In the following paragraphs, we are going to discuss the most important things not to do when arranging flowers. You will of course discover great techniques and tips to improve your flower arranging skills, but in an enjoyable and entertaining way, instead of the “paint by numbers” robot style instructions that you find elsewhere on the web.

 Flower Selection

One thing that most people don’t consider when selecting flowers to include in an arrangement is the meaning of those flowers. (Yes, flowers have meanings.) For example despite the fact that great aunt Betty’s favorite colors are pink and red, telling her that you have a passionate, romantic love for  her by combining pink lilies and red roses (although this combination is wrong on so many other levels), is probably not the most appropriate gift.

Don’t be fooled, the foliage that you use to compliment your flower arrangement has meaning too. For a complete list of flower and foliage view the Flower Dictionary here.

One other thing that you want to avoid when selecting flowers for your arrangement is the selection of flowers that are not healthy. You don’t want your flowers going all droopy and falling apart before you even get them to the recipient. Use flowers with healthy looking, unbroken stems. Healthy leaves are a clear sign of a healthy flower, and use flowers that are in bloom.

And lastly, don’t try and include a myriad of colors, a powerful combination of 1-3 key colors is a far more successful combination. The use of more than three color combinations makes your arrangement instantly look disorganized and unpleasant.

Flower Preparation

When displaying flowers in an arrangement or even just transferring your bouquet that you received as a gift, believe it or not, it is not just a simple as sticking the flowers in some water. As a tempting as it may be, do not use “dead” organic products such as twigs or dried leaves in a fresh flower arrangements. The only purpose they will serve is to decompose and make you water source stagnant.

General tips for preparing your flower arrangement include:

Cut the stem at and angle just before inserting in the water/preservative

Use Floral Foam, it contains a preservative that will help keep your flowers fresh and prevent the growth of bacteria

Wrap Your Floral foam in Foil to prevent leakage and spilling of your water

Prune any unnecessary foliage away before you begin the arrangement

 The Arrangement Process

Believe it or not, when you purchase that bouquet or other floral arrangement for your wedding, or special gift, the florist doesn’t just grab some flowers they have lying around and throw them together, whack a rubber band around them and add some pretty paper. There is a process involved that doesn’t need to be very complicated if you avoid these general mistakes that most people make:

Basically do not:

• Try and cram in a dozen different types of flowers, A mass of flowers will merely give you a decoration; like a balloon, or budda statue – O.K. to look at, but not really pleasant and emotion inspiring

• Fight the natural arrangement of a few flowers - they naturally arrange themselves for a reason

• Use flowers that are all at the same stage of development – If all of your flowers are in full bloom at the same time, your arrangement will look cluttered

• Cut your flowers too short to reach the water source – You would think this is self explanatory, however if the flowers can’t reach the water, they cannot live; much like yourself

• Try too hard to be artistic, start simple and then slowly develop your skills – like most things in life, flower arranging is a skill that you will learn to appreciate and become better at with practice

• Disregard where the arrangement is going to be located when finished – A centerpiece for a dining table is going to require an entirely different arrangement than a bouquet for a funeral placement

• Prepare an arrangement on the day of a special event – A flower arrangement will always look better if prepared the day before, this way the plant materials can settle and develop a comfortable look

• Go overboard with the number of flowers, a new mother will probably not appreciate 2 dozen gladiolas on the day she arrives home – use common sense and consider the occasion

• Over complicate things – Have fun and wherever possible apply the KISS principle. (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Have Fun!

The most important thing that people do not consider when they are making a flower arrangement is that you inadvertently project your mood into your arrangement. If you are happy and really enjoying yourself, this will shine through in the way your arrangement comes together. By the same token, if you are getting frustrated and looking at your project as a chore, this will shine through in your arrangement.