What to Do with a Bouquet of Flowers

Photo by jessie daniella on Unsplash

This is a skill I never really thought I needed to develop. When my man bought me my first bouquet, my amazing florist mother skillfully cut and arranged the gorgeous flowers. Fast forward a few months - we got married and I needed to take care of my own blooms. I had watched my mom do this for years, so I did have some idea how to do it. And I got better with practice (thanks for all the flowers, babe!)

1) Fill a clean vase with warm water and, if the flowers come with it, add the packet of fertilizer. The warm water ensures that you don’t shock the delicate flowers. 

2) Cut each stem at a 45 degree angle. Use a sharp knife so you don’t crush the stem. This helps them last longer. 

3) Arrange the flowers. And this doesn’t have to be daunting (speaking to those of us who don’t really know what we’re doing) - arrange the taller flowers in the middle and the shorter ones around the edge. If the bouquet has several different kinds and colors, I like to mix those up. 

4) Proudly display them in a prominent part of the house. 

5) Time to dry. Once they’ve lived their appointed days, remove the flowers from their vase. I take out any flowers that are seriously drooping or sad looking or those that don’t really dry well (like lilies). Tie a string or rubber band around the stems, then hang them upside down (I use my curtain rods) for a few weeks. 

 
6) Proudly display them again! I’ve gotten many bouquets from my hubby and don’t have the space to display each bouquet, so I’ve combined several in one big vase (the flowers shrink once dried, so there’s plenty of room) I have kept the really special ones separate (first flowers, engagement roses, and wedding bouquet).

There are other methods for preserving flowers, like pressing them in a book, that would be fun to try, as well! Later on, I might just start saving one or two flowers from each bouquet, or just save some of the pedals (kept in a journal perhaps?).