Many people are put off from buying that glorious
spray of white blooms in the shop for fear of messing up the
arrangement when
they finally get home. Granted, flower arrangement is truly an
art form that can come alive in the hands of a gifted arranger.
But that does not mean you can make your own creative arrangements
for you, the family, and a visitors’ enjoyment.
• Household
Containers
Even if you haven't got a single vase in the
house, you can still enjoy cut flowers. Wine, beer, and mineral
water
bottles come
in interesting shapes and colours. These containers effectively
make arrangement a very basic affair that anyone can do.
Choose
flowers with large heads like gerbera, lilies, orchids
or sunflowers - add one stem per bottle and line them up on
your
mantelpiece
for instant style.
Jugs, teapots, tumblers and even jam jars can all be used
for displaying flowers and other plants. With smaller containers
such as teapots and jam jars, the flowers look better with
the stems cut short. This style makes the flowerheads appear
to "float" on
the rim of the pot. Choose flowers with full heads like dahlias,
carnations, chrysanthemums and daffodils. Mass in separate
colours, or fill out with interesting foliages for a rural
countryside
look. Glasses and jars can also be put inside more attractive
non-waterproof containers to hold the water for the flowers.
• Colourful Alternates
Maybe you have a
lot of flower vases, but you think it's ugly, or the colour
doesn't go with your flowers. Try
wrapping
a piece of cloth, like a scarf, around it by placing the vase in the
middle, pull up the fabric around, and tie with a ribbon
or even a rubber band at the neck. Cheap, colorful crepe and Japanese
paper will also substitute nicely, just be careful
when you put in the water. Your color coordination efforts
are then easily
accomplished with these tips.
Alternatively cover the outside of the vase in double-sided
adhesive tape, then stick large leaves vertically around.
Tuck the ends
of the leaves underneath and stick them down, then
tie the vase in the middle with string. Some houseplant
leaves
look
wonderful
for this as they are glossy, or have interesting markings
or colours. If you have no leaves, wind string - plain
or coloured
- in coils around the bottles and jars for an ethnic
look; or a satin ribbon for a shiny finish.
• Still not satisfied?
If you really are
unsuccessful at arranging your flowers, or you have had a
few disasters in trying the above,
then
a lovely way of displaying flowers is to cut off individual flower
heads and float them in a low dish of water. You can also
add small floating candles for a dinner party table-centre.
