Flower Food: How To Keep Your Flowers Looking Fresh For Longer
You always want your flowers to last longer. You want your flower arrangements to look as beautiful as possible without losing their freshness and scent.
It takes 5 minutes or less to ensure your flowers’ freshness remains for as long as possible, but first, there are a few things you need to understand about a flower before going into the process of preparing flower food.
Before a flower is cut from the plant itself, it gets all it nourishment from the plant. This allows it to grow and develop further. However, when it is cut off from the plant, its source of nourishment is cut off too. The main purpose of flower food is to take the place of the plant and provide the flower with the nourishment it needs.
Aspirin
Believe it or not, Aspirin has more uses than those that are medically documented! For example, Aspirin is a flower food ingredient that I use for my arrangements. Why? Because Aspirin contains salicyclic acid. Plants naturally produce salicyclic acid to enhance growth and development. Aspirin acts as a substituting agent for flowers after they are cut off from the plant.
Sugar
Sugar, on the other hand, lowers the bacteria count in the water and acts as a source of food for the flowers. You do need to be careful, though, because sugar isn’t recommended for all plants indiscriminately. Here’s a list of flowers to avoid using sugar with:
- Daffodils
- Marguerite
- Daisies
- Tulips.
How To Use Sugar:
It’s very simple. All you need to do is dissolve a tablespoon of sugar in a quart or 4 cups of lukewarm water.
How to Store Your Flowers
I normally get my flowers from the florist at night. Before I use the flowers in the morning, I keep them in a dark or dimly lit room with good ventilation.
In 3 steps, here’s what I do as soon as I get home from the flower vendor:
Summary
A combination of sugar and other ingredients often prolongs the freshness of flowers. I use sugar and aspirin. Fill the containers with one quart or slightly more of lukewarm water. Then dissolve aspirin and add 1 tablespoon of sugar. Dissolve the sugar & aspirin then place your flowers in the container.
Doing this makes your flowers last so much longer then you would expect. I generally manage to keep my filler flowers for at one week longer.
Note. Do remember to change the water every day!
Holiday Flower Arrangement Ideas
Nothing brightens a home quite like a floral bouquet and during the holidays these timeless household ornaments can be especially alluring. That is why the hunt for a wonderful Christmas arrangement may be well worth the endeavor. Not only will it enliven any space in which it rests, others will experience a bit of cheer from the loveliness of winter inspired blossoms or plants.
Below are a few ideas for holiday arrangements that you can explore. Some of these bouquets may be able to be created by you rather inexpensively via the use of silk flowers or Christmas greens. For a more pro look however, you may wish to go with a florist who specializes in Christmas bouquets.
Basket arrangements
The portability and beauty of a basket arrangement is what makes it so adorable and fun. Another added benefit of basket bouquets is that they are easy to fill and splay. All one has to keep in mind is the concept of adornments that appeal to the Christmas spirit - colors like white, red, silver, gold and green will often do quite nicely! Flowers of the button variety, like carnations or daisies, are also good picks for a arresting Holiday basket.
Vase arrangements
Vases can be a wonderful way to display a floral arrangement and since there are so many varieties of vases, the sky is the limit for visual presentation. The most popular type of floral vases are clear glass ones. When garnished with a bow, this type of vase can be especially appealing. Long stem flowers are usually placed in these types of vases, which is why roses make a great holiday combination. Picking red and white roses in a glass vase with a big green or red bow just cries “Merry Christmas”, introducing an essential element of holiday cheer into any home.
Canister arrangement
Floral arrangements in canisters or tins make great gifts as the canister can be reused long after the lovely flowers have passed away. Traditional filler flowers like pommes, carnations and lush greens can easily be arranged around roses or other red blossoms to give it a Holiday feel. Adding something edible, like a giant cookie or piece of fine chocolate contributes to the homey whimsy of a canister arrangement. Fruits are another way to create a fun dimension to such an inspired piece.
Traditional poinsettias
The old-fashioned poinsettia can have a newfangled look with creative settings like ceramic or hand-crafted pots. You can make it a fun family project to gather the kids around to paint a one of a kind jar made by your own hands. Keeping in mind the colors of Christmas, you and the gang can decorate the item so that it very easily highlights Yuletide wonder. Bows, ribbons and garland strands can be added for garnish, but the poinsettia plant should stand alone as the focal piece of the arrangement for full dramatic effect.
Floral centerpieces
Christmas centerpieces usually have candles in white, red green or all of the above in the arrangement to give it a fantastic and bold imagery. These floral sprays often rest in the center of a large dinner table or a fireplace mantel bestowing a distinctive seasonal charm to the area. Pine cones, greens and red and white flowers are the hallmarks of such a piece, adopting the colors that are commonly associated with the season.
Keep in mind that nearly all floral arrangements can be accented with candy canes, red and/or green candles and white flowers to fill the foliage and add visual diversity. You can also get creative with things like chocolate, fruit cake or candies.
Flowers are good any time of year and around the holidays, a nice floral arrangement can add to the festive air that almost always seems to greet Christmas. By using flowers to underline your Holiday sentiments, you can be a part of the good will that spreads this season and perhaps, keep that mood going for weeks after official celebrations have passed.
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Toronto florist provides cheap flowers for all occasions, including; anniversary flowers, birthday flowers and wedding flowers. When looking for holiday flower arrangements, consider What A Bloom.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nutt
Nutt, Amy “Holiday Flower Arrangement Ideas.” Holiday Flower Arrangement Ideas EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?Holiday- Flower-Arrangement- Ideas&id=1803494
