MAKE THEIR DAY

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this fun and festive “collared” bunch — it’s guaranteed to charm your nearest and dearest!

WHAT’S NEW

This St. Paddy’s Day, floral designers are encircling bright fluffy blooms with chic “shamrock” collars, and the result is festive meets fabulous. “Here, spiky purple dianthus petals pop against the green round lady’s mantle blossoms,” says florist Deborah Pomroy Moyer. “And tucking emerald-hued geranium leaves around the blooms forms a collar that mimics the look of lucky shamrocks. It’s an easy celebratory centerpiece!”

GET THE LOOK

Start by filling a 6-inch vase halfway with water. Then cut about 2 dozen pink-purple dianthus and lady’s mantle to lengths between 9 and 10 inches. Arrange the stems in your hand, twirling the bunch as you add each flower in a random fashion; secure with twine. Insert the mounded bunch into the vase. To finish, snip 6 large geranium leaves and insert into the vase around the blooms, forming a collar.

FLORIST’S SECRET

To extend the life of this bouquet for up to two weeks, in addition to refreshing the water and snipping stems regularly, try adding two small drops of bleach (or vodka) to the water each day to suppress bacterial growth in the vase. And since geranium leaves won’t take in as much water as the blooms, massaging a drop of olive oil into each leaf twice a week will help keep them shiny and supple.