Thursday, August 28, 2008

Floral Arrangements - What Goes Where

By Alex Morgan


Floral arrangements come in a wide variety of designs and sizes and can be created to suit many different situations. Whether it be party floral decorations, table centerpieces or funeral sprays, floral arrangements provide a fantastic means of enhancing the mood of an occasion and expressing your feelings. Floral arrangements are flexible enough to cater for all styles and budgets, anything from elegant single blooms to extravagant floral arches, each one beautifully displaying your own style and creativity.

To get the best out of your floral arrangements you need to care them a little care and attention. Fresh flowers in particular need careful consideration if they are to remain in prime condition and even with this they will obviously last for a much shorter time than artificial floral arrangements. Fresh flowers need to be well watered, positioned away from direct sunlight and protected from temperature extremes. Artificial floral arrangements can last a life time if they are looked after properly, and this has lead to their even increasingly popularity, especially silk flowers which are not only enduring and beautiful but also incredibly natural looking.

If you decide to create your own floral arrangement, here are a few hints to bear in mind. Using florist foam will help you to arrange your design with more precision - green foam for fresh flowers and brown for artificial or dried flowers. Always soak the foam before inserting fresh flowers and try to ensure that the stems are in touching the foam at their base, otherwise they will wilt. It can be useful to cut a little v shaped notch in the top of the foam to allow you to top up with water. Try very hard to resist the temptation to reuse foam, since it will already have holes in it and so you may well be inserting your fresh stems into air pockets which will make them wilt.

Cut fresh floral arrangements can be made to last longer if cared for properly. It pays to use a clean container and remove all leaves which will be below the level of the water. Using cut flower food really can extend the life of your display. For floral arrangements that you want to keep for a while, such as home decorations, choose flowers that are in bud or just half open and you will then be able to watch them open into full bloom. For those displays which require immediate, short term impact such as wedding floral arrangements or funeral sprays, use flowers which are almost fully open.

Artificial flowers need much less care and attention. A gentle blow of the hair drier will easily remove dust and keeping the display away from direct sunlight will prevent fading. However it might be helpful to consider the following if you are going to create your own artificial floral display. Since artificial flowers are quite light, you may well have to weight the bottom of the container, preferably with decorative items like shells, stones or sand, for a more permanent display, clear acrylic can be used. When arranging the individual flowers, try to think of how each one would naturally fall and shape it accordingly before adding it to your floral arrangement.

The vast majority of people however, while prepared to arrange a few flowers in a vase, find the thought of creating floral arrangements for special occasions like weddings just too daunting. Fortunately there are many professional florists who can design and create beautiful floral arrangements for you. It is however important to find the right florist, this can mean a little hard work, but the results will be worth it.

If you do decide to use a professional florist, have a look at examples of their work beforehand and see if you can find anything in the design and style that you would like; if not it may be better to look for someone else. Work with the florist in creating an arrangement that will fit in with the event that you are organizing. This is especially true of wedding arrangements which need to be in keeping with the general mood of the wedding, be that traditional, modern etc and also to draw attention to the bride and her dress.

About the Author:

No comments: