Correct flower care does wonders for longevity

With the recent findings from Which? suggesting that some online flower deliveries might not last as long as you would hope, we have decided to put together a  short guide for getting the most enjoyment out of your cut flowers.

There are a lot of myths surrounding flower care, but following some simple guidelines should give your bouquet the best chance of looking great for as long as possible.

• Put your flowers in water as soon as possible – even if you’re waiting to prepare or arrange your flowers properly, it’s vital that they aren’t kept out of water too long.
• Remove any leaves that will be below the line of the water when placed in the vase – submerged leaves will tend to rot and create a bacterial environment.
• Don’t overfill the vase with water – it will only be absorbed by the flowers at the end of the stems anyway. Filling around 1/3 of the vase is usually about right.
• Use a flower preservative in the water – this is often supplied with bouqets and will help prevent bacteria developing. If you don’t have any flower preservative, a teaspoon of bleach added to the water will do the same job.
• Cut around 1cm off the bottom of the stems at a 45 degree angle using secateurs or a sharp knife (blunt household scissors can crush the stem) – this will allow the flowers to drink more easily than a straight, dirty cut. Some people prefer to cut the stems underwater to prevent air bubbles getting into the stems and interfering with the plants absorbing water.
• Avoid standing your flowers in lemonade or other non-water liquids – although lemonade contains the sugar your flowers will need, the preservative you use will almost certainly contain plant food anyway. Using lemonade is more likely to encourage harmful bacteria in your vase.
• Keep your flowers cool – nothing wilts flowers more quickly than standing them next to a warm radiator. If you absolutely need to have your bouquet in a warm room, try to move them somewhere colder overnight e.g. a hallway. Also try to keep your flowers out of direct sunlight or strong draughts.
• Change the water on a regular basis to keep it fresh and clean – daily if you aren’t using a preservative, weekly if you are.
• Remove dead or dying flowers as soon as you can – like fruit that is on the turn, flowers that are past their best emit ethylene gas, which will speed up the wilting of other flowers in the same bouquet.

Step 1

Step 1

Create your first loop, leave a long tail end.

Step 2

Step 2

Fold the ribbon over to form your second loop, hold firmly in the centre.

Step 3

Step 3

Bring the ribbon around to the front, hold in place and then create your last loop.

Step 4

Step 4

Still holding the centre firmly, now trim the excess ribbon to create the second tail piece equal in length to the first.

Step 5

Step 5

Secure the centre of the bow using a piece of fine silver wire.

Step 6

Step 6

Adjust the loops if necessary.  Use the excess wire to attach the bow to your arrangement etc.

Orchid Pot Et Fleur

Fancy a few pointers for an exquisite Orchid design with plenty of detailed ideas, well look no further…..  here’s what we did

Start by placing the Orchid plant in the Summer planter to the left hand side.  Take your brick of floral foam and cut it to fit it into the remaining space.  Allow the foam to stand ‘proud’ of the planter by about 0.5cm.

Soak the foam and then using a plastic Pinholder and Oasis Fix, secure the foam to the base of the planter.  For added stability use a couple of strips of Clear Pot Tape across the top of the foam onto the sides of the planter.

Now carefully remove the support sticks from the Orchid plant and using the Raspberry Bullion Wire, wind it around each of the sticks to decorate the whole length of the stick, then cut and secure the wire to itself, before replacing the sticks back in the Orchid pot.

Fig 1 - using the sisal

Use pieces of Sisal to disguise the foam and tape, allow the Sisal to overhang the planter to soften the straight edges.  (Refer to fig 1.)

Trim the Antirrhinum stems so that they graduate down in height, and remove any unwanted leaves.  Place the tallest stem in the centre and towards the back of the foam. Then place the second and third stems a little in front of each other, so that they ‘step down’ from left to right and from back to front.

Repeat this positioning technique with the Alstroemeria; place the first Alstroemeria stem in the gap between the Orchid and the first Antirrhinum stem (but bring it forward a couple of centimetres.)

