Gorgeous Flower Arranging

Posted by Naomi Gabay

At Martha Stewart Living Radio, we aim to learn something new every hour of every day. In addition to everything that I’ve learned from all of our hosts and our guests, I’ve been making a point to take classes in areas that are new to me.

From sewing to knife skills, it’s easy to find classes to learn anything you’re interested in. This week I ventured into brand new territory -- flower arranging.

Ovando is a flower shop in New York City, owned by Sandra De Ovando, that offers monthly flower classes to the public. Her motto is “simple not simplistic,” which precisely describes her stunning work.

VIEW THE REST OF NAOMI'S FLOWER PHOTOS

The project that I worked on was a signature arrangement from their Valentine’s Day collection. With a little more practice, this is definitely something that I'd be able to recreate for gifts or entertaining.

It starts with a cube shaped vase and a handful of long dogwood branches. We clipped two pieces of the dogwood to snugly fit horizontally in the vase.

I trimmed the rest of the branches to a height about 3 inches taller than the vase. I bunched them together and tied the bottom with floral wire. Then I fanned them out and placed them between the two horizontal stems.

I chose from the incredible selection of individual stems in the shop, and picked tulips, ranunculus, and carnations in bright reds and purples. And, yes, carnations are back in style, and a fabulous, inexpensive choice to bulk up your arrangements.

I cut the ends, and placed the stems in between the branches one at a time, occasionally removing a branch to make room.

I’ll be trying this again on my own in order to perfect my technique. Next time I would be more careful to conceal the green stems with the branches, and I would choose flowers that were more similar in size and shape. There’s always something new to learn!

Comments

[Peggy]

photos are so pretty. thank you for posting them.

[Victor G.]

Looking at those beautiful flowers makes me long for Spring!!
:-)

Carnations have always been my favorite because, yes, they are inexpensive, plus they last a long time. I try to convince my husband to get me Valentine's Day carnations, but he still insists on roses.

[Raina]

Carnations have always been my favorite because, yes, they are inexpensive, plus they last a long time. I try to convince my husband to get me Valentine's Day carnations, but he still insists on roses.

[Victor G.]

Raina -- sounds like your husband is a romantic guy. Accept the roses!
:-)

[philippine florists]

Beautiful! Wish that flowers was meant for me.
Thanks for sharing.

-fern-