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You’re Visiting Her
Showing up with a bouquet of fresh cut flowers is certainly one way to go, but
there are other great choices too. Picture yourself standing there smiling,
potted plant in hand. It has appeal. Potted bulb flowers, which are usually a
lot cheaper than cut flowers, are already alive and growing. Also, a potted
plant keeps on growing for weeks without hassle and leaves a reminder of you
behind.
She’s Visiting You
If you think your furniture is in anyway dull, tasteless or tattered, cover it
up. Also, consider whether a few fragrant plants might not be a good idea.
Sweet smelling hyacinths or a few sprays of eucalyptus leaves strategically
placed about the room might help dispel the perfume of stale pizza box.
And For Her …
Fresh Tulip Design Styles to Try at Home
Once he’s brought you those gorgeous fresh tulips, what do you do with them? Cut tulips
need no fancy floral knowledge. Arranging them is easy: just trim the stems and
pop them in a vase. If you want to get more creative, it
’s also easy to fashion tulips into simple yet stylish arrangements. Following
are five trendy tulip designs from the flower experts at the International
Flower Bulb Center in Hillegom, The Netherlands. For more tulip care and
handling tips, see
www.bulb.com.
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Tucked in Tight: To create this fresh design, tuck flowers in tight in the vase,
with the flower heads just looming over the rim. Hugged together like this, the
flower heads present an appealing mass of intense color. Nothing additional is
needed: one type of flower, one color, that
’s all.
Short and Sweet: Here’s an unexpected arrangement that puts the spotlight on the tulip’s famously large flower and captivating colors. Trim tulip stems short, and then
suspend the flowers in water in a low glass, bowl or vase. The design works
beautifully with one tulip suspended in a humble juice glass or fancy low-ball
crystal. The effect is amplified by placing 8 or 10 tulip tops across a long
narrow low vase.
Dances with Tulips: Savvy floral designers love tulips for the ways they seem to
“dance” in the vase. Once arranged, tulips do not stay put. They move. When tulips
droop, they
’re happy. Doing “those things they do” is what makes tulips special.
Tilt-a-Tulip: Tulips don’t act like other flowers, so why arrange them normally? Put them at a tilt. Two
approaches: position one or more tulips at an angle in a narrow-necked vase, or
place a ribbon-tied bunch of tulips across a wide mouthed bowl.
Loop de Loop: Tulips have yet another trick. If left out of water for several
hours, their stems become limp and bendy. Tulips in this
“noodle-y” state can be molded into odd positions, then re-introduced to water to stiffen
up in the position you
’ve put them. Limp tulips can be woven through a lattice, for instance, or curled
into round glass bowls to be displayed fully enclosed in clear glass. Add fresh
water, as needed; tulips are thirsty flowers.
l
Content courtesy of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center, North
America.
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