Cut each Germini flower to its correct height before supporting and strengthening each stem by using the Green Stub Wire (wind one piece of wire gently around the length of each stem.) Using the photo as a guide, position the Germini behind and in front of the already positioned flowers.

Fig 2 - Inserting the pink pearl pins

Fig 3 - twirl your bullion wire

Take the spray Carnations and allow one stem as the highest position next to the Antirrhinum and then trim the rest down so they graduate in height when placed on the right of the Antirrhinums.  Before using these stems, gently twirl the Bullion wire in a random and loose fashion up and down the stems and around the flowers. (Refer to Fig 3).

Lastly create your own Bullion Wire flower to place in the front right hand corner of the planter.  To do this hold about a 9cm length of wire which will be the stem and then making large loops of

Fig 4 - Secure using wire

Bullion wire, which fold over back to the base of the stem, repeat this several times to create a large flower. Finish by winding the wire around the stem several times to secure.  (Refer to Fig 4.)

Push the Bullion Flower into the Foam and decorate with a single Chrysanthemum head and two Skeleton leaves. 

Voila!  You’re Finished!

And just in case you didn’t manage to spot all the ‘ingredients’ used here’s a checklist…

Workbox Products  used:

For ease of reference we have included the Workbox product codes if you fancy using them in your own creation.

1 x Summer Planter S/2 – White (Code 17748)

1 x Wet Foam Brick (Code 17075)

1 x Pinholder – Green (Code 13267)

1 x Roll Mini Fix Adhesive Tack (Code 10620)

1 x Carbon Blade Scissors (Code 10633)

1 x Roll Clear Pot Tape (Code 14978)

1 x Reel Raspberry Bullion Wire (Code 15840)

1 x Pack Lilac Sisal (Code 13693)

4 x 12”Green Stub Wires 22swg (Code10728)

1 x Box Strong Pink Pearl Pins – 03.5mm (Code 14139)

1 x Box Lilac Skeleton Leaves (Code 15790)

Flowers Used:

1 x Phalaenopsis Orchid plant

3 x Stems of Pink Antirrhinums

3 x Stems of Pink Alstroemeria

4 x Cerise Pink Germini

2 x Sprays Chrysanthemums Green Kermit

3 x White Spray Carnations

Our Elegant Orchid

Presentation Sundries:
Wire Wool 12m – Green

Silks:
1 Stem Ivy – Green

Workroom Sundries:
1x Wet Brick Floral Foam
Clear Pot Tape
12” Green Stub Wire 19swg

Fresh Flowers:
 
1 x Cymbidium Orchid
1 Stem Pink Phlox
1 stem Contorted Willow
1 Stem Green Chrysanthemums
2 Stems White Spray Carnations
3 x Purple Liatris
1 Stem Scimia, 

 Method:

Trim the foam brick to fit the glass container, secure in position with clear pot tape. 

Getting the vase ready

Add water to the vase to soak  the foam.

Take 60cm of wire wool, fold-over 2cm of wool at one end to neaten and then carefully wind the wool down the length of the Orchid stem.

adding the wire wool

Place the Orchid into the foam towards the back and left of centre.  Position the contorted Willow, just behind the Orchid stem to the left of the flower.

Trim the Liatris stems (so that they graduate down in height). Place the tallest stem at an angle, slanting away from the Orchid stem. 

Positioning the stems

Following this angle now place the other two stems; bringing each one forward a couple of centimetres.

Position four of the Scimia flowers in front of the Orchid. Use the Spray Carnations to balance the left side of the arrangement, (against the Liatris). Trim the Phlox spray and place two pieces on the right hand side of the arrangement. Now use the ivy to complete the lower corner of the triangle shape you have formed.

Fill any bare spaces with small pieces of the wire wool, which will need to be secured with stub wire into the foam.

