Recipe For Bouquets Basics

by Ardith Beveridge, Tastemaker in Residence

Consumer Bouquets are a favorite as there are many possibilities in design.

Wedding or Party

Double Bouquet

Hand Tie

2 Purchased Bouquets

General Instructions

1. Remove the outer covering of the bouquets. Save the decorative wrapper, the twist tie or rubber band, you may want to reuse it when sharing your garden flowers. Reuse all you can for the environments sake.
2. Lay the flowers and foliages out in like varieties.
3. Remove all foliages from the stem that will be in the water:
   1. Keep a container for the foliage that is removed for your compost or soil.
4. Always cut the stem at an angle and place in clean fresh water with flower food. Do not use water that is connected to a water softener.

Prepare flowers for design: Examples

1. Spray Chrysanthemums: remove all foliages and low stems with flowers. Save the stems for a smaller design
2. Spray carnations: Remove all leaves and small stems with flowers. That may be in the water. Save the small stems for smaller designs
3. Spray roses: Same as spray carnations
4. Standard carnations: remove all leaves below water line
5. Standard roses, same as carnations, you may leave the thorns on
6. Larkspur/delphinium/laities/remove all foliages that will be under the water-line
7. Gerbera Daisies: Cut stem
8. Alstroemeria: remove some foliage from the base of the stem and a few from around the flower head as they block the view of the flowers.
9. Lilies: Clean all foliage from stems, remove pollen
10. Statice varieties: With a sharp knife cut the wings from the stem where the foliage comes out in a line. Smooth out each side of the stem
11. Gypsophlia/Liminoum/wax..Ie Accent/filler flowers: Clean the stem of foliages and flowers that will be under the water line.
12. Cut all foliages down to have a nice long stem free of foliages

 There are two consumer bouquets in each of the designs.

2 Purchased Bouquets

In Vase #1 Design

Design Laid on Vase

2 bought bouquets 

#1 Vase Design-2 bouquets of mixed flowers with foliage

1. Choose vase appropriate size for flowers
2. Wash and rinse well
3. Add fresh water with flower food
4. Placing of flower stems--one with the flower head to North, one to South, one to East One to the West; continue with the flowers cutting then to various lengths. Keep the water free from debris
5. Add accent flowers
6. Add foliages
7. Check water level daily and take off any blossoms that are wilting

Hand Tie Design

#2 Hand Tie Design-2 bouquets of mixed flower bouquet with greens

1. The first flower is placed straight up and down in your hand
2. The second flower is placed in that hand flower head to the left, stem end down to the left
3. Keeping the holding hand straight, turn the design with the right hand to the right a ¼ turn.
4. Complete with flower and foliage varieties
5. Finish with greens around the base
6. Cut, place in vase with clean fresh water with flower food, or tie with a ribbon/string/anchor tape below the flower line for a hand tie bouquet
7. Make a smaller bouquet with the small flowers that were cut from the stem

Simple Bridal Bouquet

#3 Bridal Bouquet - 2 bunches of 6 roses each with green

1. Clean all foliage and flowers off of the stem to the top of the flower head.
2. Follow steps 2 through 5 in Hand Tie Design 
3. Tie ribbon around the handle
4. Place in a vase with fresh clean water with flower food or use as bouquet