18 October 2010

Living With Flowers


A life full of colourful flowers is a delight and something to treasure.

Here are a few easy tips on how to look after your cut flowers prior to arranging them, so that they last as long as possible. It is called 'conditioning the flowers'.


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  • Fill a clean container with tepid, not cold water. Tepid water is absorbed better by the plant.  
  • Dissolve a packet of flower food into the water. Flower food helps the flowers last longer and will also keep the water fresh.
  • If you have store bought flowers, unwrap them and remove any elastic bands or twine.
  • Strip off any leaves which will sit below the water line and as well as any damage leaves or broken stems. Any leaves below the water line will soon decay and shorten the life of the arrangement.
  • If you have any broken stems with healthy flowers, you can make a small seperate arrangement with these.
  • Cut at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) off the bottom of each stem with a sharp knife or pair of scissors.
  • Cut the stems at a sharp angle to expose the largest possible surface area to the water. Cutting the stems will also remove any dried out cell tissues and more water will be absorbed by the plant.
  • After cutting the stems, put the flowers immediately in the container with the prepared water.
  • The flowers can now be left in a cool place for a few hours or overnight. It will give them time to recover and absorb water.
  • If time is short and you are in a hurry make the arrangement straight in a vase following the above steps. 

Have a lovely Floral Day!

xoxo Ingrid


14 comments:

Unknown said...

Great POst, following your tips it sounds easy to take care of flowers thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Ingrid~
How very beautiful this is! What you captured is so enchanting... Gorgeous colors.
Have a wonderful day.
~Rosemary...

Frances said...

Ingrid, this arrangement really announces the beauty of autumn!

Thank you so much for the helpful reminders on how to give floral arrangements a longer life. Do you recommend changing the water in the vase after a few days, or do you feel that the "flower food" will sort of keep the water's balance healthy?

Cheers!

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Hi Ingrid, thank you for the timely reminder about bringing flowers inside to enjoy in a vase.

I love your photo and the colour blocking as a background really works well. Lovely!

Anonymous said...

Dear Ingrid, Thank you for these clear instructions on conditioning cut flowers. I experience a number of problems in sustaining my cut flower arrangements so I shall certainly give these tips a try.

Your autumnal arrangement today is very pretty and so well captures the mood of October.

Home and Lifestyle said...

Thanks for your flower tips, I will use them next time when I have bought flowers!

Also thanks for your lovely comments on my blog, I appreciate them so much!

Wish you a happy evening! Warm regards, Ingrid

Agni said...

Great!Always! New bloger-Ag

Lisa Gordon said...

Thank you for sharing these great tips!
This is a beautiful fall shot!

Sophia Callmer said...

Ingrid, kul att se förra bilden och denna, en del av det samma man helt olika kompositioner, höstsnyggt!

Unknown said...

Vilka finfina tips! Tack!!
Och så underbara bilder igen! Helt bedårande:)
Charlotta

jacqueline said...

Dearest sweet Ingrid, this is such a useful post and tips! I love buying flowers but have never really learn how to really care for them! These tips are wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing! Have a lovely merry happy week and love to yoU!

spiral style said...

Lovely composition. I agree. What would life be like without flowers?

Sanne said...

Dear Ingrid,

thanks for your flowertips...I can do what I want , my cats always destroy my flowerarrangement and sometimes eat them...I could cry...
So I watch your pictures...
Have a great week ,
Sanne

Anonymous said...

That is a very beautiful arrangement!

My aunt once told me that using bleach and sugar help keep flowers looking good for longer. Have you ever heard of that?

Stopping in from the SITS Photography group to say hi! :)

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