If you ever wander into a floral shop in London or Paris – you will note that their presentation of fresh cut flowers is often done as a hand tied. This technique can be used with almost any flowers (smaller to medium size flowers are best) to make an everyday bouquet you can put in a vase, give to a loved one or even a bouquet you walk down the aisle with to get married!
Below you will find step-by-step directions for making this bouquet. While practice will make perfect – we are confident that even on your first try you will end-up with a beautiful presentation to be proud of! Remember that all of the flowers you will ever need can be found at Adelaide’s. If you mention this blog we will even take off 10% of your fresh-cut flower purchases till the end of August. (Designer arrangements excluded)
So here we go – get out your clippers and let’s have some fun!
Items needed:
- 8 – 12 Stems of Fresh Cut flowers. Flower Stems with multi-blooms and unusual stems such as “Coffee Bean” or Thistle will add an unexpected dimension.
- 10 – 12 stems of fresh greens to create a collar and add additional texture to the arrangement. We used Lemon Leaf for the below arrangement.
- Clippers or a floral knife.
- Bind wire or ribbon to “tie” the arrangement together at the end and possibly wrap the stems.
Gather your flowers. You can choose multi-color flowers like the photo below or go with one single color and/or flower – the choice is totally up to you and what you want your end result to look like:
Place your index finger and thumb together similar to giving someone the “OK” symbol. This will form the spot you will begin inserting your flowers into:
Continue to add flowers in a circular pattern around the edge of the center flowers: (You will broaden the hole so you continue to have a firm grasp on all of the stems.)
Add additional elements such as coffee bean or other textured flowers, pods, etc. if desired:
Finish your masterpiece by adding lemon leaf or other broad leaf greens around the base of the arrangement:
When you are happy with the look of your hand tied – you will tie it off with bind wire or ribbon. (Strongly suggest that you use the bind wire and cut a piece 6 – 8 inches in length in advance so you are not struggling with holding your arrangement and trying to cut wire!)
Finally, cut your stems with the inner stems being slightly shorter than the outer ones in order for the arrangement to standup in a shallow bowl with water if that is your desired effect. You can also cut the stems evenly and wrap with stain ribbon in a braid (or other tie) if you will be using it as a hand bouquet for a wedding. If you wish to place your flowers in a vase use your table and the top of the vase for measuring the best spot to cut your stems:
Enjoy your new creation!
