Saturday, September 29, 2012

Hydrangea

A simple home remedy when putting hydrangea into floral foam and making it last longer is to dip the cut end into alum.  This came from Leanne @ Flower Design Institute.

Look us up on facebook:  Peacock Florist and Gifts.  We are on Trip Adviser, read some of the testimonials.  You can find us on www.bloomnation.com and put in 98362 or www.edenscapes1.com

We look forward to hearing from you, Anne & Jack Peacock

You can easily arrange flowers

You can easily make floral arrangements for yourself or your church or friends.  Go to your nearest craft store and buy a few supplies or ask to buy them from your local florist.  Supply list:  Bubble Vase, clear adhesive floral tape, sharp knife, aquafresh packet, sweetpea flowers, 3 different foliage. 

Go to Wal-Mart if you can't find a bubble vase at a thrift shop or the Goodwill store.  Fill your vase 1/2 way with aquafresh.  You can get a packet from your local florist.  This has flower nutrients and anti-bacterial inhibitors in it.  Make sure your vase is clean and dry.  Then you will need some clear floral tape to make a grid. Try to do 3-4 lines across and then 3-4 across the other direction.  Once you make a grid, you need to take tape all the way around to fasten all those pieces of tape down around the outside. 

Okay, here's the fun part.  Go out into your yard and gather 3 different foliage.  Not only will these give your arrangement interest because of the different textures, but they also give a weave to hold your flowers in place.  We are going to go monochromatic, which means one color.  Sweetpeas work wonderful in this because they have beautiful texture and are short enough for the vase.  You want them to be 1-1/2 times the height of the vase, the taller flower being in the middle and tiering down to shorter around the outside. Easiest way is by doing triangles and make sure you drop them below the line of the vase to break the plane and give your arrangement some points of interest. Don't be afraid to take foliage or flowers out and re cut them down to size.  You don't want anything to be overwhelming, especially foliage, it's only a support for your flowers.  You want it to be light and airy.   If you don't have sweetpeas, try something else that you can fill that is simple, monochromatic, and has texture.  White lilies work well for funerals and weddings.

Cut your flowers at an angle with a knife.  Don't cut with clippers because you crush the stem which creates air bubbles and your flowers will droop.  Cutting at an angle gives more space for your stem to drink water.  Make sure there is no foliage in the water because this will cause bacteria and rot your flowers.

To order flowers from me:  http://www.edenscapes1.com  or go to http://www.bloomnation.com and put in zip code 98362 You can go to facebook and put Peacock Florist and Gifts into the search and hit like.