First Come Flowers

10 Tips For Bedside Flower Displays You Can Make Today

You can create simple flower arrangements to put near your bed today. Professional floral design skills aren't necessary. Just follow the 10 tips below:

 

Decor4all

1.  A few white flowers in a colorful room give it a neutral pop. Use hydrangeas as pictures above or any white flower you like.

 

Rue Magazine

2.  Place flowers in cube vases at your bedside. Just cut the flowers and place them where you want in the vase.

 

Hvitur Lakkris 

3.  Plant flowers in a container with drainage or place potted flowers inside a watertight container.

 

Emily Ruddo

4.  Stick a few blooms in a vase or bottle with a small opening. This makes the blooms stand out.

 

Polka Dots and Puppies

5.  Cut roses or other flowers about the same length and place them in a vase of water. The more the merrier.

 

 Gap Interiors

6.  Use one striking flower like a gerber daisy (above), a lily or alstroemeria in a simple or unique vase for great impact.

 

Just Call Me Grace 

7.  Keep a small bunch of inexpensive flowers that complements your decor near your bed at all times to lift your spirits.

 

Everyday Lovely

8.  Cut a few flowers from your garden and place them in a color coordinated vase.

 

Gap Interiors

9.  Clear glass vases are great for spring and summer bedside blooms. They make an airy and refreshing floral arrangements.

 

Decor4all 

10. Use the same flowers in various colors or different flowers in a mix of colors to add spice to your room.

Further Reading:

Even You Can Spruce Up A Room With Flowers

8 Secrets for Selecting Fresh Flowers the Way Florists Do

6 Tips for Caring For Fresh Flowers In The Summer

 

You may also like my "Rooms to Dream By' pinboard on Pinterest.

Anything goes when it comes to bedside flowers. Whatever puts a smile in your heart each morning works.

Which bedside flower arrangement would you like to find in your bedroom tomorrow morning?

Mimi

 

 

 

10 Green Bridal Bouquets

 During all of my years at Fly Me To The Moon Florists, I've never been asked to make a green bridal bouquet. But when that day arrives, Ill use these beauties for inspiration:

1.  Rebecca Thuss

Love the mix of textures in this unusual green bridal bouquet.

 

2.  Naturellement Fleurs

The pale green blossoms  look great with the white calla lilies and roses.

3.   Grandiflora

The vibrant green ornamental kale looks like giant green roses in this green bridal bouquet.

 

4. James Abel Events

The green parrot tulip bouquet is quite striking don't you think?

 

5. Old Town Florist 

The metallic copper ribbon on this unique bouquet is a nice contrast to all of the green flowers.

 

6.  Martha Stewart 

A simple yet elegant green bridal bouquet with lots of green foliage and a few parrot tulips.

 

7.  Martha Stewart 

Luscious bouquet of greeen and yellow cymbidium orchids and green hydrangea.

 

8.  Renee-Fleuriste 

A circular green bridal bouquet iwth loads of greenery and white roses. 

 

9.  Old Town Florist 

Gorgeous green cymbidium orchid bouquet. 

 

10.  Blue Sky Wedding

Exquisite bouquet of mixed green and white orchids.

 

To see more green bridal bouquets please see my Green Floral Design pinboard over at Pinterest. 

Which green bridal bouquet do you like best?

Mimi

 

5 Vases Every DIY Floral Designer Must Have

  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

"Once you learn how easy it is to throw together an elegant arrangement, you'll never want to live without one again."

                                                                                   Carlos Mota

Arranging flowers the way they do in books and magazines is not always as easy as it seems. But you can learn a lot by studying them. You've got to have the right flowers, cut to the right height in the right vase.

 

 
  Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 

There are 5 basic vases every budding DIY floral designer must have. Four clear glass vases and one you can't see through in your favorite color and shape.

Vase Types

It's not easy figuring out which vase you need to get the look you want. They come in so many sizes, shapes, colors and textures.

