With any list of flower arrangement tips and “Do’s”, there is should always be an accompanying list of “Dont’s”. Here are a few key “Do not’s” when it comes to creating beautiful flower arrangements.
Flower Arrangement Dont’s:
- Change the water once an arrangement is made but top it up with fresh water each day.
- Overlook the value of a charcoal tablet in the water, to keep it pure.
- Forget that most leaves should be submerged in water for hours, preferably overnight, to help them retain their firmness.
- Place wilted roses in cold water. Instead re-cut and split the stems and thrust into two inches of boiling water and leave until cool. Protect the blooms from the steam by wrapping them in paper. Afterwards arrange them in water in the usual manner.
- Forget that Mimosa can be treated in the same way, which will help it retain its fluffy appearance. A little sugar in the water is also useful.
- Place two flowers level with each other when making a mass arrangement.
- Forget that Violets absorb moisture through their petals when cut, so they need not reach water in an arrangement. Should they wilt they can be revived by submersion in water.
- Forget to scrape the stem ends of such flowers as Chrysanthemums, Stocks, Marigold and other plants of the semi-woody variety. This removes the outer substance and avoids bacteria forming slime which blocks the intake of water.
- Push the flowers upright into a vase. Make the lower ones flow out almost horizontally to gain extra dimension and effect.
- Be discouraged if some flowers are too short to take their place in a design: try placing them in a hollow stem of another longer flower which will feed the smaller one through its own intake of water.
- Always accept your material just as it comes. Trim it to suit the shape you desire.
- Be disappointed if the stems of your flowers are too fine to insert on a pin holder. Try covering the holder with some thin moss first or tie a few stems together and insert them as a bunch.
