Greenhouses and Gardening

There are many different types of floral arrangements which are designed to be used in wide variety of situations. From wedding bouquets to table center pieces and party floral decorations, floral arrangements are an excellent way to express your feelings and catch the mood of an event. Beautiful floral arrangements can be created to suit every style and budget, from simple single flower blooms to great floral sprays or arches, and each one can be unique reflecting your own personal style and flair.

Regardless of the event, all floral arrangements need a similar level of care if they are to remain in optimum condition. Fresh flowers require gentler handling than artificial flowers and will last for a much shorter length of time. Many fresh flowers need to be kept well watered and in a position away from artificial sources of heat, direct sunlight and extremes of temperature. Artificial flowers are extremely long lasting if given a little bit of care and as such are becoming extremely popular, especially silk flowers which give a lovely, natural looking display.

If you decide to design your own floral arrangements, it can be helpful to follow a few simple guidelines. Floral foam is often useful in creating a display as it enables you to place the flowers with greater precision and will keep your arrangement in place once finished. In general brown foam is used for artificial flowers and green for fresh. Bear in mind that the bottom of cut flower stems always need to be in contact with water if they are to remain fresh and so the foam needs to be thoroughly soaked in water before you begin your arranging and regularly topped up thereafter. For this reason also, it is inadvisable to re-use foam, as it will have holes from previous displays which could mean that the fresh flowers would be in an air pocket and unable to get water.

Cut flowers placed in a vase or the like need similar care. The length of such a floral arrangement can be extended by using a clean container and adding flower food. Before placing flowers in the display, remove any leaves which would be covered in water, as these will rot if left. For floral arrangements which you want to keep for a long period of time, such as those used to decorate the home, it is better to choose blooms which are in bud or half open and that way you will be able to enjoy seeing them open. For floral arrangements that need to be immediate in their impact, such as wedding displays you will need to use flowers which are in or near to full bloom.

Artificial flowers need much less care and attention. A gentle blow of the hair drier will easily remove dust and keeping the display away from direct sunlight will prevent fading. However it might be helpful to consider the following if you are going to create your own artificial floral display. Since artificial flowers are quite light, you may well have to weight the bottom of the container, preferably with decorative items like shells, stones or sand, for a more permanent display, clear acrylic can be used. When arranging the individual flowers, try to think of how each one would naturally fall and shape it accordingly before adding it to your floral arrangement.

The vast majority of people however, while prepared to arrange a few flowers in a vase, find the thought of creating floral arrangements for special occasions like weddings just too daunting. Fortunately there are many professional florists who can design and create beautiful floral arrangements for you. It is however important to find the right florist, this can mean a little hard work, but the results will be worth it.

If you do decide to use a professional florist, have a look at examples of their work beforehand and see if you can find anything in the design and style that you would like; if not it may be better to look for someone else. Work with the florist in creating an arrangement that will fit in with the event that you are organizing. This is especially true of wedding arrangements which need to be in keeping with the general mood of the wedding, be that traditional, modern etc and also to draw attention to the bride and her dress.

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