From stem to vase: your guide to today's hand-tied bouquet workshop
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Welcome back! This page is here as a handy reference for everything we covered in today's session at Bruntwood SciTech. Whether you want to remind yourself of a technique, look up care tips for your flowers, or just relive the fun, everything is here whenever you need it.
Be sure to follow for more tips on instagram @fustaq.florals — I'd love to stay in touch.
Your ingredients
Each bouquet uses a carefully balanced mix of stems:
- 3 peonies as your focal flowers
- 5 gerbera daisies as secondary flowers
- 3 stems of delphinium as accent flowers
- 5 stems of pittosporum as foliage
- 3 stems of spray carnation as filler
Getting to know your flowers
Today we worked with five beautiful stems, each one chosen to complement the others. Here's a quick introduction to what you're working with.
Peony (focal flower · 3 stems) Vase life: 5 to 7 days
Full, ruffled, and quietly dramatic, peonies are one of floristry's most beloved blooms and they anchor a hand-tied bouquet beautifully. They're often sold as tight buds, which is actually ideal as they'll open gradually over several days, giving you a bouquet that keeps changing and improving.
Fun fact: Peonies are one of the longest-cultivated flowers in the world. They have been grown in China for over 2,000 years and were considered a symbol of good fortune and prosperity.
Gerbera Daisy (secondary flower · 5 stems) Vase life: 7 to 14 days
Bold, cheerful, and available in almost every colour imaginable, gerbera daisies add a brightness and openness to the bouquet that lifts the whole arrangement. Their strong, straight stems make them easy to place and reliable to work with.
Fun fact: Gerbera daisies are one of the most popular cut flowers in the world, ranking in the global top five alongside roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, and tulips.
Delphinium (accent flower · 3 stems) Vase life: 7 to 10 days
Tall, spired, and rich in colour, delphinium brings height and a sense of movement to the bouquet. It provides a beautiful contrast to the round, full heads of the peonies and daisies, and stops the arrangement from looking too uniform.
Fun fact: The name delphinium comes from the Greek word for dolphin. Early botanists thought the shape of the flower bud resembled a dolphin's nose.
Pittosporum (foliage · 5 stems) Vase life: 10 to 14 days
Glossy, dark, and wonderfully versatile, pittosporum is a florist's best friend. It frames the blooms, fills the gaps, and gives the bouquet its sense of lushness and depth. It also holds its shape exceptionally well, making it ideal for hand-tied work.
Fun fact: Pittosporum is native to Australasia and parts of Asia and Africa. The name comes from the Greek for pitch and seed, referring to the sticky resin that coats its seeds.
Spray Carnation (filler · 3 stems) Vase life: 14 to 21 days
Spray carnations are one of the longest-lasting cut flowers you can work with. Their clusters of smaller blooms fill gaps beautifully and add a softness that ties the whole design together. Often overlooked in favour of showier flowers, they are quietly one of the hardest workers in any arrangement.
Fun fact: Carnations are one of the oldest cultivated flowers in history, with records of their use stretching back over 2,000 years to ancient Greek and Roman ceremonies.
Florist's tip: Spending a minute or two familiarising yourself with each stem, its weight, its bloom size, how it moves, will make the arranging process feel much more intuitive.
Preparing and conditioning your stems
Good preparation is the difference between a bouquet that lasts five days and one that lasts twelve. Remember to never skip this step.
Fill a clean bucket or vase with cool water and add flower food if you have it. Remove all foliage that would sit below the waterline, as leaves left in water rot quickly and introduce bacteria that shorten the life of the whole bouquet. Cut each stem at a 45-degree angle with sharp scissors or a clean knife, as this increases the surface area available for water uptake. Place the stems immediately into water and allow them to drink for at least two hours, ideally overnight in a cool, dark space.
Florist's tip: Peonies are thirsty flowers. Give them a good long drink before arranging and they'll open up beautifully. If your peonies arrive as tight buds, a warm room will help them bloom more quickly.
The spiral hand-tied technique
The spiral technique creates a bouquet that fans out naturally, holds its shape, and stands confidently on its own in a vase. It takes a little practice, but you'll feel the rhythm of it quickly.
Start with one of your peonies in your non-dominant hand, roughly two-thirds of the way down the stem. This is your anchor. Add stems one at a time, always angling each one in the same direction (slightly to the left if you're right-handed), so each stem crosses the one before it at the same point. This crossing point is your binding spot, and keeping it consistent is the key to a tidy, professional finish.
Alternate between your stem types as you work. A peony, then some pittosporum, a gerbera daisy, a spray of carnations, a stem of delphinium, so the bouquet builds evenly rather than clustering in one spot. Rotate the bouquet in your hand as you add stems rather than reaching around it. This keeps everything balanced and prevents a flat back.
Once all your stems are in, check the bouquet from all angles and adjust anything that sits too high or looks sparse. The delphinium in particular may need positioning so it doesn't tower too far above the other blooms. Then tie firmly at the binding point with twine or raffia. Two or three firm knots is better than one. Finally, trim all stems to the same length with a clean diagonal cut.
Florist's tip: If the bouquet feels loose or starts to slip in your hand, use a rubber band as a temporary hold while you tie with twine.
Caring for your bouquet
A well-made bouquet, properly cared for, can last well over a week. Change the vase water every day or two and re-cut the stems at an angle each time you do. Keep the bouquet away from direct sunlight, radiators, and fruit bowls. Ripening fruit releases ethylene gas, which significantly shortens flower life. If you have flower food sachets, use them. They contain sugars and antibacterials that genuinely make a difference. Finally, remove any stems that are past their best as soon as you notice them, as fading flowers release bacteria into the water that affect the rest of the bouquet.
Peonies and gerbera daisies are both sensitive to sitting in too much water, so keep your vase topped up but not overfilled, and always strip any foliage below the waterline.
With a little care, your hand-tied bouquet will stay fresh, full, and beautiful for days to come.
Thank you for joining me today
It was a pleasure spending the session with you, and I hope you're as pleased with your bouquet as you should be. You made that. Take it home, put it somewhere you'll see it, and change the water tomorrow.
If you'd like to join me for another workshop or you're planning a wedding and looking for a florist in Liverpool, the best place to find me is on Instagram. I share updates on upcoming workshops, seasonal inspiration, and a look behind the scenes of my wedding work.
Come and say hello at @fustaq.florals — I'd love to stay in touch.