Can you feel it? Spring is just around the corner!
Daffodils are brightening the landscape across our area! I love these harbingers of Spring and thought you might enjoy seeing how I arrange them in bouquets.
With my empty vase and sidewalk just beginning to show signs of Spring,
my trusty assistant and I begin! ;-)
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| Kati Cat |
When arranging balanced, traditional, bouquets, I've been taught to think in thirds. Since the jonquil family can have floppy stems, I like to use a bit of tape. I place the tape so that it divides the vase into three parts. This happens to be very narrow, clear floral tape, but just about any narrow tape would work.
We're going to do that again. Cross two more tape strips evenly over the first ones, creating a nice little tic tac toe board! ;-) It's time to start cutting the greenery!
A total favorite for my arrangements is, of all things, gooseberry stems. I bet you didn't see that choice coming. I planted a
Gooseberry Bush along my sidewalk completely by mistake, thinking it was something else. It was a gift from a friend's garden. Even though it has been moved numerous times, that stubborn gooseberry is still along the sidewalk. I am constantly trimming it back, and so, it lands in bouquets. Keep that in mind if you ever plant a
Gooseberry. Make sure it is placed where you want it to be FOR EV ER. 'Just sayin'.
Place the greenery in every third slot crossing the stems.
Do it again. Can you see the grid forming in the bottom?
Keep placing them around the vase in every third slot until a stem will stand straight up for you in the middle. You might notice the center stem is Yaupon Holly. It needed a hair cut, too! ;-) Use plants that are ready for a trim and you complete a chore while you decorate your home! It's all about multi tasking, Girls! ;-)
I want this bouquet to be mostly daffodils, so some might say I am being a bit stingy with the greenery, but, of course, that is completely subjective to the look of each arrangement. Now for the fun part! The flowers!
Just like we began with the gooseberry branches, place the daffodils in every third slot crossing the stems at first. Continue with that nice grid in the bottom of the vase, working from the outside in. As you fill the center of the bouquet, the stems will be more upright. All those crossed stems will make that happen for you! Keep placing flowers at heights you prefer until you have the fullness you like. In a traditional arrangement, the flowers will be no taller than two times the height of the vase. Again, think in thirds to get balanced proportions.
I really don't have anything blooming right now that I wanted for filler, so I just tucked in some unopened daffodil blooms for a bit of texture. Here is my finished bouquet near some bunnies and a pot of violas.
Kati is happy with the results and so am I!
Hopefully, this little tutorial will give you an idea or two for creating something lovely in your home! What harbingers of Spring do you love the most?
;-) -Marci
