Find your new summer hobby with a little bit of inspiration from the lovely Brick Dust & Glitter
In need of a new hobby? We have the gorgeous Emily from Brick Dust & Glitter here showing us how to make our very own bouquets.
As summer seems to be in full flow, I thought it would be a good idea to bring you some inspiration from the garden. But rather than talk about planters and picnics, I thought I would share a little “How to”.
Last year I decided that I was going to put more time into my garden. It was already a thriving space, but a bit mismatched. However, I have a lovely side border that I have worked on for a few years and I am really receiving the fruits now. I have peonies blooming and beautiful English roses. Even my hydrangeas have full buds ready to come out in the next month. With all these filling my border I thought I would make a hedgerow bouquet. As we go along I can share a few florist’s tips I have learned over my time in our family flower shop!
I went out to my Mum’s for some extra blooms; her garden is very wild with bushes of different flowers all over. When it comes to working with garden flowers, the one thing that you need to be conscious of is that they will not last as long as shop bought ones. If you were preparing for an event or even making your own bridal bouquet, you really need to do it as close to the date as possible. Garden flowers can be incredibly delicate. Once cut, they can drop. Just something to think about!
I have made a hand-tied bouquet which would be perfect for a country bride, but could equally sit on a table and be used in the home. Prep work can be minimal. Make sure you have no leaves on the lower part of the stems; any part that would be in the water, for example, will leave mold and dirty your water very quickly.
Then starting with three strong and straight stems, collect them in your hand as this will be what you add all your other stems to; your starting point. I like to start with two bits of greenery and a flower. Then one stem at a time, add all your other blooms.
The key with adding in the flowers is that you place each stem across the one before, slightly diagonally. Then turn the whole bouquet an inch clockwise. The idea is to keep moving the bouquet around rather than standing stems straight next to each other like you would do if filling a vase.
I used a lot of my shorter stemmed flowers for putting in last, so these surround the bouquet almost. For me, it was a bunch of sweet peas but they sat so nicely around the edge and it was perfect. You could also use some trailing green around the edge to make a beautiful, “wild and free” effect.
Tie it off with some string. If it is big, wrap it around a few times, but be careful not to break the stems. Trim your stems straight across and leave enough stem for it to either sit in a vase or suit being carried in a more formal way. Then for me, I tied a bunch of ribbons individually around just to give some movement when holding it. I love how ribbons blow in a breeze!
And that is it! A garden picked hand-tied arrangement, perfect for filling a vase or even as a bridal or gift bouquet! Whilst playing with flowers I was wearing a classic striped tee paired with some fitted chinos.
We hope you enjoyed this post! Now you can get into your own garden and have a go at making some of your own arrangements, whether it be for your home or for someone’s special day! And if a green thumb is not for you, we have beautiful flower arrangements prepared and ready to display.
Have you made your own bouquet before? Let us know below or @LauraAshleyUSA.
