Consider The Lillies Of The Field . . .

Beautiful flowers are sure to complement any home, but they can be so costly when you buy arrangements from a florist. Here again is my good friend Mae, showing me just how one can put together an expensive-looking arrangement at a fraction of the price!

Mae begins by selecting fresh flowers that she has found at the flower stand that day. She told me that she tries not to go with her mind set on anything in particular, but just looks for what is available and freshest that day. Her advice is to play around with color combinations until you find what pleases your eye.

Before she starts arranging her centerpiece, she already has everything she needs ready at her fingertips. As you can see, she begins by using her large flowers (long-stemed white hydrangeas, in this case), to which she adds some pale pink gerber daisies. These two flowers form the foundation, to which she will add the smaller accents. In this case, they are just a few small dark-purple mums.

Try out your own favorite combination of colors that will complement your table settings and décor.

Be sure to vary the texture of the flowers, as this will create a more interesting arrangement. Notice that Mae has selected huge soft, fluffy mounds of white hydrangeas to go with medium-sized pointy-petaled gerbers.

I particularly admired how she added the small, intense aubergine-colored button mums that contrast with the softer pink and white blossoms.

To finish the arrangement, she has tucked in clusters of varigated pitisporum leaves.

Once she is satisfied with her bouquet, she simply wraps the stems snugly with a rubber band! What an easy, affordable way to secure her flowers! They won’t slip free, but there is still a bit of elasitcity for her to adjust the flowers to her liking.

Taking her shears, she snips the ends to the appropriate length that will fit in her container. Be careful to not snip too much before you set them in their base, or else you may discover you now have an arrangement that is too short! You can always snip more if you need to, but you can’t make them longer once they’ve been cut.

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