Floral designer Meg Gilliland shares tips on making creative arrangements with architecture salvage and items that can be found lying around the house.
- Line the bottom and sides of a glass vase with apple wedges and lemon slices, then add fresh flowers. The fruit will complement the arrangement as well as feed the flowers. Other fruits can be used as well, but lemons are necessary because they keep the fruit from browning. This is a perfect floral arrangement for a brunch.
- Look for unique salvaged items to use as containers for floral designs. Look around your house, or go to garage sales, antique stores or shops that specialize in architectural salvage.
- Use lampshades from sconces, molding, fruit crates or even tin cans as containers.
- Look for plant items to combine with flowers and create unique arrangements. Get permission to harvest items such as small branches of live trees or clippings from shrubs--both leafy and evergreen (oak, maple, cedar, and arborvitae are a few ideas). Also, look for mosses or succulents.
- Combine the found items with inexpensive flowers that can be purchased at a market or florist.
- Clean the container with a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach. An abrasive cleanser with bleach that is rinsed well will also work.
- A great way to add sparkle to a container is to do a gold or bronze dip. To get this effect, use gold or bronze floral spray paint, a bucket of water and a clear enamel spray. Spray the enamel on the surface of the water, then dip the pot into the water and rotate it to cover the entire outer surface of the container. The paint will adhere to the pot and give it a gold sparkle. Allow the paint to dry overnight, then seal it with a clear enamel spray (available at any hardware store).
- Always start a floral arrangement with a solid base to anchor your items. For example, use a grapevine or willow branches to form a ball to place in the bottom of the container. This serves as a nice decorative element and works well in glass containers. You can also purchase floral foam called Oasis from a craft store. Soak the foam in water before using it in your arrangement.
- When placing soft-stemmed flowers in the oasis, make a hole in the oasis with a ballpoint pen. By doing this, you will avoid bending or breaking the stem of the tulip when inserting it into the oasis.
- When inserting woody stems into an arrangement, make a fresh cut on the stem, then lightly pound the cut end with a hammer. This allows the stem to take in water more efficiently.
- Always use cold water when arranging spring flowers such as tulips, hyacinths or fritallarias. Warm water will cause the flowers to open up fast and not last as long.
- Some tips for working with tulips are to scrape a knife very lightly along the leaves, then dip the stems and leaves in cold water to rinse away any dirt. A unique way of displaying tulips is to offset the symmetry of your arrangement by opening up a tulip (called refluxing). Unlike other cut flowers, tulips will continue to grow in the arrangement. So, if the tulips in your arrangement start to nod and droop, they are just looking for the light.