Select The Right Vase

Knowing the correct vase to use to get the look you're going for takes 3 things:

1. training your eye for great floral design

2. practice

3).having the right vase for your flower arrangement

 

Begin With Vases You Already Own

Start by looking in your cabinets. You probably have clear glass vases in a variety of shapes and sizes. Great! Now pick out the 5 basic vases listed below and donate what you don't want or need. 

Be on the look out for the shapes you don't have at flea markets, thrift shops and the homes of friends and family.

 

 The 5 Basic Vases 

 

Image:  Crate and Barrel

1. Classic Vase - A clear glass vase that is narrow at the neck and full on the bottom. Get one with an opening of approx 4" and about 8" tall. The classic vase will give your flower arrangement a more traditional look depending on the flowers you use.This vase is good for mixed bouquets or a large bunch of the same kind of flower preferably in the same color.

Hold the flowers right in front of the vase with the flowers exactly where you want them to be in the vase. Cut them a bit longer than you want them then see how they look in the vase. If you cut them too short the first time there's no room for correction.

I like to cut flowers so that the flower heads are practically resting on the neck of the vase. This makes the flower arrangement look lush and full. If you want a taller flower arrangement, you may want to cover the stems with a nice foliage like salal (lemon leaf). You can get this from your florist.

 

Image:  Kabloom

2. Cylinder Vase - A cylinder vase is a straight column of glass. The larger the opening of the vase, the more flowers you'll need. A vase with an opening of about 3.5" and 8" tall is a good basic size.  

This vase creates a clean modern look especially for the more architectural flowers like lilies, calla lilies and exotic flowers. Roses, considered a romantic flower look ultra modern in a cylinder vase.

 

Image: Crate and Barrel

 

3. Cube Vase - A 5" x 5" square vase made of clear glass. Great for making a mixed flower arrangement of short flowers and foliage. The cube vase will give your flower arrangement a modern look.

This vase is often lined with a large Ti leaf to cover the stems and floral foam. You can place flowers uniformly into this vase without foam if you like. Use a ceramic cube vase if you don't want to see flowers stems or floral foam. 

Image:  Flowers and Supplies

4. Bud Vase - A vase that traditionally holds a single stem with or without foliage. If the stems are thin, you can actually put a small bunch of flowers into a bud vase.

Create a simple designer look by placing a single dramatic flower in a bud vase. Lilies are a great flower for this look.

 

Image:  decorpad

 5. Ceramic Vase -  Can be one of the shapes listed above or an entirely different one. Use this vase when you want to introduce more color into your flower arrangement. It also works well when you don't want to see flower stems. 

Be sure to change the water every other day in a ceramic vase. It's easy to forget when you can't see the water.

so those are the basic 5 vases I think every DIY floral designer should have on hand. 

What type of vase do you use for your flowers?

Mimi

 

Linking To:

At The Picket Fence

Chic On A Shoestring

Common Ground

French Country Cottage

Ivy and Elephants

My Romantic Home

One Artsy Mama

Savvy Southern Style

Simply Sweet Home

Sugar and Spice

The Not So Functional Housewife

The Tip Junkie

12 Purple Flowers You Should Know

Purple flowers are pretty popular at Fly Me To The Moon Florists. I wrote a post about purple flower bouquets last week  

I thought you'd like to learn the names of some of the flowers used in those bridal bouquets. So here's a list of my top 12 purple flowers used at our shop.

12 Purple Flowers 

 

Image:  Whole Blossoms

1)  Calla lily

Image: fiftyflowers

2)  Carnation

 

Image:  Perennials.com

3)  Delphinium

 

Image:  fiftyflowers

4) Freesia

 

Image: Stargazerperennialsgardenjournal

5)  Gladiola

 

Image: Floraphilia

6) Grape Hyacinth

 

Image:  Flower Picture Gallery

7) Hydrangea

 
Image:   fiftyflowers

8)  Iris

 

Image:  Floraculture Consultancy

9)  Lisianthus

 

 

Image: danisafreshflowers

10)  Rose

Image:   Whole Blossoms

11)  Statice

 

Image:   Whole Blossoms

12) Stock

 

Are there any purple flowers I've forgotten?

