Chesapeake Home

For brilliant flowers, Leatham offers us the following tips:

• Avoid confusion in working with flowers—stay monochromatic, or at least in the same family of hues; it is the density of the color that creates impact.
• If you must mix colors, avoid white because it attracts the eye and everything else disappears.
• Use “IN” flowers—at the moment, the more fashionable flowers include black calla lilies and orchids, as well as carnations and gladiolas, which were long considered tacky (even flowers have their turnaround).
• The straightforward vertical placement of flowers creates astonishing lines for achieving strong, confident arrangements.
• Just when you think there are enough flowers, add one more.
• Lean or tilt flowers against the rim of containers to showcase their hearts.
• Place flowers in translucent containers so you can see the whole, and use a diverse variety of containers to stimulate the senses.
• Never select a container that is larger than the flowers—the container must be smaller than the floral composition.
• Minimize or do away completely with leaves to get closer to the essence of the flower, thereby keeping the focus on the flower’s silhouette.
• Try not to push stems down to the very bottom of containers, but if the stems do reach the bottom, only fill the container with about one inch of water, as too much water makes stems rot faster.
• Add a splash of sparkling water to containers—the bubbles cling to the stems.
• At night, consider surrounding flowers with flickering candles.
• Take loving care of your flowers—change the water and re-cut stems daily, and consider using a fine mist in the morning and again in the evening to prolong the life of your arrangements.