There are few things I love more than a home filled with flowers. I religiously buy blooms to stock our apartment every week, and adore both the scent and look of the flower-filled vases. I'll hold my hands up and admit that I am no flower aficionado, and I am always keen to learn more (to our local flower vendors - thank you for your patience!). Understandably then, I was over the moon when Chelsea based florist Amanda Austin, famed for top tier work with embassies, luxury hotels and weddings, invited me for a flower arranging class this weekend.
A small group of us (which FYI was made up of some of my favourite girls) got to grips with making almost perfect DIY bouquets over the course of a couple of hours. And yes, there was tea and cake too. Our minds boggled at the tips and anecdotes Amanda so kindly revelled us in, and we all left with minds suitably blown and our beautiful bouquets, naturally envisaging our new careers as bloggers-turned-florists.
Below are 10 of my favourite tips & tricks for the perfect bouquet, as told to us by the lady herself, Amanda Austin . . .
1 - Proportions generally regarded as the best for a vase arrangement, in height, are either: 2/3 vase to 1/3 flowers or 2/3 flowers to 1/3 vase.
2 - To see where to cut a stem for height, place your vase at the edge of a table and hold your flower against it. You can then move it up and down to judge where to crop.
3 - If you buys flowers in an aqua pack (the water-filled cellophane you sometimes find bouquets resting in) change the water immediately as the aqua pack breeds bacteria. FYI: this is why Amanda Austin makes all bouquets fresh.
4 - Always rotate the vase, not yourself, when arranging flowers.
5 - Waitrose is the best supermarket to buy flowers from. They reputably have the best supplier, buy seasonally and keep their flowers in top condition!
6 - Every flower has a natural 'happy face' this is the side of the flower which has been turned to the Sun and looks slightly upwards. Turn this side of the flower towards you when making an arrangement so you get the best of the flower.
7 - The Dice Method will create a perfect bouquet every time. The Dice Method is such: always arrange flowers five stems at a time. Imagine a dice (shown below) and place a stem in your vase as per the dots on a dice; one in the middle, and one at each corner. Rotate the 'dice' and place a further five stems. Aim to cross all stems over at a central point - Amanda calls it the 'onion ball'. Follow this mathematical formula and you will develop a beautiful, balanced bouquet.
8 - A lot of people remove the outer petal on a Rose - known as the weather petal - as it can look as if it is turning. This is not the case, and is in fact part of the Rose's beauty. It is a personal preference, but there isn't actually a need. (NB: I used to think this!)
9 - Five Lilies, five Roses and five stems of green is the most popular bouquet ordered at Amanda Austin, a classic which works for every home and occasion.
10 - Snip wood-like stems up the middle a little to allow for better water consumption. For Hydrangeas either dunk the head of the flower in water, or spray with a water spray daily as they drink from the head more than the stem.
Amanda Austin's store on Kings Rd
If you are unsure of what type of flower arrangement will suit you and your home, have a think as to the aesthetics and designs - outside of flowers - you enjoy. As a rule of thumb, if you are more 'country' then an arrangement with more greenery will work for you, but if you are more 'city' in your aesthetic choices then less greenery and more flowers will work. Honestly, I think I am a hybrid of the two! I love a lot of the elements of the country, but aesthetically I lean towards a city vibe.
Once Amanda had demonstrated, our class was invited to chose a style of bouquet to try their hand at. I chose to create a dark rose bouquet with wild-looking violet-hued flowers, and deep Wintery tones. We used flower oasis to create our arrangements - not nearly as scary as it looks! Following the Dice Method every one's bouquets quickly came to life, and it was so lovely to see how, although all following the same instructions, we all injected our own personality in to our take-homes.
My Wintery bouquet is now taking pride of place on my coffee table, and I am so excited to keep up with the tips and tricks Amanda taught us for future bouquets!
My finished bouquet!
Now taking pride of place at home!
Amanda rounded up our class with a final note of advice: "there should always be enough space for the butterflies to land". Such a beautiful sentiment, and one which wholly conveys this warm, lovely business and the team behind it.
Are you guys going to try your hand at your own DIY arrangement? If so, do you think you are more Country or City?!
I am still catching up with all of our news, business and pics from New York but now we are over the jet lag hurdle (so hard on the way back?!) I can't wait to write it all up and share with you guys!
Have an awesome day all!
Love,
MB x
