The following is a post from contributing writer Jacinda.
One of my favorite things about growing flowers in our garden is being able to enjoy the blooms in our house!
My first bouquet of the year usually consists of forsythia and pussy willows. Right now I’m enjoying bulbous bunches and lily-of-the valley sprigs in victorian tea cups. Pretty soon, those will be exchanged for magnificent peony blooms and billowy lilac branches.
Bringing the outdoors in rids any need for artificial air freshener and guarantees cheer to all who enter. Caring for your flowers properly will ensure long lasting, healthier-looking arrangements.
10 Ways to Build a Better Bouquet
- Once picked, cut flower stems on an angle to maximize their drinking potential and place them in water immediately.
- Harvest flowers first thing in the morning, before the sun is up, for longer lasting blooms.
- Remove any leaves or thorns that will be submerged. Leaves decay quickly in water, causing it to smell and turn green.
- Change the water daily, or refresh with cold water.
- If you want to use a flower with a broken stem, slip it through a drinking straw first and arrange as usual.
- Never mix bulbs with annuals.
- Revitalize flowers that are beginning to droop by trimming their stalks and plunging them into boiling water for 10 seconds, before placing them back in a vase of fresh water and a teaspoon of sugar.
- Gently pull (don’t cut) off the stamens from lilies if you’re worried about the pollen staining the rest of the petals, your tablecloth, or clothes.
- Spritzing your bouquet with cold water will help keep it looking perky.
- Never place a bouquet in direct sunlight, or near a heat source.
Dot W says
Another tip from a recovering florist–cut daffodil stems will release sort of a sap that will clog the stems of other flowers in the vase. Daffs are best as a stand-alone bouquet.