Garden Club of St Augustine Arbor Day Tree Giveaway

Garden Club of St. Augustine, Inc.
Founded in 1926

Tip of the Month

Floral Design Tip
Flower Arranging 101

1. Create a foundation with foliage. This is the framework for the
arrangement. Build a pleasing, asymmetrical shape that leans on the lip
of the vase and has a high point in back. Make sure it’s not too thick, so
there’s room for the flowers.
2. Add large “face” flowers, cutting stems at different lengths so some
blooms nestle low and others extend. The crisscrossed foliage stems in
the vase work like webbing to hold flowers where you want them. Take
your time, experimenting until it looks good.
3. Weave in wispy elements, like climbing flowering vines or ferns, in
three strategic spots: up high on one side, down low (spilling out of the
vase), and in the middle, as if they’ve pushed their way through a cluster
of larger blooms.

Horticulture Tip
For Horticultural tips from the University of Florida Agricultural Department
click on the month below to access the "What to Plant" and What to Do"
for each month.

Handy Floral Design Info

1. You do NOT need to cut your flowers in running water.
This is a compete MYTH.
2. Room temperature water is ideal for flowers.
It makes no difference if it’s filtered or tap water.
3. You must cut stems at an angle and regularly. The white part that
shows is call the pit and this is where the flowers drink up!
4. Do not use regular scissors to cut your stems.
Ideally, it’s best to use shear spring-loaded tools.
5. The more leaves you cut off, the more water goes to your actual
blooms. This is something to keep in mind to make them last longer.
6. When you buy flowers from a grocery store, they are already
dehydrated – a good tip with hydrangeas is to submerge the head
under luke warm water for 30 minutes after purchasing to re-hydrate
them. If you ever have part of a hydrangea that “dies” before the
other, it’s likely you hit a “nerve” (literally) when cutting the stems.
7. Your flowers should be around the same height as your vase.
8. Invest in floral tape – it’s super cheap!
You can use a tape grid to arrange stubborn flowers (scotch tape). All
you have to do is tape a design over your vase and hide it with a little
greenery here and there.
9. Most roses come with an outer layer on that are not petals but look
like them. Peel those off!
Also, and this might be the best tip ever – BLOW on your roses. They
open up right away and look much more pleasing to the eye for
arrangements.