Mimi

 

10 Fragrant Flowers You Should Know

People expect flowers to smell good! I know this, because I watch people put flowers up to their noses nearly everyday at the shop.. 

 

Image:  Martha Stewart

I do the exact same thing when I discover a new flower at the flower district in New York City. 

The next thing customers at our flower shop do is ask how long the flower will last. I never respond by saying what my flower salesman says. "It will last until it dies!," Instead, I give them a general approximation based on the variety of the flower.

Fragrance vs Vase Life

It was interesting to learn that the fragrance of flowers and their vase life are closely linked. It seems the more scientists try to extend the life of flowers, the less likely they are to have a scent. But, in spite of all this floral engineering, there are still some commercially cut flowers that always smell good.

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

Fragrant flowers don't usually last as long as unscented ones.  But if you think of them as you would a great performance, a wonderful dinner or a beautiful sunset, I doubt that you 'll ever think of these magnificent flowers as a waste of money.

 

10 Fragrant Flowers

Here's a list of 10 fragrant flowers that you should experience at least once in your life.  Take the list with you  when you go to the florist:

1) Freesia - Roses Are Red

 

2) Hyacinth - flowerpictures.org

3)  Lavender - Flower Picture Gallery

4) Lilac - hortu.com

 

5) Lily (some varieties) - rosesarerae

 

6) Lily Of The Valley - Telegraph UK

 

7) Peony  (some varieties) - shoplovepeony

 

8) Roses (some varieties) - Ubloom

 

9) Sweet Pea - Examiner

 

10) Stock - wholeblossoms

 

What's your favorite scent and what memories rush to mind when you smell it? It doesn't have to be a flower.

Mimi

 

Linking to: 

At The Picket Fence

Beyond The Picket Fence

Chic On A Shoestring

Common Ground

Elizabeth & Co.

French Country Cottage

Home Is Where My Story Begins

Ivy and Elephants

My Romantic Home

No Minimalist Here

One Artsy Mama

Primp

Redoux

Savvy Southern Style

Serenity Now

Simply Sweet Home

Stuff And Nonsense

The Charm of Home

The Not So Functional Housewife

The Shabby Nest

Three Mango Seeds

Tip Junkie

Learn How To Enhance The Lives of Others With Flowers While Feeling Pretty Good About Yourself Too

I was amazed to learn that there are older people who have never received flowers in their lives. Receiving flowers is a small thing to some, but a really big deal to others.

 

Heather Bullard

We ran a special promotion at our shop called, "Free Flower Friday." We gave roses to people who came into the shop and signed up for our mailing list. 

There were a number of older women who had never been given flowers in their lives. Ever! It made me realize that there are those who get flowers and those who never do. Doesn't seem quite right does it?

I'm asking you to do your part to change that. Everyone deserves to get a small gift of flowers at least once in their lives. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg to do it either.

I'm giving you 5 links plus a bonus to show how simple and cheap it is to "make someone's day" with a gift of fresh flowers.

Heather Bullard -Learn how to make this below.

 

How To Enhance The Lives Of Others With Flowers:

10 People Whose Lives You Can Change With A Gift Of Flowers

5 Tips for Taking Flowers To The Hospital

4 Tips For Making Store Bought Bouquets Look Elegant for Less

What to Write On A Flower Enclosure Card

An Easy DIY- Pretty Supermarket Posy

 

Bonus - Women Hate Flowers Sent Anonymously

I'd really love to hear your opinion on this topic. Please leave a comment. Thanks!

Mimi

You Can Make What Out of Flowers and Foliage? Part 1 Clothing

 

b.michael,michaelgaffney,nyschooloffloraldesign

 

 

Joe Massie

The red rose gown above and the vest below were created by Joe Massie.  See more of his work and read an interview with him with my friend, Rona, over at her blog, Flowerona.

 

Joe Massie

 

Francoise Weeks

You can see  more floral design by the amazing Francoise Weeks at her website here.

betsyjohnson&prestonbailey,matthewpeyton

Floras

Love this elegant yet modern floral purse,

Francois Weeks

A fanciful hat with lots of intricate floral detail.

