Wed, Jun 03, 20
Welcome to your Box of Blooms
Jun 01-15, 2020
Greetings flower lovers!! You've just received your Belle Fleur Box of Blooms and it's time to bring more Spring into your home and start channeling your inner floral designer. In this week's segment, noted floral designer Meredith Waga Perez, owner and Creative Director of acclaimed floral & event design boutique, Belle Fleur, will walk you through a step-by-step process on how to clean and condition the stunning flowers that have landed on your doorstep, directly from Holland. She'll also guide you on how to design and create beautiful arrangements with these blossoms, ensuring your home will look and feel amazing.
SEGMENT 4.0: INTRODUCTION TO YOUR BOX OF BLOOMS
WHAT'S IN THIS WEEK'S BOX OF BLOOMS
Red Charm Peonies, 20 (Solo Box) or 10 stems (Medium & Large Box). These Red Charm Peonies are exquisite with their deep crimson color. They will bloom as big as grapefruits and they will shed beautifully, as their petals collect around your vase.
Pink Jewel Calla Lilies, 30 Stems (Medium & Large Box). These long stemmed Calla Lilies have smaller heads than the standard callas, but they are prettier, daintier and are grown in a beautiful shade of pastel purple.
Arabicum, 20 stems ((Medium & Large Box). Also known as Arabian Star Flower, its long stems boast luminous racemes with clusters of small, sweetly scented, star-shaped white flowers. They are considered one of the longest lasting cut flowers.
White Double Freesia, 50 stems (Large Box only). Noted for its sweet and fresh aroma, Freesia is a wild and beautiful flower that produces 5-10 trumpet shaped blooms on long, arching and sturdy stems.
4.1 CONDITIONING AND DESIGNING YOUR PEONIES
WORKING WITH PEONIES
The bulb heads of the Peonies are delicate and top-heavy so handle with care when unpacking. They'll come packed in bundles of 10.
Once unpacked, strip some of the leaves off so that water is redirected to the bulbs. Leave on one or two leaves near the top. Trim the stems by about an inch, always cutting at an angle, and place in a cylindrical vase filled with cool water.
As soon as you place them in water, you will begin to see them open up. Once they have hydrated enough and you're ready to design, you'll need to recut them to fit the vase you've selected. We like to keep them as long as possible because we know we have to keep retrimming (by 1/4" -1/2") every day.
Your final arrangement will see the Red Charm Peonies bloom into stunning large blossoms. be sure to swap out the water each day and retrim the stems a little. Over time, you'll see the petals begin to drop, forming a beautiful ring around your vase. Collect them and use them for potpourri!
4.2 CONDITIONING AND DESIGNING CALLA LILIES AND ARABICUM
WORKING WITH CALLA LILIES AND ARABICUM
Calla Lilies in general need no conditioning, but they do need cool water so be sure to drop them in asap. Once you are ready to design, cut the stems to fit your vase of choice - it could be large or small, and make sure you cut them at an angle.
Like Callas, Arabicum is easy to handle and need no conditioning. Make sure you have a tall vase and keep them in cool water until you are ready to design. Cut the stems (at an angle) to the appropriate size and design away!
Because these Pink Jewel Calla Lilies are so striking, they can be placed in almost any container. Here we selected decanters and placed 4-5 callas in each.
Three to four stems in a tall cylindrical vase, is all you need to garner a 'wow' effect with these blooms. Conversely, you can cut them down and use a small vase.
4.3 CONDITIONING AND DESIGNING FREESIA
WORKING WITH FREESIA
White Double Freesia comes in a single, beautiful 50 stem bundle and the first thing you'll notice is the fresh, floral aroma. These will require a bit more work than Calla Lilies or Arabicum before you can design, but it's well worth it in the end.
They look a bit wild, but when conditioning your Freesia, you'll want to strip off the lower green leaves and maybe leave one or two on the stem for a cleaner look. Trim the stems at an angle at the point where the stem turns from yellow to green, and place in cool water.
The flowers will begin to bloom as the stems hydrate and you'll see numerous white flowers blossoming on each stem. We like these in a single, large vase for effect.
While we chose to display all the stems in one large vase, you can easily cut them in smaller bunches and drop into smaller vases to create more arrangements throughout the house.
Want to share your beautiful designs?
Send an image of your arrangement to meredith@bellefleurny.com so we can feature it here!