Beautiful rose bouquet. (Creative Commons, pxhere)
June is the month for weddings!
Some brides prefer garden flowers instead of store-bought ones. However, if you are thinking about using garden flowers, it is very important to condition them so that they do not droop.
Thankfully, it is easy to find lots of information on the Internet while you are in the planning stage:
- Always pick the blooms in the cool of the morning or evening so that they can sit for hours in deep containers of water to soak up lots of moisture.
- There are other hints, such a soaking the whole heads underwater of some types of flowers such as hydrangeas, and then letting them drip dry.
- Some types of flowers, especially those with woody stems, benefit from having the ends of their stems crushed, and others last better if the ends of their stems are singed with a flame.
If a bride wishes to carry a bouquet of long-stemmed flowers:
- Remove any thorns or lower leaves and cut the end of the stems at an angle so that more water can be absorbed.
- Tie the stems firmly together using a soft pliant wire and/ or florist tape. Use inch-wide satin ribbon as the final layer.
- Secure with pearl tipped pins.
- However, be sure to let the bottom end of the bare stems (about one and a half to two inches) protrude from the wire, tape and ribbon wrappings, at the bottom of the stems. That part needs to stand in water, preferably in a tall glass vase, until the very last moment before the ceremony.
- Sharp clippers should be used to snip off the wet bare ends of the stems before the bouquet is handed to the bride.
