Flower Arranging Part 3#: Hand Market Bouquet
A market bouquet is a classic at any farm store or city market. It also usually the main way you give flowers to another person. I think knowing how to arrange a market bouquet is essential for any florist.
Like with every bouquet, you need five categories of flowers. As recap you need: Focal flower, supporting flower, textural flower, foliage, and filler. The cutting process is very similar to any arranging as well. You just want to make sure you cut your stems extras long. For a hand bouquet you want to give your self a lot of extra stem space. I usually cut the stems off the plant at around 20” and shave off all leaves and thorns. For your foliage you will want to shave off all the leaves up until the top. Having at least 10” of clear space on the stem is advisable.
Getting Started
Organize your plants into piles like you would do with any arrangements. This step is super necessary for bouquets because they can get pretty tricky. If you haven’t already, figure out which category each plant falls into. This step coupled just be mentally, but it is good to know what you focal flower and etc. You will also want to precut a fairly long piece of brown or green twine to wrap around your bouquet when it is finished. Floral tape works too. This is just a hand bouquet, so I’ll just use twine or tape, but when designing for a wedding or more formal bouquet, you will want to uses a different technique for wrapping. For more on that I will have a not at the bottom of the article.
Next, take one or two stems of your focal flower and put them in between your foliage. Hold the bouquet upright, but place the flowers in the bouquet at an angle. If you want the bouquet to look extra fancy, twist the bouquet a little as you go. Slowly add in the fillers and foliage stems. make sure your original focal flower remains front and center. Once you have a good base layer of greenery and filler plants, slip int he rest of the focal flower, filling the bouquet. As a final touch add in the texture flowers and any other things you have remaining. Everyone has a slightly different style, but I like my bouquets to be nice and loose. Try experimenting with adding the flowers in at different heights, making them hand looser or tighter in the bouquet. She what you like best. Once the bouquet is all arranged, tightly wrap the twine around the stems, about 2-3” from the blooms. Tie a tight not and cut excess twine.
Cut all the stems to the same length. Examine your beautiful piece of work for any misplaced flowers and gently try to move them to the back. All that’s left is to enjoy it, or give it to someone, if that was its intended purpose.
Different Styling Techniques
For different bouquets like a bridal bouquet you’ll want to wrap the floral tape or twine with a two layers of ribbon. The first layer should be very long, around 5ft. This should be wrapped around the bouquet completely hiding the twine or tape. I suggest using floral tape if it’s for a wedding. Instead of tying the ribbon in a knot. Fold them together and, using a silver floral pin, pin the ribbon into the bouquet. Allow the excess ribbon to hang down. With the second ribbon, cut at a similar length wrap around once and bring around. The two sides should be of equal length. Tie the ribbon into a neat bow. Cut all the ribbons to an equal length, but leaving them long.
