Flowers for the home

The power of flowers is extraordinary. Flowers can speak a million words; they are used to celebrate love, birth, growth, life, and so much more.

Nature is beautiful, and we are fortunate in New Zealand to be surrounded by so much of it. Welcoming nature brings life into your home, generating happiness and lifting moods. I love being a florist because the feeling of brightening someone’s day with something grown by our wonderful earth is my favourite thing.

When arranging a bouquet or arrangement, there are fundamental ingredients to consider that will help you create something effortlessly beautiful. Structural foliage establishes the framework and forms shape. You are likely to have some in your garden.

Once you have made your base, add supporting flowers. Supporting ingredients mimic the existing framework and create a nest for our next ingredients. These flowers come with many heads (spray flowers) and will infuse colour into the arrangement and complement the other ingredients.

Focal flowers are the featured blooms that are highlighted by all of the other ingredients; they are typically larger. Lastly, you can include airy accents that add magic to an arrangement and can take it to the next level.

Something further to consider when bringing life into the home is to use bud vases. When you see flowers en masse, it’s easy to overlook their individuality. By utilising a bud vase, we focus on one flower and its beauty. Placing bud vases around the home can be a simple and effective way to appreciate and enjoy the power of blooms.

My tips for bringing flowers into the home and caring for flowers.

• Remove lower leaves from stems: Foliage remaining on the stem will quickly decay once it’s submerged in water. The bacteria created during the decaying process can build up and prevent the stem ends from taking up
water

• Keep your flowers in a cool spot, away from fruit: Flowers last longer when kept away from heat, bright light, and ripening fruit and vegetables, which emit ethylene gas that can shorten vase life.

• Cut on a 45-degree angle and put straight into water: Give flowers a big drink before arranging. Make sure to leave the flowers in a cool place for 1 to 3 hours to take in water; this will bring the blooms to a perky condition and make them less wilt-prone.

• Always use clean buckets and vases: Thoroughly clean vessels with hot soapy water before putting flowers into them. Make the vase clean enough that you would be happy to drink from them. Dirt and bacteria can quickly clog flower stems and will significantly shorten their vase life.

• Flower life varies dramatically from flower to flower: Fleeting blooms bear no ill-will; learn to appreciate this as part of their charm. Enjoy their beauty

I hope this inspires and helps you to get into the garden or pop into a florist to explore the joy of nature.

Article contributed by: Lulu Kelly, www.cellardaisy.co.nz