A Vision in White: The Monochromatic Checkerboard

Materials

Flowers
30 paper white daffodils
25 white ranunculas
25 white single tulips
15 white hyacinths

Small-headed spray roses make a good substitute if you can't find one of these flower varieties.

If you prefer a yellow design, substitute yellow daffodils for white ones, yellow freesias for tulips, yellow single roses for hyacinths and yellow spray roses for ranunculas.

Other Materials
white cube vase (7 x 7 inches)
raffia
florist’s scissors

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited

How to Arrange

1. Gather each variety of flower into a hand-tied bunch with the stems straight rather than spiraled: take two stems and add more flowers at an upright angle to them, turning the bunch around slightly in the same direction in your hand as you add to it. Each bunch must be roughly the same size, so use fewer hyacinth stems than you would narcissi, for example.

2. Tie each bunch at the binding point with a length of raffia.

3. Trim the stems of all the flowers to the same length.

4. Fill the vase two-thirds of the way with water. Arrange the bunches of flowers so that they stand upright in the vase and overhang the edges slightly. There should be no gaps between the separate “squares” of flowers. Finally, top off the vase with water.

Insider Tips
This design can be re-created in any size. The smaller the container, the fewer flowers you will need. Use a minimum of five stems of each flower to achieve the same look.

This arrangement should last for a week if you keep the flowers in good condition. You may need to re-cut the tulip stems more often than the other flowers, as they will continue to grow after they have been arranged.