Florist Style Supermarket Flowers

It’s that time of year when everything starts to get a little bit lighter and a little bit brighter. We bring cut daffodils and tulips into the house and they completely lift the home out of its winter slump and give it a fresher look for spring.

I am extremely partial to a bunch of daffodils or tulips which are readily available in lots of shops by the plenty. And for as little as 60p a bunch what’s not to love about them?

However, sometimes the occasion calls for something just a little more lively and proper. Perhaps it’s a dinner or you have people coming around for a party or you may even be holding your own little event somewhere. Perhaps it could even be a wedding!

Whatever the occasion happens to be heading to your local florist can be an expensive trip. Florists are the fountain of flower knowledge and will often be able to get you more unique and uncommon flowers.

However, if you are not looking for anything in particular and are happy to have a pretty array of colours then a simple supermarket bunch (or local farmers market) can be a great way of decorating your home on a budget whilst getting a florist styled look.

All it costs is the price of the flowers and a little time from you. Which coincidentally can actually be very therapeutic at the same time. Win, win!

Today I am working with a bunch of flowers from my local shop at a cost of £8. Here is how you can achieve this great look. Here is what you will need:

1 x bunch of flowers

1 x scissors

1 x vase for displaying your arrangement (you can also use jugs or other glasses or pottery you may have)

My vase is a small vintage glass one with a glass frog. It cost me about £3 from a local charity shop and I use it all the time. A frog is not needed but it can be a handy addition to help keep blooms in place.

Now the important thing to note with a bunch of flowers from your local shop is to not just unwrap and stick them in the vase. This will not create a professional look. You want to add shape and have blooms at different heights to add interest.

So, first things first, remove the packaging and sort your blooms so that you can see exactly what you have got to play with.

A small note to think about is leaf removal. You don’t want excess leaves sitting in the water. As this will allow bacteria to breed and flowers will therefore not last. (At the time of writing this my blooms are getting on for three weeks old and are still looking pretty good with the exception of a rose that I removed last week.)

So what I am saying is, is preparation is key. I like to start by creating a shape with the greenery. As you can see in the pictures I have two different pieces reaching out both sides. Also be aware of where your flowers will be positioned. (Mine are against a wall and so there is no view from the back.)

Once you are happy with the greenery and it’s positioning you can begin to add the blooms. This is where leaf removal is crucial. Try to keep leaves that are above the rim of the vase and remove all lower ones. This will need to be done on an individual basis as you will want blooms at different heights.

Add flowers one by one and cut stems at an angle instead of straight across. Keep going until you have used your blooms up or can’t fot any more. (If this is the case little stem vases with one or two flowers can look lovely dotted about).

The most important thing is to have fun and just have a play around. (Don’t cut stems until you are sure of their place and height).

In the end you’ll have a beautiful florist worthy display that flower loving friends will envy. And you can tell them they were done by your own personal florist.

©️Charlotte Fay @charlofay