Our Version of Girl Therapy
Our Dearest Flowers,
You might have heard the warning — “working with flowers may cause feelings of happiness and increase levels of self-worth.” Sold. Not much brightens a room, and a mood, like a beautiful arrangement of florals. It sets the tone for your home, event, table scape, whatever the purpose may be. But what if you could also take credit for that arrangement? Welcome to my version of girl therapy.
Flowers don’t last — and they are not supposed to. It is that fleeting beauty that harnesses us to stay present and like all other art forms there are no rules. With so many variations, colors, shapes and seasonal blooms, the beauty of floral arranging lies in trial, error, practice, pride and appreciation, but a little guidance never hurts. So we tapped our editor in chief, Heather Marie for her budding tips from picking your first floret to lowering your floral inhibitions, so consider this your intro to arranging, or our version of flowers for dummies.
THE STATEMENT
Consider the type of statement you want to make. My first arrangement is surprisingly an all artificial arrangement. I envisioned neutral, summer, garden party, fluffy and somewhat asymmetrical. Little tip, I find arrangements appear much more summery and impactful with as little foliage as possible. Muted blush and nude shades set the tone with length variations to appear somewhat unbalanced, but in the most delightful way.
IT STARTS WITH ONE
Like looking at a blank canvas, it can be intimidating to decide which floral to incorporate first. My advice, just pick one and roll with it. It is not permanent and unlike painting, flowers can be interchanged to what pleases your eye. I began by working smack dab in the middle and incorporating at least one to two longer stemmed florals for my “imbalanced” look. Then it was just working my way out. Very important, look at your vase and arrangement from all angles, sometimes the hole in the back is one flower away from a perfect arrangement.
THE BASE OF IT ALL
Now for the base, check out local thrift stores and pottery stores for the perfect vase. For an arrangement incorporating many different florals, a wider, shorter vase works best. A pop of color, like this soft sage or pistachio tone added the perfect pop of “foliage” and was the only leafy color I want anywhere near one of my arrangements. Strip the floral to its bare stems, trust me.
THE TOOLS YOU DID NOT KNOW YOU NEEDED
A run of the mill pool noodle, easily cuttable and perfect for holding florals in the spot you want. Scissors, of course. And tape, because a statement arrangement is nothing if it does not remain in its place.
Take your time and enjoy the process. Arranging flowers should be fun, with no pressure and has been shown to lift moods and release stress. Take pride in your work and take time to smell the product even, unless they happen to be fake. Here are some of the artificial’s I used that tricked even the most savvy of eyes.