Happy first day of spring, y’all!

Spring is such a breath of fresh air. Of course, in Colorado, spring is full of wet snow, but in between, tulips will bloom and the sun will shine. I love spring cleaning, bright food, and fresh flowers.

These days, flowers are really on my mind. I recently just met with a couple of florists for my wedding in September. We will be working with our local coffee shop/flower shop owner for the big day and we are SO excited—at least I am, and Jack is happy that I am 😍

Our local coffee shop, Lula Rose General Store, (and now the new Little Lula Rose flower shop!) hosts flower arranging classes. Kirsten and I attended one together last summer. It was incredible! Roses, snacks, fun girls, and oh yeah - flowers! We came away with some really wonderful tips, inspiration, and of course, arrangements. I loved learning about the different flowers and tapping into some creativity.

Now I always try to arrange my own flowers. Even if I get an arrangement from Trader Joe’s or Sprouts, I don’t just bring it home and trim. I use the techniques I have learned to enhance the arrangement and they always look SO much better than if I just plopped them in a vase.

Here are some of the best tips and tricks I have collected:

Clean the stems.

Any part of the stem that will be in the water should be clean from leaves and debris. Clean water is crucial for keeping your flowers fresher longer, and leaves are dirty so cut em’ off!

Arrange the flowers in your hand, first.

Before cutting, arrange all of the flowers in your hand to get an idea of the look you are going for and the height each stem will need to be (or how much will need to be removed). It’s much easier to do this now than to start cutting and placing without a vision.

Cut the stems at a diagonal.

When you are trimming your stems, cut them at a diagonal. This creates more surface area for the flowers to soak up the clean water and nutrients.

Create structure at the base.

Use sturdy flowers at the base of the arrangement to hold its structure. It will help you keep the shape you are going for and offer something strong to build around.

Many local flower shops will let you come in and pick out loose stems from their cooler. I went into Honeycomb & Co in the Sunnyside neighborhood to grab a few stems for this shoot and it’s always inspiring. Trader Joe’s also has a great selection of small bunches you can grab to create your own masterpiece at home as well!

There is something about a fresh flower arrangement in a clean house. Whether you are putting them on your kitchen table or bringing them to a sick friend, taking the time to create something personal it totally worth it. Happy arranging!

XO
J