Tweet

Choosing your favourite flower can be really difficult - it`s like asking someone what his or her favourite poem is. Try some variety and you would be amazed at the results! Use your imagination and let your creative genius take flight. Here are some pointers:

• Place a few layers of marbles in a square, clear glass vase. Trim the gladioli (or any flower that catches your fancy) stems to the same length. Start by placing some flowers in the corners. Then, using the marbles as the support, fill the rest of the vase. Intersperse with stems of lady`s lace or baby`s breath - which should fill up all the space. You`ll get a breathtakingly beautiful effect!

• This is a beautiful and simple arrangement which is so easy and creates a wonderfully structured, sophisticated and spring look:

Make a simple noughts-and-crosses-style grid across the top of a vase (ideally wide-necked with slanted sides) with eight strips of narrow cellotape. Carefully fill the vase with water. Strip the leaves from the lower part of long stemmed lilies (or any other long stemmed flower) to prevent them fouling the water and arrange in the central gaps of the grid. Trim the stems of roses to an even length. Begin working from the outside of the vase, arrange the roses in the remaining gaps of the grid so they form a ring around the lilies. Beautiful layers of flowers and striking dark green foliage create a traditional and natural-looking arrangement.

• Fill a wide-necked vase three-quarters full of water. Strip the leaves from three-quarters of all the flower stems and trim the carnation stems to the same length. Arrange them evenly throughout the vase. Then add deep red roses, whose stems should be twice as long. Dot baby`s breath around randomly and fill any gaps with some thick leaves.

Try this arrangement with roses of different colours. Choose yellow, orange and the pinky-yellow. Several heads massed together create a contrast of colour amid the dark green foliage.

• Strip the leaves from three-quarters of the rose stems and divide them into groups of three. Gather the roses and leaves (use your favourite kind) into a tightly packed posy. Start with a central cluster and add leaves and roses as you rotate the bunch, keeping the stems at the same slanted angle. Secure with string, trim the stems to the same length and place in a vase half-filled with water.