With us still in the midst of winter with grey skies and rain, flowers are the perfect way to bring some colour and life back into your homes. Never underestimate the difference flowers can make to a room and your mood. They are the perfect gift for yourself or someone else.

Dried Flowers. As much as fresh flowers are beautiful, dried flowers have become increasingly popular on platforms such as Pinterest with the increasing focus and trend surrounding gorgeous sandy, neutral tones. Pampas grass and bunny tails can make a lovely edition in your home, they also last up to 3 years with little to no care needed which is an added bonus. Pampas grass was originally found in South America, with a beige, fluffy appearance. With these being dried flowers, they are easy to maintain with no need for watering. However, if they seem to start shedding after a couple of months a great way to help them last is by giving a light spray of hairspray. Or if they are beginning to look a little flat you can give them a gentle blast with the hairdryer to fluff them up and make them appear brand new.

Bloom and Wild. are a great letterbox flower service that allows you to send/receive flowers on a one-off, weekly, fortnightly, and monthly basis. This can be a great gift to buy someone and have flowers delivered as often as you like. Or more importantly a gift for yourself! Bloom and Wild allow you to choose your letterbox flowers every month or to have them chosen for you, allowing a surprise upon delivery! With this subscription being completely flexible, you can choose what day you wish to receive the flowers and to stop the subscription at any time. Perfect for a one-off or 6 months!

The art of flower arranging. When receiving fresh flowers, it is important to know how to arrange them and ensure that they can last as long as possible to get your money’s worth. When picking your flowers, it is wise to pick flowers that are in season. Daffodils are a perfect option for this time of year as we slowly move into spring (YAY!). Later in the year, around May, June time, flowers such as peonies are perfect. By picking your stems seasonally, this often means that the flowers are priced at a lower cost to ones that aren’t in season.

Next, picking the right vase for your flowers, the best way to judge this is by ensuring the vase is 1/3 of the height of the flowers. You must ensure that the stems touch the bottom of the vase, this helps aesthetically to ensure the flowers are stable. While also being crucial if you forget to top the water up as the flowers can reach the very last drops of water. This ensuring that you get the most out of your flowers and that they are well watered. 

When you are ready to put your flowers into the vase, it is important to trim the stems of your flowers to allow nutrients up into the flower to ensure you get the maximum life from your flowers. Cut the flowers at a 45-degree angle, 1-2cm from the bottom, and then ensure to replace the water every 2 days, and trim the ends every 3-4 days.

Next, to help your flowers to stay arranged in the position which you wish, typically people will use an oasis (a green foam brick), but this isn’t necessary as it is bad for the environment as it’s not biodegradable. A great alternative is to use chicken wire, and scrunch it all together and place it at the bottom of the vase. This enables the stems of the plants to fit into the holes within the chicken wire to hold them in place, while still being able to touch the bottom of the vase and remain hydrated. 

Do you have any tips for floral arranging? We’d love to hear! It’s such a therapeutic tasks and something that is bringing us a lot of joy at the moment.

NN, x