Caring for your flowers.. A guide

  • Step 1

    Keep cool, and get them into fresh clean water ASAP.

  • Step 2

    If they've been out of water a while, snip off a centimetre with sharp scissors or secateurs first.

  • Step 3

    Keep the water level ample. Naked stems make for cleaner water - keep all foliage above the water line but make sure the stem ends are submerged.

  • Step 4

    Keep your flowers away from heat, wind, and excessive household traffic.

    They prefer to be cool and still.

  • Step 5

    Observe the water while you have the flowers. If it looks or smells bad, take the flowers out and rinse the stems, trim a little more, clean the vase and change the water.

    Some flowers (like tea tree) can discolour the water, like a brown river, but this is not bad. You'll be able to tell, don't worry. Change the water before it's unpleasant!

  • Step 6

    As the days go on, remove any spent flowers and let the bunch continue on if you like.

    Perhaps you might end up with just one big bloom, or just some pretty foliage- that's beautiful too!

  • Step 7

    If it's your thing, have a go at drying your bunch when it's peaked...

    Scroll down to learn how to dry your flowers!

Drying your flowers.. A guide

  • Step 1

    Care for your flowers properly while they're fresh, and start to dry them before they're looking too tired.

  • Step 2

    Flowers that have sturdy stems can be dried upright. Softer stemmed flowers (and complex bunches like wedding bouquets) can be dried upside down.

    It's an organic, artistic experiment, so be curious!

  • Step 3

    If drying upright, remove all water from the vase, loosen any binding to discourage mould from occurring, and dry the stems off with paper towel before returning to the dry vase.

    Choose a vase with a wide mouth, not a tight neck, as the moisture from the flowers will evaporate and it needs to escape.

    Check for and clean off any mould while your flowers dry - a clear vase helps visibility.

  • Step 4

    If drying upside down, keep the binding in place.

  • Step 5

    Hang in a calm, dry place for a few weeks.

    When you turn them upright, if the heads don't droop, it's usually a sign they're dry enough but keep an eye on them and dry them longer if needed.

    Bigger flowers need longer to dry, and can take even longer in cooler months. Leave them as long as they need.

  • Step 6

    Once they're dry you can enjoy them indefinitely... but this doesn't mean you can't have more fresh flowers -

    you can always get another vase :-)