How to Condition Cut Flowers

It’s not going to be the most exciting or the prettiest of blog posts today but it is essential for anyone who wants to keep their flowers as fresh for as long as possible. Whether you’re buying your flowers from a florist, a market stall, supermarket or picking them from the garden; with a few basic tips hopefully we can keep your flowers looking happier for longer.

 
Last week I trundled off to see Emma from A Quiet Style to do this month’s tutorial, but before I went to see her I had spent a few hours conditioning flowers beforehand. Conditioning is a term that a florist uses when describing how they prepare their flowers for sale or use. It’s really simple but before I talk to you about conditioning here is what we made.

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As soon as you get home with your flowers or if you’re lucky enough to have picked them from your garden, strip all the foliage that is going to be sitting below the water line to prevent the leaves from rotting in the water.

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Cut about 2.5cm off all the stems with a sharp clean knife, scissors or secateurs at an angle. The angle helps the stem to be able to take up more water. If I’m preparing Roses I also slice off their thorns with a knife in an attempt to keep my hands in one piece.

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Place prepared stems in a tall bucket of luke warm water between a 1/3 and 1/2 full with some flower food solution (flower food will help prevent bacteria) and leave in a cool place for at least two to three hours or ideally overnight. This will allow the flowers to drink before being brought into a warmer environment. If you see that any leaves or petals have fallen into the bucket of water fish them out straightaway. Make sure your buckets have been freshly cleaned to prevent bacteria and are tall enough to support the flower heads whilst they’re drinking.

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Once you’re ready to use your flowers always clean your vase/container thoroughly with detergent and a bottle brush.
In the vase dissolve some more flower food in the water before placing the flowers.
Check the water level every couple of days and top up as necessary.

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Change the water and re-cut the base of the stems every two to four days, re-cutting a little off the bottom of the stem each time
Remove any dead or dying flowers to keep the arrangement looking fresh for longer.
Position the vase in a cool shady spot in the room away from any source of heat such as radiators and fires.
Different stem types have slightly different conditioning techniques but I’ll talk you through those in a later post.

Have a lovely day x

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    Styling the Seasons

    What exciting news I have for you today! It’s both exciting for you and me as it’s competition time at Styling the Seasons!

    blosson_wild_rubus

    The lovely Charlotte from Lotts and Lots and Katy from Apartment Apothecary have teamed up with at {mine} and they are holding a floral wreath making workshop taught by me (I said it was exciting for me to).  Lou from Little Green Shed is also going to be taking you through making May Day posies and with flowers supplied by Bloom & Wild it’s going to be a lovely morning.

    The workshop will take place Wednesday 29th April 10:30 – 12:30 at Homemade London.  To be in with a chance of winning 1 of the 13 places all you need to do is style a surface in your own home to reflect what the month means to you, upload the image to your Instagram using the hashtag #StylingSpringAtMine .

    lillies_for_styling_the_seasonsSo here’s my Aprils Styling the Seasons with flowers very kindly supplied by Bloom & Wild and a little bit of blossom from my neighbour’s garden.

    wild_rubus_styling_the_seasonseaster_wild_rubusflower_blosson_wild_rubus

    April makes me think of little green buds springing out of the trees and blossom petals falling like confetti scattering themselves on the pavements below. So I needed to add some spring blossom to my April inspired arrangement.

    styling_the_seasons_wild_rubusflowers_lillies_wild_rubus

    Entries need to be in by the 15th April, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them all.
    Have fun and good luck!

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      Spring Time, Tea Cups and Ranunclus

      This year already seems to be flying by and I can’t believe it’s going to be April on Wednesday and Easter at the weekend. So it was so lovely on Friday to spend some time with Emma from A Quiet Style and talk her through how I would make (some would say twee I would simply say pretty) a little arrangement in a tea cup. Easter inspired so it had to be filled with spring flowers and to get over the dreich winter months it needed to be full of spring colour too.

      easter_teacup_a_quiet_style

      One of the main flowers that I used in the arrangement was a Ranunclus and you’ll know if you follow my Instagram feed that it’s one of my favourites. I often use them in my winter and spring weddings bouquets.

      ranunclus_wild_rubus_flowers
      It can be so light and delicate when you have a pale pink or white variety. Like the finest piece of porcelain they can almost seem transparent and with their petals like a ballerina’s tutu it’s hard not to be in love with them, I certainly can’t resist!

      ranunclus_pink_spring_flower_edited-1
      Ranunclus are a part of the buttercup family and come in a wide variety of colours from the whites and pale pinks to vibrant yellows, oranges, cerise and cherry reds, then just to make you even happier it goes to the deepest of burgundy.

      cerise_pink_ranunclus_flower
      The normal variety is the size of a small rose but in recent years there has been a new variety on the scene called a Cloni Ranunclus and once fully open can be as big as a garden rose or peonie. I had some by my bed for the last two weeks and they are still going.

      spring_flower_ranunclus
      Are you head over heels in love to? If so and you would like to see more pop over to my Pinterest board where I’ve gathered a few of my favourite varieties. Remember to check out Emma’s blog to see the tutorial.

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        Wild Rubus

        Wadhurst, East Sussex

        Est 2014 | Bespoke Floral Design | Sussex Kent London