There's enough to think about when entertaining. In our house, the one thing that often gets the back burner are flowers. And it's ironic because I love fresh flowers, but it's the one thing that starts to seem overwhelming in the midst of planning a meal and picking up wine.
The Bon Appetit blog recently had some great tips for making a simple bouquet. So simple, in fact, that even I can do this in the midst of party prep. I think the key is not to stress too much about which flowers work best with other flowers because you could end up spending far too much time hemming and hawing at the market. Instead, pick out seasonal blooms that jump right out at you, and get home to start trimming and arranging. Here are four great, simple tips to get you on your way:
1. Buy More Than You Think: Flowers look best when really packed into their vase or container.
2. Go Seasonal: Peonies, tulips and daffodils are easy to find right now and brighten up any space.
3. Trim, Trim, Trim: Remove the leaves and trim stems short enough so the tops of the flowers are just flush with the top of the base.
44. Get Creative with Containers: Don't feel as though you need to stick with more formal vases. Mason jars make awesome vessels, look festive on the table, and are quite inexpensive.
Read more: Flower Arranging Tips at Bon Appetit
Related: Beautify: 7 Spring Flowers for The Kitchen
(Image: Martha Stewart)
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Flowers are a beautiful addition indeed. Since they stay fresh for a week atleast... I usually buy them 2 or 3 days before a party... So I get to look at pretty flowers while I am preparing for the party as well...
I save my glass milk bottles and use them as vases. It's super cute and really cheap.
Trim them until the blossoms are just above the top of the container??? That might work if you're going for the packed "Martha" look with non-traditional or short containers, but this would look ridiculous in a regular vase.
As the daughter of florists with a bit of design experience myself, you generally want the tallest flowers to be about twice as tall as your vase ("filler" like grasses, branches, or wildflowers can be taller). A good tip is to set your vase on a flat surface, grab a sharp paring knife with a sturdy blade or a small set of garden shears, and place the end of the stem on the table in front of your vase. Then using the edge of the table, move the stem down in front of the table until it looks like the right height for the vase. Cut it off just above the table (all vases have bottoms to account for!) and stick it in. If it still looks way too tall, cut it down a little more.
If you don't have pets who will instantly nom anything that falls on the floor, I just let the stems and leaves fall on the floor until I'm done, when I can sweep them all up. That's what we always did at the flower shop.
Don't forget to think of non-flower arrangements! Bushy ferns, blooming tree branches, even grasses can look schmancy if you do it right.