The simplest pleasures in life are easy to find – watching the sun set, lazing in the sun, taking a walk through a shady glen.  The scent and beauty of fresh flowers in your home is an inexpensive luxury when you grow and arrange your own creations. Choosing the best flowers to grow for long-lasting blooms and a few simple guidelines to follow on how to arrange your flowers will give you bouquets that look and smell fabulous.

Whether you grow your own or buy them at the grocery store, be sure to include long-lasting blooms such as carnations, mums, coreopsis, larkspur, bee balm, peonies, phlox, rudbeckia, salvia and zinnias.  Choose the cooler hours of the day to cut the flowers for your arrangements to minimize moisture loss.  Use a clean container of fresh water to hold the flowers as you cut them.  Condition your flowers by cutting one to two inches off the stems, placing them in a deep pail of cold water and leaving them in a cool spot for a few hours and they will last longer when brought inside.  This method also rejuvenates cut flowers that have wilted.

When you are ready to arrange your flowers, be sure to re-cut the stems diagonally to give them a larger surface to absorb water.  Do this under water to prevent air bubbles from forming.  Some plants with woody stems, such as lilacs or forsythia, will draw more water if the stems are crushed.

Peonies will last longer if cut when the buds are just beginning to open and if the stems are slit one to two inches.  Be sure the containers are scrupulously clean to avoid bacteria growth that will clog up the stems and prevent water absorption.

To prolong the life of your arrangements, add either two teaspoons of mouthwash, a sugar cube, an aspirin or a little bleach to the water. Change the water in the container frequently and keep any leaves and thorns above the waterline to keep bacteria at bay.

Position your flowers by inserting your “filler” flowers such as baby’s breath, ferns or Queen Anne’s lace. Then insert the other more colourful flowers into this background.  Alternatively, place the larger flowers that will form the skeleton of your arrangement first and fill in the empty spaces with the other flowers and leaves. It’s easier to work with florists’ oasis or a “frog” to hold the stems firmly in place, but soak the oasis before using by holding it underwater for 30 seconds.

Combinations of flowers and leaves with different forms and textures creates more visual interest. Arrangements of various sizes of hosta leaves and grasses are quick and easy to create.  A gnarled branch or two inserted into this arrangement creates a look worthy of an art gallery.

Combining flowers of the same intensity in colour  is more visually stunning than mixing pastels with vibrant colours.

Another rule of thumb is that your arrangement should be no more than 2 ½ times the height of your container.

Take the time to craft your own flower arrangements.  Use your personal flair and think outside the conventional ideas for containers and arrangements. Above all, don’t worry about what anyone else thinks of your creations. You’ll soon find that if you like the way they look, everyone else will, too.

Anne Davis

Anne Davis is a Kimberley-based writer

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