My love for gardening started one day when a house I was renting had a very lovely rambling rose bush called "New Dawn". The pink-hued white blossoms smelled so heavenly that I just had to cut a few branchesto take into the house. Everytime I walked past them, the fragrance caught my attention, and so did the look of having real flowers in the house. I couldn't really afford to buy cut flowers, and I didn't seem to luck out with flower-bearing boyfriends so I decided that
growing my own was the way to go. Here's a few tips I've learned to help keep my house and flowers in blooms.
When cutting flowers to bring indoors always make sure whatever tool you use, whether it be scissors, garden shears, or a knife, is sharp. Poorly cut stems result in constrictions which prevents water flowing to the flower, and also harms the remaining plant.
Tools you may need to aid in flower arranging are:
- small sharp knife
- needle nose pliers
- wire cutters
- fine wire
- sharp shears
- florist foam
- & twist ties
Flower arranging design basically starts with the container, the style of the room it will be displayed in, and where in the room it will be showcased. Then use those considerations when deciding on the arrangements shape such as an arc, oval, triangle, cascade, windswept, narrow & verticle or wide and fanned.
Leaves and branches enhance the overall look. Don't crowd too many flowers at once as it takes away from their beauty and individuallity.
Containers must be clean and shiny to maintain the life expectancy of the flowers, and green buildup or soil on clear glass will detract from the overall effect of the display.
Room temperature should ideally be maintained at 40 to 50 degrees F. Low humidity & high temperatures will shorten the life span of fresh flowers. Frost free fridges are low in humidity.
Add some food color to water in clear containers to dress up a flower arrangement. However, the flower petals will eventually absorb the color and become stained, especially white ones.
Use pipecleaners or straws to extend short stemmed flowers in tall vases. Insert the stems into drinking straws, or slit the stems and wrap one end of the pipe cleaner around it and it acts like a water wick.
Do not rest flower stems against the bottom or sides of the container. Doing so blocks the water from the stem and getting to the flower. Remove any leaves below the water level to avoid decay. Scrape & split woody stems of stems such as chrysanthemums & roses. Strip the leaves of flowers such as zinnias and marigolds or other plants which have pungent smelling leaves. The foliage can be replaced with other greens.
Add salt, aspirin, or charcoal to the water help keep flowers fresher longer. Add about a teaspoon of salt in new arrangments, a couple of aspirin to wilting flowers, and a piece of charcoal to thick stemmed plants afer a couple of days to slow down the decay of their stems.
Charming ways to add flowers in your home include filling a wide glass bowl with pebbles and water, add a floating candles and a few fresh flower tops. Accent table settings with flower stems tucked in napkin rings, or a wreath of fresh flowers around pillar candles.
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