Fall is a time when the leaves start turning to beautiful red and orange, the morning air turns crisp and everyone starts to think about entertaining for the holidays. Flower arrangements bought from the florist can be really expensive, but you can do a basic fall flower arrangement on your own. Here’s how to go about making your own fall flower arrangement.
Step 1 Determine the container that you want to use for your arrangement. The size of your container will determine the size and height of your arrangement. Tall arrangements are nice in the fall because sunflowers are in season and they have such long stems.
Step 2 Choose the flowers for your arrangement. Make sure to get plenty of filler greens and some autumn leaves. Be sure to pick a variety of big, medium and small flowers for the arrangement.
Step 3 Prepare your flowers for arranging. Lay them out on a table in front of you and strip the lower leaves off one stem at a time. If you don’t these leaves will end up in the water and they will rot and turn the water dark. Next, cut the stems before you put them in the vase using a sharp knife or pair of pruners. If you are using roses make sure to peel off any outer petals that may be turning brown before you start arranging.
Step 4 Fill your tall vase with tepid water and add some plant food to the water. If you don’t have any plant food you can substitute a splash of lemon lime soda or a couple of aspirins. These will keep your flowers looking fresher, longer.
Step 5 Take a look at your greens. Choose the tallest greens and put them in the back of the vase. Put the others in the vase going from tallest in back to shortest in the front of the vase. Keep filling the vase with greens until it starts to get a little crowded.
Step 6 Choose the largest flowers and arrange them in the vase. Put the tallest in the back and then cut the stems shorter as you work your way forward. Sticking the stems in the vase among the greens will help them to stay where you place them. To make an arrangement that has a finished look on all sides, keep the tall greens and flowers in the middle and place the rest of the flowers evenly around the front and back of the arrangement.
Step 7 Repeat step 6 with the medium sized flowers. Remember to cut the stems right before you put them in the water. This will allow the flower to drink up water right away. Tuck the medium flowers around the large flowers. Vary the height as needed to make the arrangement go from tall in the back to shorter in the front.
Step 8 Fill in the empty spaces with the smallest flowers. These flowers are often on stems in bunches, but they appear airy due to how the flowers growing on the stem. By sticking these wherever there are empty spaces you will be able to fill in the arrangement and complete the look.
Step 9 Add a ribbon bow to the vase for a finishing touch. Choose a color of ribbon that goes with the flowers you have chosen.
Fall arrangements lend themselves to adding a few extra touches. Find some acorns, pine cones, or small pumpkins and wire them onto floral stakes. Place these heavier objects in the front of the arrangement so that the weight of the arrangement is low. These items will not only add some fall touches to the arrangement, but they will help balance the heavy blooms that you have used at the top of the arrangement.
You can use these basic steps to make any kind of arrangement. Be adventurous and use a hollowed out pumpkin as a flower vessel. The trick to using unusual things as flower containers is to use floral foam (aka oasis) to hold the flowers in place.
Taken From Housekeeping
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