When you first bring your flowers home from the store take off the cellophane and put the flowers in water with plant food. It is very important you use plant food as this will increase the life of your flowers. Remove any excess foliage or greenery at the bottom of the flower because if leaves are left below the water line they will rot.
If no plant food is included with the flowers you can use one teaspoon of sugar to a gallon of water and add an aspirin to help keep the water clean. Of course plant food is better but this will work in lieu of food.
Make sure you purchase floral shears for cutting flowers as scissors and knives can tear or damage the stem. Cut the stem on an angle, not straight across. This will permit better water absorption.
Change the water in the vase every two to three days. Trim the stems again when you change the water to increase longevity.
Add fresh plant food when you change the water as well. You can purchase little packets of plant food at most nurseries for about ten cents per pack. Keep a few on hand.
Flowers actually keep better in indirect light as opposed to direct bright light. It is also best not to place flowers near heaters, vents, drafts, or on fridges or televisions.
It is important to use vases that are sparkly clean. You can get great results by adding denture cleaner to a vase. They will come out squeaky clean. You can use chlorine bleach and a scouring brush to get vases clean as well.
When arranging your flowers you can use one big flower or bunch a few small ones together for a similar effect. Placing the larger flower in the center is best in a vase arrangement. A vase should be about one half the height of the flowers.
Place your stronger, bolder colored flowers in the center of the vase and the lighter colors on the outside. You can choose different types of flowers but try to keep them in the same family of colors or have colors that are complimentary to each other like a yellow and blue flower.
Always work with an odd number of flowers like three, five or seven. This is more visually appealing. Place large stems in the center. Always start by putting the green foliage into the vase first and then fill in the flowers.
If the flowers appear limp take them out of the vase and place them in cold water for one hour. Then take them out and shake off the excess water and put back into the vase.
Experiment and stand back and observe your work…
Buy magazines, go to a nursery or go online to see how they do their arrangements for additional design ideas. Have fun with this. You will get better the more you practice.