Planning your own arrangements can be very rewarding, but a few tips and tricks from years of experience (and learning from, er, mistakes) can help you have a more enjoyable experience.
Silk Flowers / Permanent Botanicals
Are you thinking of plans? Avoid paper, latex, and dry flowers – moisture and light can quickly damage or destroy them. Use dry and strong stems of artificial flowers and other permanent botanicals. A good coat of Design Masters Dresden Clear Glaze™ or Super Sealer™ works wonderfully to weather and color in. Any clear, waterproof lacquer spray would do the job. Sand, ash, logs, gravel, or plaster can all weigh down outdoor arrangements and protect your creatures from the wind. A great way for both of your designs to secure the material and prevent it from blowing away is to fill it partially with a container of moist play sand mixed with wet plaster of paris according to package directions. It is easy to move and place your flowers and dry them once arrangement since it is strong and stable and everything stays well A few drops of food plaster coloring added by mixing can create a colored plaster. Moss, sand, stones, or wet bark poultices can also be applied to camouflage.
Scotch Guard™ does a fabulous job keeping artificial flowers shiny and intact. It can be easily followed by applying several coats.
If your artificial powdery creation is placed in a> dryers, in “cold” or “no heat” it makes fabulous powdery silks and arrangements. Fusarium drives away any loose dust from artificial plants. You’ll want to do this outside so you don’t blow dust around your house. For larger plants and arrangements you can use a Swiffer™ duster or other static shock to “suck” the dust right off and leaves.
Did your fresh flowers wilt on the way home? The flowers will also drink through the tops as well as through the stems. Give them fresh and put them in warm water so that the whole flower is submerged.
Hydrangeas get their name from hydro! Spritz heads with clear water to prevent burns. Try this with Orchids, Birds of Paradise, Anthurium and Heliconia too!
Are your flowers clear enough to use? Give them a new cut and a new container or bucket of warm water for food, cover gently with a plastic bag or plastic wrap, and place in a warm area (preferably in the sun) to force unwanted buds to bloom.
Does the smell of lemons or baby breath put you off? Give it a spritz of Febreze™ or another fabric refresher and allow it to dry. Apply more coats if needed.
Certain types of foliage such as fern, tree fern, sprengeri, and feathery will start to shed terribly before the blooms in your arrangement. Coat the leaves well with a couple of coats of flash glue, or coats of shellac, to hold the leaves in place.
After years of crossbreeding stem length, color, petal count, and size, many commercially available cut roses have gradually become traditional scented roses. Daphnis rose baby perfume in a scented vase or ribbon can bring back that old scent to your office or your show home. You can also spray a rose scented air freshener gently, keeping a good 18″ away from you as you apply it.
Live flat
Do not forget that the dust of living plants – their pores are clogged and can not breathe. Use a damp cloth or bring the dusty Swiffer™ back to dust well. Many plants also benefit from a daily splash of clean water. The most important thing to remember about life planting is this – more plants from too much love than not enough. Too much water and too much fertilizer are the two most common causes of plant death. Read on to care for your particular plant and follow the suggestions – plants don’t “treat” well. A valuable online resource for all plant care providers.
Next time, funhave the most beautiful things in the dead If there is anything you would like to know about floral design, feel free to ask in the comment area of this article. Happy thinking!
