Plan to enjoy, enjoy to plan
Fig. 1. “A person arranging flowers into a vases” prompt, Canva, Magic Media, 23 Feb. 2024.
Arranging flowers is a delicate art, and with many moving pieces it can be difficult to start. When describing the joy of how to arrange flowers, self-proclaimed amateur Stephen Martin stated, “Everybody should have flowers in their house, just to enjoy them and to take a moment to stop and smell the roses and slow down life a bit.” He claims that he always has flowers in his house, and buys at least one new kind of flower every week.
So how do we do it? To start, lay all the flowers out and see how they interact with each other. Steve explains, “Always think of flowers as a three-dimensional object. Consider the angles it will be viewed from and plan out the flowers accordingly. Do it on a table, see how they work together, and put them together in a way you like and find appealing, and then, put them in the vase or wrap them up.” There is a lot of creative liberty that can be taken here, but there’s also a lot of room for error! If something doesn’t look right, arranging them on a table can make it a lot easier to move things around before putting them into paper or a vase.
There are some frequent errors, however. “Cutting them all the same length and then trying to cram them into a vase is a common mistake, so including diversity in height and contrast is better,” Steve advises. Using the right techniques, these happy little accidents can be avoided. At the end of the day, it should be a fun expression of self, and as long as it’s an enjoyable process, it’s sure to turn out lovely.
The learning curve to mastery is difficult. When describing his experience, Steve explained, “I’ve loved flowers since I was a kid and listened to the advice that people have given me over the years… It’s taken me about 55 years to get here. And I still have a long way to go. ” But he wouldn’t trade a second.
Flowers are a beautiful way to express yourself and your emotions. The process of putting together a bouquet is part of the fun that comes with enjoying the plants. As Stephen says, “The pleasure of when everything comes together and I know I’ve found my perfect bouquet is my favorite part.”