Violet Stevenson, in 1969, writing about flower arranging said:
The opium poppy is my mainstay. Its soft glaucous buds, stems, and seed look beautiful with anything. One way in which I use these poppies is to pull up the entire plant by the root, place it in water, and allow it to develop indoors. It needs no arranging.
Gertrude Jekyll, in 1900, said:
I have always observed that no intentional arrangement of flowers in the ordinary way gives an effect so good as that of a bunch held easily in the hand as flower by flower is cut.
Gertrude also observed that:
Hellebores, whose flowers are so precious in early spring, live excellently in water if their stalks are freshly cut and slit up rather high. If this is not done, they fade at once. They also look attractive stemless, floating in a bowl of water.
Sheila McQueen wrote in 1977:
Boxes, old tea caddies, biscuit boxes, anything that has a lid, is particularly good for small arrangements, because the lid gives background and so limits the number of flowers that are needed as you only have to fill one side. Also gather colorful foliage leaves from shrubs and from hostas and herbs and combine them with your flowers. Mahonia, for example, and dark-leaved basil, are very long lasting.
This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on flower arranger speak.
