Sun 12 Jun 2022

Wildflower arrangements – how to make your own

Mother Nature has a wonderful way of outdoing herself time and time again. When summer arrives, the world is overflowing with beauty in the form of lush foliage and gorgeous blooms. It’s enough to make anyone want to pluck these flowers and use them to spruce up their home. Of course, when creating any bouquet, it’s important to have a plan before you start picking. Wildflower arrangements are no different. Here’s what you will need to create your own wildflower display.

What you need:

– A selection of fresh wild flowers

– Suitable foliage (2 – 3 different types)

– A sharp pair of scissors

– Twine, string or old fashioned ribbon (for that rustic look)

– A rubber band

Instructions:

  • If you have a nearby field of blooms, you will be able to create wildflower arrangements fairly often. Just make sure that you wake up early enough to pluck those blooms when they are at their freshest.

  • Take a bucket of fresh water into the filed and pick your blooms early in the morning, before the sun has the chance to warm and dry their petals.

  • Once you have gathered your flowers, you should also consider your foliage. It is best to use at least two types of greenery in your bouquet so you can choose from the plants that are naturally growing around the wildflowers you have picked.

  • When you have all the plant material you need, return home to prepare your vase and add your blooms.

  • The vase will need to be cleaned before you add fresh water and some flower food.

  • Once ready, you should add your flowers once by one to the vase. Make sure that you remove any lower leaves and trim each stem at an angle so that it has a larger surface area for absorbing water and nutrients.

  • Try to place your blooms in a non-planned kind of way. You want the bouquet to look just like a bunch of flowers you would be holding in your hand after casually picking them. In other words, you want to maintain that wild look even though you are carefully arranging them in a vase.

  • Add some foliage in between as you go. This will help you space out your flowers and make your floral display look much like the field you just strolled through.

  • Remember, not only do you need to remove the leaves on the lower parts of the flower stems, but also on the lower parts of your foliage stems. You do not want anything but bare stems inside the vase itself. Too many leaves in the vase will clutter it and, if they end up below the water line, it can accelerate bacterial growth.

  • Make sure that you top up and replace the water regularly. Remove any dead or dying stems as soon as you notice them and keep this arrangement out of the sun and wind.

The best part about creating wildflower arrangements using the blooms growing naturally in a field nearby, is the fact that you do not need to plan the colour scheme. Nature has done it all for you! Just make sure that you choose larger (focal) and smaller (mass and filler) flowers to give your bouquet plenty of natural diversity.