A good arrangement

Rebecka Keeling shares her top tips for harvesting and arranging flowers for a bouquet.

“When picking flowers, ideally you should be picking your cut flowers into a bucket of clean water, and let them soak in a cool spot before arranging them. Do your research on your favourite flowers and when to pick them – some keep best if they’re picked just as they open, whilst others need to be fully mature before you pick them or they can go droopy,” she says. When harvesting flowers, she opts for a variety of shapes and structures, from round discs to pointy spikes and airy ethereal elements. And while there are many different techniques for arranging flowers, Keeling works by starting with focal flowers in the middle, followed by other blooms and foliage, three at the time, and spins the bouquet around to distribute them evenly around the bouquet. Other top tips include:

- Always trim flowers with sharp snips at an angle

- Any foliage that will be below the water line should be removed

- Use a clean vase

- Change out the water daily

Keeling’s grow-your-own tips

Kings Seeds has a wide range of affordable seeds on their website – or learn how to collect your own seed, and how to propagate plants from cuttings.

You can usually pick up free pots at garden centre pot-swaps, and build your own soil from whatever resources are available near you – from sand and clay to old leaves and grass cuttings. Gardeners are generous people, so if you see a lovely plant in a neighbour’s yard, don’t be afraid to ask for a root division, seed or cutting! And of course, anyone who is interested in learning to grow and harvest flowers and arrange their own bouquets should follow Slow Blooms Facebook page to keep an eye out for its upcoming workshops.