
- Select a vase. We have chosen an elegant gold vase by Accent Décor.
- Cut flowers from your garden – choosing flowers appropriate for the vase.
- Visit your local florist or grocery market to purchase flowers, if you don’t have flowers growing in your garden.
Process flowers
When cutting outdoor flowers, follow these steps. Purchased flowers may have already been processed.
- Prepare a bucket of water with flower food to hydrate your fresh, cut flowers for longer lasting blooms. Mix according to directions on container.
- Remove foliage that will be below the water line or is wilted or damaged.
- Place flowers into water as you cut them outdoors. Let flowers sit in water, overnight if possible.
Prior to designing –
- Add flower food to a container of clean, cool water to be used in the vase. Mix according to directions on the flower food package.
- Pour a small amount of Quick Dip into a dish. Cut the end of the flower stem with a sharp angular cut. Dip the cut end of the stem into solution for just a few seconds. Place the flower into a bucket of water until used in designing process. The excess Quick Dip can be held in a sealed container and reused for up to 24 hours.
Design –
- Insert one variety of flowers at a time; to ensure visual balance.
- Start with the center flower to determine the height of the arrangement, or the outer flowers to develop the frame of the design. In this case, we started with the center flower – a large hydrangea.
- Add flowers of the next largest size, in this case – lilies surround the hydrangea. This begins to form the width of your design.
- Continue with the next group of flowers, in this case, roses to fill in the form of the arrangement.
- Spray with an anti-transpirant such as Floralife’s Finishing Touch to hydrate and ‘feed the flowers’ which promotes longevity.
Enjoy –
This same design can be made using many different flowers – alstromeria, carnations, daffodils, and peonies are examples of the long list of possibilities. Designing this arrangement is fast, easy, and fun and best of all, long-lasting. Add a fragrant touch of elegance to your table with your version of this design.