I have something to confess. I have a weakness for Ornamental Cabbage. Weird right? I don't know what it is about it, maybe the colours, different textures or that when I see it I know fall/ Christmas is around the corner?! Whatever it is, I was drawn to it yesterday at one of my favorite flower shops on Avenue Road (Toronto). They were so tiny, pale pink and white- I knew I had to have them. And then I saw Fringed Tulips, and it was over- I knew I was going to have to make a full on arrangement. I first saw Fringed Tulips at a wedding show last January and I so badly wanted them at my wedding- but they were not in season so I moved on. This was the first time I have seen them since- wait until they are open, they are crazy-beautiful.
I want to show you the basics of creating your own flower arrangement at home today. It's so worth it, and the pre-made arrangements you can buy are just so nasty and filled with 'filler' (leaves, babies breath, blah). Limit yourself to 3 different flowers, I pulled the cream and the pink out of the cabbage to find my combination. In general, I am SO NOT a pink and white person, but something weird came over yesterday and I went with it.
Start by unwrapping your flowers, remove the packaging and find a vase that you want to work with. Once you have that covered, fill your vase with cold water and mix in the plant food- this is key if you want your flowers to last. I always ask for extra so I have a few lying around the house if a florist forgets.
Now, I know there is a special tool for this (I have seen Martha use it) (...you know, Martha Stewart...duh), but I am not a florist, so I use my hands- peel back any leaves on the flowers stem that will be in the water. This is an important step, the leaves will start to rot in the water and really reduce the life of the fresh water in your vase and the flowers in general.
Once you have removed all the stems, start making your arrangement in your hand- yes, pick up one flower, put it beside another and continue adding- do not put them in the vase (you cant fit as many flowers and the shape is harder to control).
If the arrangement starts to get to large to hold in your hand, you can secure the stems with an elastic which will hold everything together until you are ready to trim the ends. Continue to add until you are happy with the shape and design of your arrangement, secure an elastic around the stems and hold your arrangement up to your vase to decide how much of the stems to cut off. Remember you can always cut more off, but you can't add!
Once you are happy with the height of the arrangement, cut off the elastic and place the flowers in your vase. I put mine into the vase picture above and they flopped everywhere (the vase was too open at the top) so I had to switch up the vase- no biggy- trial and error people! The arrangement is pretty... but honestly... it is SO not me. I totally wish I didn't buy pink, it looks like a really nice wedding arrangement or baby shower arrangement- not a fall-ish awesome arrangement. Oh well better luck next week!
I had a few extra tulips that I cut down to fit in a small vase above my kitchen sink. This one is a bit more me, super simple and pretty. I hope this helps with your next arrangement, have fun with it!
Happy Tuesday Peeps.
ps... this may or may not be coming tomorrow...
Totally did that... and it kind of just made my day...
xo
C
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