Tue 23 Feb 2016

Important advice when working with berries

Berries make excellent fillers for flower arrangements. They are also great for adding colour and texture to the bouquet without pushing up the price. When working with berries, it’s important to follow certain guidelines. Knowing how to present and preserve them will ensure that you get the most out of each design. It’s also essential to know the difference between poisonous and safe berries.

 

When selecting berries for a particular flower arrangement, you will need to base your choices on the colour scheme as well as your other preferences like size and texture. The following is a list of some of the most popular berries for use in flower bouquets.

 

  • Brunia
  • Beautyberry
  • Berzelia Berry
  • ChinaBerry
  • Hypericum
  • Juniper Berry
  • Mistletow
  • Rose Hips
  • Snowberry
  • Waxberry
  • Winterberry

 

Berry Preservation

Berries, just like any other fruit has a life cycle. This means that they naturally rot after time. This, of course, is not the effect we want to achieve which is why preservation is essential.

Start by removing the berries from the stem, check each one of them for damage or decay. Clean each of the berries carefully with water and a soft cloth. Once dried, apply some petroleum jelly and buff to shine. Alternatively, you can apply an acrylic craft spray or acrylic floor wax to achieve the same effect. If, for whatever reason, you need to alter or enhance the colours of the berries, you can spray paint them.

If you want to keep the berries on the stems, you can follow the same process as mentioned above but simply remove damaged berries and leave the rest on the stem. Washing the berries will take somewhat more time since you won’t want them to fall from the stem and you don’t want to get the stem soaked either.

Like fresh flowers, you should also check the berries every couple of days for signs of decay. Remove any dying berries before they cause the surrounding plant material to perish.

 

Always use berries with extreme caution. Some of the most popular berries used in flower bouquets are toxic and should be avoided if you have pets or small children. They should particularly be avoided if you plan on displaying the bouquet near food or food preparation surfaces. The good news is that, even if you do skip out on your favourite berries, you can always substitute them with another, safer option.