Blooming Brilliant!

Flowers make people feel good. They bring beauty to the workplace and a sense of warmth and welcome to the visitor. Making flowers look good isn’t as hard as you think. Everyone can create effective arrangements – they don’t have to be expensive, elaborate or contrived.

Here Judith Blacklock offers some of her best tips for arranging flowers easily and successfully so that you are delighted with your efforts. And if you wish to supervise the flowers, these tips will help you understand why you will be delighted or otherwise!

Ten top tips

• Choose a vase for your flowers that is half the length of the stems, not more.

• When choosing a vase most people choose one that is too tall. Three good vases to have close by: square 15cm glass vase, 20cm tall flared vase and a 30cm tall glass cylinder.

• If arranging flowers of one type such as tulips, hyacinths, hydrangeas, it is hard to go wrong.

• Buy flowers in season – they are cheaper, stronger and longer lasting.

• Find a good source for buying. Many supermarkets have excellent flowers and a local florist would give support, help and advice.

• Many lilies have a powerful fragrance that is not liked by all but if purchased in bud can last up to two weeks. Longi and LA lilies have only a slight fragrance.

• Phalaenopsis orchid plants can last for three months in the right position. They should be watered once a week and allowed to drain completely.

• Chrysanthemums and carnations may seem down market but if mixed with lovely foliage such as Eucalyptus to hide their knobbly stems, these flowers can look stunning and will last for weeks.

• Add cut flower food to the water – this really does make flowers last longer. If you don’t use the food have the water changed daily.

• If you wish to have a larger display then make a collection. Keep unity either with the same flowers, same-shaped vases or use those of the same material. Repetition is pleasing to the eye.

About Judith Blacklock

Judith Blacklock runs her floristry courses in a delightful school in an idyllic location in Knightsbridge, and the school has earned a reputation for intensive teaching in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The school is accredited by both the British Accreditation Council (BAC) and the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) who are regarded worldwide as having the highest standards.

Blacklock is the author of 17 bestselling books and has taught flower arranging across the world. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture, for whom she designed a medal-winning stand at Chelsea Flower Show and organised Flowers@Chicheley and Flowers@Oxford, the largest contemporary cut-flower events that have been staged in the UK. Blacklock has taught many celebrities and made bouquets for members of the Royal Family.