The Power of Flowers: An Intro to Floral Arrangements

Introducing a flower component into your interiorscape portfolio is another great way to create monthly sales that could end up paying big dividends.

Flowers are a nice way to show someone how much you appreciate them. Whether the reason be a tough project completed, long hours spent at the office, a milestone anniversary, birthday, or just to lift someone’s spirits, flowers are the universal “feel good” gesture.

Not sure where to start? Most major cities have a wholesale floral supplier or two. You can also purchase flowers from places like Costco, grocery stores, and other florists in your area – sometimes for a discounted rate. Spend a little time in the flower cooler learning the names and basics of the flowers and greenery there. How to process them plus the erratic seasonal and weekly pricing will all make sense the more you delve into it. And don’t forget to add the decorative container options and the supplies required to design and construct to determine your cost per size and type of flower arrangement.

flower Experimenting with basic designs will help build confidence. Products like Floralife exist to help maintain quality hydration and critical freshness to ensure your arrangement lasts a week or longer. It’s also important to know what’s trending in the floral world. Attending floral shows, scrolling through Pinterest, and perusing other florists’ websites are good ways to learn what’s new. There are loads of YouTube and floral product videos that are also very helpful.

The sale is the tricky part. Educating your client about the differences in flowers as related to price and design is key. We are all so used to seeing a bunch of cut flowers at the grocery store for $7.99. But cutting a bunch of daisies and putting them in a vase is vastly less expensive than selecting 2-6 flowers, adding other eye-pleasing elements, and “arranging” them in a container that complements the architecture, or interior design, of the area it is to be placed in. Vases come in all sorts of styles and shapes. Visits to thrift stores and/or estate sales could reveal unique pieces for your flower displays.

Offering a sample arrangement to a client who expresses interest is a good way to start the process.

orchid flower A weekly floral rotation can be as simple as a vase with a single flower, such as a cut Cymbidium orchid, or it can be a variety of complex colors, textures, and greenery. We offer small, medium, and large arrangements – small being desktop and usually not over 8-10” tall. Medium displays are both wider and taller at approximately 14” x 12.” And large arrangements tend to be more of a center and accent piece around 20” x 16” tall. Once again, size is determined by budget, flower replacement frequency, and of course flower type. Don’t be afraid to mix and match – build an annual schedule where perhaps you have an orchid or bromeliad bowl for a month or two to offset the normal weekly rotation. And be sure to have fun with it!

Here are some flowers for your consideration.

Tried & True – long lasting colorful blooms

Alstromeria
Dianthus varieties – Carnations
Acacia
Liatris
Most Mum varieties
Hydrangea
Dahlias, Nerines & Amaryllis – can last a bit longer than the average bulb
Anthurium blooms
Hypericum berries
Artichoke
*Leucadendrons* – protea, safari sunset, jubilee crown, brunia….
Grevalia
Ginger and Birds of Paradise
Pods – crocosmia, poppy, scabiosa, craspedia
Gomphrena
Kangaroo Paws
Agapanthus
Yarrow
Allium
Amaranthus
Aster
Solidago
Bouvardia
Astrantia
Matsumoto
Celosia
Campanula
Wax flower
Eryngium
Sun Flowers – petals can be plucked after they’ve faded for a rustic look
Limonium varieties aka statice
Nigella
Stars of Bethlahem – Ornithogalum varieties
Peonies – if they start as a a budded ball (to increase bloomage, clip and put in warmer water)
Roses – if they are fresh, give the heads a gentle squeeze around the base to check for firmness
Zinnias
Sedum
Rose Hip pods