{"id":23929,"date":"2016-08-30T15:18:21","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T19:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/cumberland\/?p=23929"},"modified":"2018-11-02T13:19:44","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T17:19:44","slug":"teachable-moments-flower-arrangements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/cumberland\/2016\/08\/30\/teachable-moments-flower-arrangements\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachable Moments…Flower Arrangements"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sara Conant, UMaine Extension Staff, 4-H Community Education Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Flower<\/a>UMaine Extension Cumberland staff members will be bringing you new skills, tips, and tricks about a variety of Extension related programs in our Teachable Moments series. This month we\u2019ll teach you how to make floral arrangements.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Master Gardeners with floral arrangement experience gathered at the UMaine Extension Cumberland Office on August 19 to make floral arrangements for the Taste of Tidewater fundraising event held August 20 to support the UMaine Extension Cumberland Horticulture Department and the Gardens at Tidewater Farm. In our first Teachable Moments, 4-H Community Education Assistant, Sara Conant asked Master Gardeners to teach her how to make flower arrangements like the pros.<\/p>\n

\n

Randall Landry, Master Gardener Class of \u201999, who happens to come from a family of florists, and grew up working in his family\u2019s flower shop gave me some great tips on how to make beautiful arrangements.<\/p>\n

Tip 1<\/strong> \u2013 Put marbles or glass stones in your vase to not only create a pretty effect but also to weight your vase so that your flowers do not tip it over in taller arrangements.<\/p>\n

Tip 2<\/strong> \u2013 Always give stems a fresh cut to allow for optimal water soaking ability. Flower fresh packs help to keep bacteria in the water down. It is also best to change the water every other day for optimal flower life. Taking excess leaves off and only allowing stems into the water will make your water stay fresher longer.<\/p>\n

Tip 3<\/strong> \u2013 Start with your greenery first. Lay the green base before adding your flowers. Make sure to mix texture and colors. Sara’s Note – I also went rogue and added some flowers that were small and in small bunchs, or a colorful long flower here and there to my greenery mix to add more bulk and color to my arrangement (as seen in the photo below).<\/p>\n

Tip 4<\/strong> – Pick your color scheme \u2013 using colors that are opposite on the color wheel (ex: purple & yellow) works well for an eye popping arrangement. Carry this color scheme throughout the whole arrangement.<\/p>\n

Tip 5<\/strong> \u2013 Give your arrangement a pyramidal look by having taller flowers at the center and sloping, shorter flowers\/greenery on the way out from the center. Picking three \u201cshow stoppers\u201d for the center is a great way to achieve this look. Make sure to work your arrangement from all sides so that it is balanced.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/a>Tip 6<\/strong> \u2013 Don\u2019t overdo it. Sara\u2019s Note: This tip is so important\u2026the first couple of arrangements I did (with aesthetic help from coworkers Lynne, Mallory, & Tayla) had clear stopping points, we could easily tell when they looked great. The last arrangement however we got a bit carried away and wanted to use lots of pretty flowers that were leftover\u2026this left us with a bit of a mess so with the help of Master Gardener and former florist Lisa Friedlander we pared it down quite a bit.<\/p>\n

\"taping<\/a>After giving me these vital tips Randall helped me set up two short arrangements for the card tables at the Taste of Tidewater event.<\/p>\n

Supplies:<\/strong><\/h4>\n