I don't know about you but the grey weather at this time of year really gets me down yet I also love 15th and 16th of February mainly because the supermarkets reduce lots of their Valentines stock including their flowers. I absolutely adore flowers and arranging flowers is one of my favourite things to do. I feel completely relaxed when I'm arranging but my only problem is I am a bit of a flower snob. Unfortunately the flowers I like are usually the most pricey but having a small budget doesn't stop me creating some pretty arrangements. The key is to pop into supermarkets at the end of the day and pick up lots of different varieties within a small colour palette. If you haven't go time to hunt around for bargains head to Aldi, Lidl or your local florist for a bit of a barter.
Spring is the perfect time of year for creating this style of arrangement as the flowers are delicate and dainty and slot in easily to little bottles and jars. The key to this is to collect a few vases or jars of different size and heights which doesn't have to be an expensive process at all. In fact one of these jars is a mayonnaise jar, one is a pasta sauce jar and one a cloudy lemonade bottle. Simply clean thoroughly, remove the labels and you are ready to go.
In order to make your flowers last longer strip off the leaves and cut the stems at an 45 % angle. I fill a jug with water add a couple of tea spoons of sugar (to give the flowers some energy) I stir until the sugar has dissolved and pour into the jars.
I separate the flowers into their respective groups and get to work. The beauty of this arrangement is that you don't need need to worry about being particularly symmetrical or accurate. As long as you distribute the lead flower and foliage evenly across the receptacles and fill in the gaps you should create a masterpiece.
Once you've filled the jars with flowers turn 360 degrees to check for gaps, tweak until ready and start to form a huddle. Apparently the technical term is a 'parade,' but huddle words just as well. These are great for leaving in the middle of your dining table, coffee table or dotted around the house.
Alternatively you can separate them out across the table and fill in with candles and voila, a romantic table setting.
Sometimes with reduced flowers you often get the odd damaged flower, do not throw away, gently pull the petals off and scatter them across the table.
Alternatively if there is a healthy flower with a very short stem trim the stem to about 1 cm and place in a tea cup for a vintage inspired arrangement. I sometimes put it on my bedside table which makes me feel very grand, that is until I dunk my phone in it.
Labels: DO, Floral displays, Flowers, Jam Jars, Table Decor
