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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Beautifying Our Homes With Flowers


Flowers add a burst of beauty and color to ordinary spaces. Having a bouquet on the dining table, a small teacup with a large bloom resting in it on the bathroom sink, or a tall vase with a flowers or two poking out on a bookshelf add a sense of beauty and peace. Even though it is fall there are still plenty of opportunities to find flowers to brighten up your home. Wildflowers, seedums (which we have an abundance of right now), rose of Sharon, hostas, and hydrangeas are just a few which are in bloom where I live. Also I can still find plenty of greenery to add to my bouquets or, as in the picture above, golden grasses. Let your creativity flow. If you haven't done much in floral arranging before these three easy steps should get you started:
  1. GATHER flowers and foliage that complement one another in color, texture, and size.
  2. CONDITION flowers by snipping stems at a sharp angle. This creates more surface for water intake and prevents stems from sitting flat against the bottom of the container and forming a seal. Remove any leaves that will be submerged in water to avoid excess bacteria buildup. Place flowers immediately in water. Add floral food.
  3. ARRANGE flowers in vessels that coordinate with the design. 1
If you need more inspiration try Googling "flower arranging" to get some handy tips and beautiful examples (popular magazine websites are often the best).


1
Melissa Ozawa, "10 Things to Do with a Bucket of Flowers", Country Living, July 2008, 36
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lydia, this is a great post. We love to have lots of flowers too. I love your new background.

A Heart of Praise said...

Your new header and design is lovely Lydia!! :) And what a wonderful post! :) We have some wildflowers blooming in the front yard right now. I probably should try drying some before we have to mow again.

A Joyful Heart said...

I love you new blog look, Lydia! pink is my favorite color. :)