How to get the most from cut flowers

Fresh cut flowers should last a good week in the vase, but there are a few things you can do to give them the best conditions for longevity.

1.Get them home as quickly as possible.

Fresh flowers are a living thing. Just like pets and people, they don’t like to be left in hot cars. You should be buying flowers at the end of your outing, and heading straight home with them.

Where you are gifting flowers to someone and there will be travel time involved - such as driving to the airport, visiting a friend in another town who’s just had a baby, or travelling to a weekend away - take a clean bucket of fresh water to the florist from where you’re buying your flowers and pop them straight into the water, ready for your trip. Carry them safely in the car away from direct sunlight and they’ll be beautiful and perky when you gift them.

2.Remove any paper, rubber bands or ties.

As soon as flowers arrive home, or you have received them, remove any wrapping and ties. It makes me really antsy to see bouquets still wrapped in their paper and stuffed into a vase (shudder).

Any rubber bands or ties will impede the flowers from being able to drink up water and keep themselves hydrated. Think of it like trying to drink a glass of water whilst having a tightly tied scarf choking you around your neck - not great.

3. Trim the stems and arrange in a vessel filled with clean water.

Many people miss these steps and it is crucial to the longevity of fresh blooms.

Re-cutting the stems at a 45 degree angle opens them up and allows them to drink more freely. The angled cut gives maximum surface area through which stems can drink, and the trimming itself removes any old, damaged or even slimy deterioration.

The vessel - vase, bottle, mason jar, tin, glass, test tube, bowl - whatever you are putting your flowers into for display - must be scrumptiously clean. You are aiming to minimise breeding conditions for bacteria, which will seriously shorten the vase life of flowers.

Arranging flowers is fun, and is really the whole point of cutting, buying or receiving flowers. Try cutting stems to different length for that professional look, and play around with placement until you are happy.

There is a world of inspiration out there - flower design books and blogs are a rabbit hole from whose beautiful clutches you may never return - but if you are not sure where to start perhaps consider Ariella Chezar’s beautiful work, and of course Pinterest has endless divine images. I like a more free flowing wild look to my arrangements, but it is important that you do whatever YOU like - they are your flowers and it is your home. The only person who has to like it is you. Long stems, super short stems, asymmetrical, or a big rounded ball shape - arrange them in a style that will make you happy every time you look at them.

Forget about any chemical floral preserves, just use fresh water in the vase (tap is fine) and refresh every day. I usually take the vessel to the sink and flush out the old water with a fresh batch by running the tap until the vessel has overflowed a few times. We have a grey water system, so this water goes back onto the garden (guilt-free). Take this opportunity to pull out any flowers or botanicals that are looking sad, and if you are left with gaping holes, you may need to adjust your display to keep it from looking like your great uncle with the missing front tooth.

Keep flowers away from heat (like a fire) or direct sun, and also avoid placing them immediately under an air conditioner vent. But do put them someplace where you will see them frequently. Hopefully it will make your day that little bit sparkier.

Enjoy!

PS Thank you Matilda for the lovely sketches xx