Here at House of Hobby we absolutely love florals and almost always have a bunch in the office somewhere so it’s only fair that we share a few tips and tricks from the amazing El from Maple & Wren on how to arrange and care for your beautiful blooms!

Buying flowers from the grocery store is great and all but sometimes they could use a little bit of finessing to make them really stand out, here are some of the ways that you can really bring those bouquets to the next level:

• Use the principles of design - flower arranging is an art and while there are no rules - things like contrast, proportion, movement, repetition, emphasis and blank space help to balance a floral arrangement.

• Ingredients - you want to use a mix of foliage, filler/texture flowers - the little things, and hero flowers - our bigger flowers that we want to be the focus of our arrangements. For a medium sized bouquet, we recommend picking 5-7 of both the filler/texture flowers and the hero flowers plus a whole range of foliage.

• Mix it up - don't be afraid to mix floral styles and colours. You can absolutely mix roses with natives, mix tropical flowers with cottage flowers, mix spikey with soft. These things all make for interesting design.

Now that you’ve got a stunning bouquet, you just need to know how to keep it thriving for as long as possible! Here are El’s best tips for keeping your flowers looking lovely:

• Clean water is king - change the water every 2-3 days - you don't really need to put anything in the water, you just need to keep it clean.

• Strip those stems - strip the stems of your flowers so there's no leaves in the water - this helps to keep arrangements neat, but also keeps the water clear of bacteria so your flowers last longer.

• Stay out of the sun - cut flowers are like vampires, they don't like direct sunlight.

• Pick out the dead blooms as they pass to keep enjoying the rest as long as possible.

So whether you’re getting a bunch for a loved one or even treating yourself to some fresh florals, now you can make them extra special in a few simple steps 💕

If you’d like to know even more about where to get the most beautiful blooms in Perth and get some hands on guidance from the wonderful El in person, come join us at our next Floral Arranging workshop!

Thanks xx
HOH