Create a homemade summer floral bouquet with Wild Garden Florist

Summer is finally here and flowers are blooming everywhere so why not bring the beauty inside your home?

Alex Revenko, Studio Head at The Wild Garden Florist in Crowthorne, where our Renaissance Crowthorne community is also located, shares a step-by-step guide on how to create a lovely summer bouquet that will look perfect on your coffee table!

Summer floral hand-tied arrangement

Working with flowers is always a pleasure for me. It brings so much joy through the colours, fragrance and the textures. I personally find it very therapeutic, no matter what type of flower arrangement I’m creating as I believe that all flowers are absolutely gorgeous and tell us their little individual story.

I would like to share with you a very easy step-by-step guide of how to make your very own summery hand-tied arrangement.

To start, I would recommend using no more than 4-5 varieties of flowers, choosing colours that complement each other. Where possible, use the flowers in buds as they will last longer. During summer, we are lucky to choose from a huge variety of flowers and be truly spoilt – peonies are my absolute favourites!

1. All flowers will need a bit of preparation before you begin. The first step is to strip all the bottom leaves off. If you are using roses for your arrangement, remove the thorns by scraping them with a knife towards the stems. If you are using lilies, remove the pollen with scissors. Recut all the stems at 45-degree angle and place them in fresh water.

2. To start you hand-tied bouquet I would recommend taking a few stems of buffy foliage, such as pittosporum, and one large headed flower as a focal point, such as gerbera, and hold it vertically against the foliage.

3. Take a smaller or different shaped flower and place it across the stems in your hand. Angle it towards the centre and turn your arrangement in your hand slightly.

4. Continue adding remaining flowers and foliage at the angle rotating your bouquet every time and always in the same direction. Each time, place the flowers slightly lower as this will give a rounded shape to your bouquet.

5. When you have added all the flowers, look at the top of the bouquet to check they are in the right place and at the right angle. If needed, you can always take one out of the bouquet and place it back in correctly.

6. If you are happy with position and balance of the flowers, take a string or raffia and bind the top of the stems. Cut the stems at the same length and always at the angle when possible.

7. Place your bouquet in a vase with fresh water, making sure that all the stems are placed in the water. Add flower food if available.

To make your floral arrangement last as long as possible, I would recommend to change the water and recut the stem every other day or if you are like me and want them to last up to three weeks, do these steps daily. Make sure to display your vase in a cool place at home with no direct sunlight to also increase their longevity. I hope you do have a go at creating your own masterpiece using my handy guide above!

For more information about The Wild Garden Florist, flower care tips and to purchase a bouquet, visit www.thewildgarden.florist.

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Renaissance Crowthorne is our collection of 32 luxurious homes in the heart of the Berkshire village. To find out more about the homes and community lifestyle on offer, call the team on 01344 238 215 or email [email protected].