“I do feel strongly,” the superbly named Constance Spry once wrote, “that flowers should be a means of self-expression for everyone.” A florist, social reformer and best-selling author, Mrs Spry (1886-1960) took the cut-flower traditions of the upper classes and turned them on their head, effectively democratising the art of homemaking. She taught many Brits how to beautify their homes by making the most of such humble materials as vegetable leaves, twigs and weeds, and encouraged them to use a motley assortment of containers, including broken bird cages, tureen lids and gravy boats.
Having read a particularly romantic account of Constance Spry’s life and achievements in a spring issue of Vogue, I found myself inspired by her creative example. So I skipped off to a flower-arranging course held at the sunny, secret haven that is King Henry’s Walk Garden in Islington.
The raw materials on offer were rather more conservative than Constance might wish for – Tesco cheapie bunches, plastic pots and gardening ‘oasis’ (the green crunchy stuff that soaks up water) – but I held true to her inventive spirit by grabbing a few leaves and squirly twigs from the garden.
This is the wisdom I learned from my flowery foray:
- Less is more – too many colours, textures etc makes for an untidy mess
- Go green. If you don’t want to spend a small fortune on expensive flowers, remember that you can get lots of lovely colour and texture from foliage instead
- Balance the arrangement by adding a bit of symmetry – put large leaves on either side and create a diagonal ‘fan’ of one type of flower running through the middle
- Fill out the base of your arrangement, which might otherwise be a bit sad and sparse
- Poke the flowers and leaves into the oasis with conviction, because if it gets too holey, the stems won’t stay put
- Check your arrangement from all angles
A lovely article, I feel inspired to try my hand at flower arranging now.
Here’s a few handy tips that I always follow when I’m arranging flowers:
1) Always use clean vases or containers.
2) Remove all leaves which will be under water in the vase. Submerged leaves will rot and create bacteria, shortening the life of your flowers.
3) Always add cut flower food, obtained from your florist, to the vase water – it really does make a difference. Change the vase water (and flower food) every three to four days. Use the cut flower food mixture to top up containers using floral foam too, as this will help to prolong the life of the flowers.
4) Always condition your plant material correctly, according to its stem type (see conditioning page for how to do this.)
5) Most flowers should be picked when they are in bud or half open. You will then have the pleasure of seeing them slowly open up. The colour of the petals should be starting to show. If picked too tightly in bud, they may never open. This is especially true of Tulips, Irises, Daffodils and Roses. Gladioli should be picked when the bottom three or four florets are open and the top florets are still in bud.
6) Don’t place your finished arangement in full sun, over a radiator, or in a draught. This will cause excess water loss from the flowers, and they will wilt very quickly. A cool room is the best place to put your flowers for maximum life.
7) Use a container in proportion to the amount of flowers you are using. Too small a container will not hold sufficient water, and may dry out before you realise it.