Silk Flowers Used:
17128 – Pink Lilac
16399 – Cream Tulips
16396 – Lily of the Valley

Presentation Sundries:
17117 – Black Pearls on Wire
16071 – Blue Mist Butterflies on Wire
13884 – Black Metallic Wire
17257 – Black Midelino Sticks
13676 – Olive Coloured Moss

Ceramics:
16962 – Black Dallas 06.5

Workroom sundries:
10633 – Carbon Blade Scissors    �
15298 – Green Parafilm
10728 – Green 22swg wires 12”
10726 – Green 20swg wires 12”
17076 – Dry Foam Brick
10611 – Glue Gun

Method:

Fit the dried oasis snugly in the ceramic pot.  Take ten Midelino sticks and bind together using the black metallic wire down the whole length. Repeat this step again with a further ten sticks. Use the black wire to secure 3” of the two sets of sticks together at one end. Now use the 20swg wire to secure (anchor) the heart into the dried oasis (See photo 1).

Cover the top of the oasis with a thick layer of the moss.

Trim and wire the individual flower stems, foliage and pearls to your desired lengths.

Now it’s time to add your flowers.  Start at the back of the arrangement.  Place flowers and foliage to hide the wires securing the Midelino sticks (See photo 2). 

Return to the front of your arrangement and begin positioning the foliage around the edges.  Take the key flowers (In this case: Tulips) and position 4 diagonally across the arrangement.  Take a further 2 Tulips and position to the right of the diagonal.  Finally add the 1 remaining Tulip to the left of the diagonal (See photo 3).

To ‘balance’ the arrangement, add the Pearls, sprigs of Lilac and Lily of the Valley in the gaps (See photo 3). Finally as a finishing touch, glue some individual lilac flowers onto the Midelino heart, and place a Butterfly at an angle.

The Finished Article!

Items used:

13174 Design Ring
10397 Natural Moss
10726 12” 20swg Green Wire
17168 Glitter Bush
15383 Wire Leaf Stems-White
13643 Ivory Candle 280/100
13627 Ivory Candle 265/60
13632 Ivory Candle 165/60

Tools used:

10633 Scissors
13414 Wire Cutters
15298 Parafilm – Green

Method

Start by completely covering the foam with the moss. Tip: keep the pieces of moss in place by cutting the green wire into 8/10 cm lengths and then bending them over to make a ‘hairpin’, push these through the moss into the foam.    

Design Ring

Mossed Ring

Next, separate the individual flowers and leaves from the main stem. Trim each individual flower stem down to a shorter length and if necessary use the green wire to strengthen and/or lengthen any flower or leaf stems which may be too thin or short to push securely through the moss into the foam.

Now carefully choose where to place the main key flowers into the foam. Tip:-use an odd number e.g. 3, 5 or 7 flowers, depending on the size of the flower heads, to be the first ones to be spaced around the ring. Once these key flowers are in place you can fill in the gaps using the smaller flowers or buds.

Close up detail of the rosed ring

Once you are pleased with ‘balance’ of the flower positions you can fill in any gaps with the foliage.

To give this arrangement a seasonal touch we added a little Christmas sparkle by adding the white wire leaf stems.

Finally we chose three candles in different heights to sit in the base of the Design Ring.

This arrangement is very versatile; you could change the colour scheme of the candles and seasonal accessories to red, gold or silver then add small Christmas ribbons and bows or berries and cones to keep the seasonal theme, but change the appearance to suit your own colour schemes.

 Bubble Bowl Centre Piece

Bubble Bowl Centre Piece

Items Used:
15984 Bubble Bowl 4.5”
13267 Pin holders
10620 Fix Adhesive Tack, Mini
17416 Candle Ring-Gold Berry & Pine H3

Method:
As you can see we’ve used a 4.5” Bubble Bowl and an Ivory Taper candle (Red Taper candles also look stunning in this arrangement.)First push a small plastic Pin Holder into a Gold Berry Candle Ring, and then secure this piece to the base of the bowl using a small piece of Fix Adhesive Tack. Place another small piece of Fix Adhesive Tack onto the bottom of the candle and then push the candle through the Candle Ring foliage onto the base of the Bubble Bowl. Ensure the candle sits upright. Voila this create is now complete.

