Take 3 Flowers! - # 8 - Tulips, Freesia and Eucalyptus

I'm back with another blog post in the series 'Take 3 Flowers!'

In this blog series I will show you how to make easy but beautiful and stylish flower arrangements - just using three different flowers. Often one of the three will be some kind of foliage.

Using just three flowers will sometimes be a challenge - but it will also keep the cost down. Cut flowers can be expensive but foliage on the other hand tends to be cheep - or at times you might even be able to get it from your own garden. You can use lots of it to help fill out the arrangement and to provide support and structure for the other flowers.

After all the yellow of Easter - I needed to work with a different colour - and when I found these deep dark pink tulips and pink Freesia - I knew I had the material for a colourful spring bouquet.

You'll need:

- 15 stems of colourful tulips

- 15 stems of Freesia in similar colour

- 7 stems of Eucalyptus parvifolia - a small leaved Eucalyptus

- a medium sized vase/container with a wide opening - in a neutral colour - in this case I have used a white vintage jar from Sweden

- small vase in same colour as the flowers

- a small white saucer 

- baker's twine and beads in matching colours

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- a pair of florists scissors

- a florist bucket filled with fresh water

Condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase. This is to reduce any growth of bacteria from deteriorating leaves. Also remove any broken or bruised leaves.

Cut the stems at an angle - this is to increase water absorption.  

Put in a clean container with fresh cool water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours. This is to let the flowers absorb the maximum of water, before making the final arrangement.

You might have to re-cut the stems while making the final arrangement to suit the size of the vase or container and to get the right proportions.

Start off by putting the Eucalyptus foliage in the vase - evenly spread. Next put in the tulips - you can spread them evenly or group a few together to make several little focal points. Last the Freesias - use them to fill in any gaps. Cut the flowers at different heights so the bouquet has some movement - it's also nice to see the grey green foliage peek through here and there.

Make another arrangement in a small vase with the leftover foliage from the Eucalyptus - using a little vase in a matching colour to the flowers.

Also have some fun with baker's twine, a few beads and place it with the small arrangement on a little saucer - to make it feel a bit more 'special'.

Try to place the arrangement in a cool place during the nights and it will last a lot longer. Also remember that tulips continue to grow in the vase - so they will pop their heads above the other flowers over the next few days. 

I think it's always so lovely to see how an arrangement changes over time - new buds open, older flowers change colour and then fade - the life and beauty of flowers.

  

Have a Lovely Floral Monday!

See you later in the week!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and photography © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer.]