See lots of extraordinary floral art and follow my Pinterest pinboard called, "Striking Floral Artistry" here.

Which piece of floral clothing would you "wear?"

Mimi

16 Red Flowers You Must Know If You Consider Yourself A Floral Designer

There are many different kinds of cut red flowers. To most people red flowers = roses. At our shop, we go way beyond red roses though.

Some of the 16 flowers listed below come in other colors too. But if it's red flowers you want I've got you covered:

 

wholeblossoms

1)   Amaryllis

 

theflowerexpert

 2)   Rose

 

shibatafc

3)   Carnations

 

dipity

4) Gerbera Daisy

 

rosesarered
 

5)   Alstroemeria

 

healthyhomegardening
 

6)   Peony

 

tulips

7)    Tulip

 

flickrhivemind

8)   Ginger

 

vernabob

9)    Ranunculus

 

wholeblossoms

10)  Gladiola

 

Fly Me to The Moon Florists

 11)  Lily

 

fiftyflowers

12)   Mokari Orchids

 

Orchidflorsa

13)    Anthurium

 

 fiftyflowers

14)    Anemone

 stevensandson

15) Gloriosa Lily

 

 

Fiftyflowers

16) Hypericum Berry

 

Can you think of any red flowers I've missed?

Mimi

 

 

6 Tips For Writing On Valentines Day Cards That Won't Get You Into Trouble

You have to be careful about what you write on Valentines Day cards. One wrong word could send you down the wrong path. So think hard before you write. Then follow the 6 tips below:

 

6 Tips for Writing On Valentines Day Cards 

 1) Never write love if you mean like. Writing "I love you." to someone you'd like to know better or to an old flame will get you in trouble. The new person may get scared off. And the old flame will get the wrong message. Unless you're really trying to get back together.

2) Think before you write. If you're ordering flowers for delivery, figure out what you want on the card before you pick up the phone. Write it down. Remember the florist enclosure cards are only 2 x 3 inches. You cannot get 500 words on there. Trust me. I've tried!

3) Spell the person's name right. As a matter of fact spell everything right. If you're a bad speller it will show the person you care.

4) Write the card out yourself. No one cares how bad your handwriting is. It really is the thought that counts.

5) Don't just grab a card and sign your name on the bottom. Put a little thought into it. Write a line or two. If in doubt ask for help. But if you have trouble rhyming two words, don't copy a poem off the internet and expect anyone to believe you actually wrote it. Be yourself.

6) Sign your name. People, especially women, hate getting flowers delivered to them anonymously. Don't believe me? Read this.

 

What's a good line to write on a Valentines Day card?

Mimi

Image: Melissa Neufeld

Even You Can Spruce Up A Room With Flowers

Look at any designer room online or in a magazine or book. What do the pictures have in common? Flowers! 

Elle Decor

 

But not just any flowers. Simple flowers. 

The flowers are rarely in fancy flower arrangements put together by floral designers. Well okay, maybe they are. But they're simple flower arrangements you can make yourself.

 

Here's How To Get The Look:

1) Buy one type of flower in only one color. A bunch of green spider mums. Three stems of orange lilies. A handful of white carnations. Get the idea? The attention goes to the flowers. The texture, color and shape of this simple flower arrangement stands out.

 

Elle Decor

2) Buy one kind of flower in different colors. Three colors works well, but buy as many colors as you like.  Just stick to one type of flower. 

3) Place your flowers in a simple yet interesting vase. It doesn't have to be expensive. You can get three of the same vases and line them up in a row. Or use a jar if you like.

 

Kathryn Wiens

4) Cut the flowers to the right length. Depending on the flower, I like to cut them so that the blooms sit just above the neck of the vase. Why?

• Shorter flowers generally last longer, because the water doesn't have to travel up a long stem.  
• Flowers cut short make the arrangement look more lush.

 

How does having a simple flower arrangement around make you feel?

Mimi