Jingle Bells Planter

Jingle Bells Planter

Items used:
17397 Basket Fabric – Green, Dk
17446 Jingle Bells – Red
16115 Ribbon – Green Sparkle
10728 Stub Wire – Green 07 22swg
10611 Glue Gun & 13409 Glue Sticks

Method:
This Create turns this very versatile lined basket into a seasonal delight: Make a full bow from our sparkly wired edge ribbon and secure with a small piece of green stub wire. Glue the Jingle bells to the rim of the basket and then carefully place the bow on top using a small dab of glue. You could vary this look by using the other colours in the ranges. What could be an easier or quicker way to transform and personalise your baskets and planters?

Winter Aviary Planter

Winter Aviary Planter

Items Used:
17494 Aviary
17341 Occasions Roses, Tiny – Cream
17359 Gingham Ribbon – Green Moss
15298 Parafilm – Green x2
10728 Stub Wire – Green 07 22swg
10611 Glue Gun & 13409 Glue Sticks
Method
We chose to place a small potted Ivy in the planter, however you could plant small spring bulbs such as crocus or maybe Tete a Tete daffodils to add an extra dimension to this very cute planter. To decorate, trim a small spray from the roses and stick to the roof of the Aviary using a glue gun. We then made a full bow from a complementary ribbon (secure the bow with a piece of stub wire and leave a ‘stem’ to push into the soil, we also wrapped green Parafilm around the wire to neaten any wire showing.).Now select a small spray from the roses, trim its stem down to a couple of centimetres and strengthen using the stub wire and as before leave a long stem bound with Parafilm to push into the soil. Arrange the bow and flowers close to each other at a pleasing angle. Again you chose a different colour ribbon or flower to suit your own ideas.

Cinnamon and Spruce Tray

Cinnamon and Spruce Tray

What could be more Christmassy – the combination of cinnamon and spruce

Items used:
17426 Willow Rim Plant Tray – Green
17392 Berry Spruce Pick
17359 Gingham Ribbon – Green Moss
10728 Stub Wire – Green 07 22swg
10611 Glue Gun & 13409 Glue Sticks
Cinnamon Stick

Method:
Break a cinnamon stick into three pieces and tie together with a small piece of Stub wire. Firmly wrap a piece of ribbon around the group of cinnamon, securing the end with a dab of glue, allow time to dry. Trim a piece of the Spruce so that it sits neatly on the side of the planter. Attach this to the planter at a jaunty angle using the glue gun. Once the Spruce is secure, glue the cinnamon bundle on top. For a finishing touch glue a couple of berries onto the middle of the ribbon. You could also use orange slices with a different coloured ribbon to change the ‘aroma’ of this Create.

Bubble Bowl Surprise

Our customers often ask us for new ideas to use with their regular stock: So we were pleased to discover that by placing a Kensington Posy Vase inside the 9.5” Bubble Bowl you can then add a different dimension to the Bowl.

We’ve used Crystal Accents to surround the Vase, but you could try using water (clear or coloured) or Marbles, Coloured Sand, Dew Drops etc. And of course the choice of flowers that you can use is endless!

Glass Vases Used: 9.5” Bubble Bowl, Kensington Posy Vase

Workroom items used: Green Stub Wire 12” x 20g wires, Green Parafilm, Scissors,

Presentation items used:  1x Packet Crystal Accents – Rose, Butterfly O/Wire – Pink, Butterfly O/Wire – Red

How to create :  Start by following the instructions on how to prepare the Crystal Accents (allow at least a couple of hours for the Crystals to swell)

Close up of the crystal accents

Place the Crystals in the Bubble Bowl and then very carefully place the trimmed flower heads into the Crystals, spacing them apart to allow for the Posy vase to be placed into the centre.

Preparing the butterflies

For the final touch we chose two Butterflies in complementary shades to the flowers. We then extended each Butterfly’s wire stem with a 12”, 20swg stub wire (binding them with Green Parafilm)  so that we could add the Butterflies at jaunty angles to the arrangement.

Butterfly placed in the flowers

Every bride is looking for the perfect wedding, the enjoyment on the day is one aspect, capturing the day forever is another.  Long after the day has passed, family and friends will continue to discuss and reminisce, leafing through the photographs, DVDs, even the old videos. They will coo over how beautiful the bride and her bridesmaids looked, they will smile at the “risky” best mans speech and adore or curse the weather!  On the odd occasion the ladies will appreciate the beauty and artistry of the cake and the flowers.

