Create a Tropical Bouquet

Using tropical flowers in a bouquet can make your wedding flowers pop or add some unexpected fun to your home décor. They come in subdued, pastel colors as well as bright colors, and a variety of sizes. Knowing which types of flowers your prefer will help you prepare them correctly. You can the arrange them in either a gathered or loose bouquet.

Steps

Choosing Your Flowers

1. Choose your color scheme. Tropical flowers come in subdued, pastel shades and some brighter, bolder colors. Before you choose your colors, decide which color scheme you prefer – this will help you select your flowers.
   • For example, pale tropical flowers include the African moon (a small, white daisy), the Amazon lily, begonias, cattleya, frangipani, and lotus flowers. Many of these flowers come in colors other than white, but they are more subdued hues.
   • Vividly colored tropical flowers include crab claws, African tulips, angel wing begonias, blanket flowers, bottle brush flowers, and chrysanthemums.
2. Determine what size flowers you want. Are you going for a big, statement bouquet or something with smaller buds? Big is better for a large, loose bouquet, while smaller flowers look best in a gathered bouquet.
   • The African tulip, cautleya, catasetum, bottle brush, and decorative dalia flowers are all larger tropical flowers.
   • Smaller tropical flowers include chrysanthemums, constantia, and frangipani.
3. Ask which flowers are in bloom. Depending on where you live, it can be expensive to order fresh tropical flowers. Asking your florist which are in bloom and likely to be cheaper can help you save money.
   • A good way to avoid this – and save money – is to buy fake flowers. Keep in mind, however, that while this is a money-saving option, you’ll probably have less variety to choose from.

Preparing Fresh Flowers

1. Cut off the bottom of the stem at an angle. How much you need to cut off will depend on how large the flowers are to begin with. It will also depend on how large you want your bouquet to be. When you cut the bottom of the stem, cut it at an angle – this makes it easier for the flower to soak up the water.
2. Remove extra leaves. Removing extra leaves increases the longevity of the flowers. How far down the stem you should remove extra leaves varies. You should remove enough so if you’re storing them in water, the leaves won’t be submerged. If you’re not storing them in water, remove enough so that you enough room to hold the bouquet.
3. Fill a vase with fresh water. This is good whether you’re making a bouquet for a table or for a wedding. You’ll need to keep wedding flowers in water until they are ready to go. Fill the vase about two thirds of the way full with clear, fresh water.

Arranging a Gathered Bouquet

1. Gather the smallest flowers in the middle. This gives your bouquet a focal point. It also allows you to use larger blooms to frame the flowers in the middle.
   • If you don’t want to arrange by size, you can choose instead to place your favorite flowers in the middle.
2. Frame the flowers in the middle with larger flowers. Once you have your center flowers arranged, use the next largest flowers to frame the center. You should add these flowers in a balanced way.
   • For example, if you put a larger flower on one side of your center arrangement, you should place a matching flower on the other side of the center. This gives your bouquet a clean, symmetrical look.
3. Add accents. Accents like tropical grasses will give your bouquet some extra style. You can also use things like seashells or brightly colored plastic jewels on pic sticks. Don’t add too many accents - you don’t want them to overwhelm the bouquet.
   • Tropical grasses and leaves that you can use as accents include monstera, ginger foliage, and virions.
4. Bind the flowers with floral wire. Once you have the flowers arranged how you want them, twist floral wire around the stems to hold them in place. This will prevent your bouquet from falling apart and also make it easier to hold.
5. Cover the wire with floral tape. This gives the bouquet an extra bit of strength. It also prevents the wire from rusting – which can happen if it gets wet. If that happens and the rust gets on your clothes, they can be ruined. Floral tape helps prevent this from happening.
6. Wrap the stems in fabric. This will cover up the floral tape. It also gives you a chance to bring more of your theme into your bouquet. You can use any type of fabric that matches your theme or bouquet: ribbon, burlap, cotton, or even strings of gems or pearls.

Arranging a Loose Bouquet

1. Start with a base of greenery. Starting with tropical grasses or leaves gives you a base for the rest of your flowers. Big tropical leaves like ginger foliage or virions are a great option for this.
   • Keep in mind that your bouquet will need to match the size of your greenery, so if you’re aiming for a small bouquet, use less greenery, or smaller leaves.
2. Place your largest flower in front of the greenery. For a loose bouquet, you’ll want to build it from back to front. This prevents any of your flowers from getting lost in the arrangement.
3. Frame the larger flowers with smaller flowers. You’ll want to place your smaller flowers in bunches of threes. Generally it’s best to place them in the center, and to each side of the larger blooms.
4. Vary the heights. You can use smaller flowers up front and near the bottom of the bouquet – this allows them to be seen and also doesn’t overwhelm the bouquet in any one spot.
5. Tie with fabric. To keep the bouquet together, you can loosely tie fabric around your stems. Don’t wrap them with wire, as this will give you a tighter look and will ruin the arrangement. Once your loose bouquet is finished, you can use it however you like - in a vase in your own home, as a hostess gift if you're attending a party at someone else's home, or even for a wedding.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Pick Quality Plumeria Flowers for a Lei
• Arrange Six Flower Buds
• Make a Mother's Day Bouquet
• Create a Spilled Flower Pot
• Preserve Rose Petals
• Arrange a Dozen Roses in a Vase
• Make a Lei
• Clean Artificial Flowers
• Wrap Flowers
• Clean Silk Flowers

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