The best time to gather flowers and foliage from your garden is either, early in the day or evening time. It is essential to get the cut stems in water as soon as possible, many leaves and sprays can be submerged for time to absorb enough water to make them last longer.
Grey foliage must never be submerged as it has a woolly surface, which loses its greyness when soaked. Leaving stems overnight is ideal.
The same treatment is appropriate for flowers from your florist, but re-cut the stems on an angle to help the flowers absorb as much water as possible.
Some flowering trees and shrubs have leaves that absorb all the water leaving the flowers to wilt very soon after gathering. Examples of these are Syringa, (Lilac), and Philadelphus (mock orange). Remove the leaves leaving perhaps a few small ones.
But if more than a very few are left the flowers will wilt quickly.
Spraying the finished arrangement with water, creating moisture in the atmosphere around the arrangement.
There are times when it may be advantageous to ‘’to hold’’ to hold the development of the flowers. Tulips, Gladioli, Peonies, are especially suited to this method.
It is essential to use good quality blooms showing no sign of mould or fungus, If the flowers are flaccid they will need a good drink to regain firmness before storage remove excess leaves wrap in newspaper place and leave in a cold shed or garage. In a bucket of water,
To preserve flowers for the winter you can cut Laurel, and Beach and most woody stemmed plants and put them in a container with 50% boiled water and 50% Glycerine, they need at least a week to take up the liquid. Remove and wash.
Ideal to use in Christmas arrangements.
Lastly enjoy this very satisfying hobby.