Iris smell so wonderful, I love bringing them inside! The tutorial today will be another one “by hand”. To me, this means all the stems will be arranged in one hand and then plunked into the vase. You’ve seen me do it before. 😉 Click HERE to see it with tulips and daffodils.
There weren’t many colors blooming this particular day. These mauve ones are at the back corner bedroom next to the Mahonia bushes where I photographed the Robin Eggs as well as This Beauty.
I also had a few white ones near the bird feeders. Notice they aren’t all open. That’s a nice little trick to remember when arranging iris. The blooms don’t last very long once cut. Choose stems that have several unopened buds to extend the life of your bouquet.
My container may look like an old chippy pitcher, but it’s actually a vase found at Hobby Lobby. It’s nice and heavy. Notice how it fits my hand. When doing an arrangement “by hand” use a container that is just slightly larger than what you can grip. I like my vase to echo the shape of the bouquet. Since this one is tall and narrow, it is perfect for iris!
Since I am only working with two colors, this tutorial will be pretty brief. Cut all your flowers and lay them out so you can see just how straight or crooked their stems are. Choose the straightest stems to be the middle of your bouquet. I generally begin with three for the center. Then, working in a circle, add flowers just a bit lower than the first three.
Each time I make a lap around my hand, the blossoms are placed just a little lower than the previous set. Any stems that are bent will be used in the last round, which will give the bouquet its volume. Once all the flowers are in my hand, I hold them near the vase and cut all the stems at the same time to the length I want for the vase.
Then they are plunked inside and fluffed just a bit. My living room is going to smell WONDERFUL with these beauties inside!
Which flowers smell the best to you?
😉 -Marci