So what’s our point? Flowers may not be the first memory of the day if you get them right – they will be, if you get them wrong!  This is why we think brides should keep focused until the buttonholes , wristlets and corsages have been finalised!

Buttonholes – Brides, Keep control of the colour scheme!

Buttonholes are a relatively new development – well, not that new.  In Elizabethan England the bride and grooms carried nosegays (A posy containing herbs and fragrant flowers) – lucky for the grooms of today that tradition has died!  Later during Queen Victoria’s reign the groom would select a single flower from his bride’s bouquet to create his buttonhole. Today the groom, his father, the best man and the ushers all wear buttonholes that match and most importantly should complement the bride’s and bridesmaid flowers. To be really thorough the floral scheme should also be carefully tied in with the decorations used at the venue to avoid any colour clashes in the photographs.

So what’s important to remember about your buttonholes:-

• Will you decide to use fresh or silk flowers – this decision will be influenced by the season/time of year, the location of the wedding and whether the piece is going to be kept as a memento and of course personal preference.  Remember the quality of silks are greatly improved!
• How securely the Buttonhole is going to be worn- Will it be fastened or attached by corsage magnets and /or decorative pins: you will need to consider the thickness and fragility of the fabrics that are going to be worn.
• The finish of the piece- a simple taped stem using green or white Parafilm or an ornate silver filigree holder- again think carefully about the fabrics/clothing worn.

Wristlets

Wristlets are mainly worn by the bridesmaids, who can vary in age range from tiny tots to Matrons of Honour. (Wristlets are also very popular with teenagers to complement their Prom dresses.) So it’s important to choose the right design for a comfortable and secure fit.

Wristlets come in a variety of designs:

• A simple Velcro strap- this can be altered to fit any wrist size and is covered by the flowers, ribbons and lace etc.
• Pearl bracelets – Ivory, White or Black. The pearls are threaded onto elastic, so will stretch and fit snugly around an adult’s wrist. They could also be kept as a memento of the special day.
• Rock Candy design (Clear or Black) These pretty diamante wristlets are also made using elasticated thread. Of the three designs, this is the most ornate and would need very little additional accessorising. Again this could also be kept as a memento of the day.

The outcome of your photographs are always in the lap of the gods, there is always a joker in the family, but one thing you can control are the flowers, with complementary colours, beautiful presentation and an aura of freshness. 

It is a little tongue in cheek to suggest these aspects of the wedding are THE most important aspect, just don’t forget them!  Talk to your florist about the products we have mentioned to get very best out of your partnership.

Whilst you use it daily, do you understand the science to get the best out of your foam?  Well let’s try and fill in a few gaps:-

• It’s Green or brown in colour.  Green is used for wet work (generally with fresh flowers) and brown is dry work(generally silks and dried flowers)
• It holds 40 times its weight in water. In other words a full brick of foam will hold about 2 litres of water.
• When Oasis ® designed their foam they managed to reproduce the biological make-up of plant stem cell structure.  The cells enable a capillary action which draws water in the base of the foam and draws it to the top – just like the stem of a flower does. 
• Due to the foams unique structure it retains water in the cells, so once the water is in it doesn’t leak back out. 
• When you are assembling your floral arrangement and insert a flower stem say 1” into a 4” brick of foam you are effectively increasing the flower stems length by a further 3” – due to the replication of the cell structure.  The foam allows the stem to draw water from it. 
• As long as there is water in the container  it will be drawn through the foam and up into the stem.  The longer you get your customers to put water in the container, the longer your flowers will last.  Remind your customers it’s just like watering their house plants!  

Today, floral foam exists in a number of forms to help with arrangements, weddings and floral tributes, so there is always a short cut to prepare your bridal bouquets, your teddy bear tribute or even your 3D football on a pitch. 

So remember encourage your customers to give your creations a drink of water to get the highest level of enjoyment from your work.