How to Make A Free Form Rose Bouquet

Flowers still make a beautiful gift, especially for someone who is under the weather. Roses remain the most popular flower, but they can be cost prohibitive when professionally arranged. Today's free form rose bouquets allow everyone to successfully design a floral arrangement. They don't require a certain number of flowers nor a perfect geometric shape. Because there are no rules, it is hard to make a mistake.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Roses (color and amount of your choosing)
• Greenery like leather leaf or fern
• Baby's breath or other floral filler
• Flower extender (to make flowers last longer)
• Vase (the right size for the bouquet)
• Floral wire
• Heavy duty scissors
• Wire cutters
• Bow (optional)

How to Make a Free Form Rose Bouquet

1. Choose a vase for your bouquet.
2. Based on the size of your vase, decide how many, what type and what color(s) of roses you want to use in your bouquet.
   
   Long stem roses require a taller vase than do sweetheart roses. Since the bouquet will be free form, you won't be able to use a tall vase for the smaller sweetheart size.
3. Decide on the type of greenery and filler you will use in your bouquet. Popular types of greenery include leather leaf and fern. Baby's breath is the most popular filler.
4. If you don't have all of the supplies on hand to complete your bouquet, you will need to obtain (purchase or borrow) them.
5. Insert flower extender powder into the vase and then fill two-thirds full of water. Make sure the powder is well mixed with the water.
6. Using your tallest rose stem, determine how much you need to cut off the stem in order for the flower to extend anywhere from 4" to 6" above the mouth of the vase. This will become your center flower in the bouquet.
7. Cut all rose stems at a slant under running water. This will help preserve the flowers a bit longer. Remove any stem leaves that would fall below the water line.
   
   All of the roses, other than the center one, should be about 2" to 3" shorter than the center rose.
8. Gently pull off any rose petals that are wilted, discolored, or damaged. If you so desire, carefully encourage some of the buds to open. This can be done by carefully inserting the fingertips into the center of the rose and gently pushing outward.
9. Arrange the remaining roses around the center flower, interlocking the stems at the bottom to hold the flowers in place. Move and adjust the flowers until you are happy with the design.
10. Prepare the greenery for insertion. Remove all leaves that would fall below the water line as well as any broken, discolored, or damaged leaves.
11. Insert the greenery around the outside and inside of the bouquet, trimming stems as necessary to obtain the design style you want.
12. Prepare the filler for insertion. Remove any buds or leaves that would fall below the water line and discard any broken, discolored, or damaged pieces.
13. Insert the filler in between the roses. Add as little or as much as you like to achieve the design that you want.
14. Once you are happy with your bouquet design, fill the vase with water to within 1" to 2" of the top.
15. If you desire, you can add a bow to the bouquet by placing a long wire on it that can be inserted into the vase. This step is optional and considered unnecessary in today's more modern bouquet designs.

Tips & Warnings

• Make certain the roses are fresh by squeezing them gently. Fresh roses will be firm while stale ones will be wrinkled and soft.
• Try to avoid roses that have drooping heads. Only florists know how to wire such roses for proper use.
• Don't be afraid to mix several different colors of roses together.
• Avoid dried baby's breath. It is better to use no filler than use one that will flake and make a mess quickly.
• Don't let flowers extend too far above the mouth of the vase. They will tilt and bend easily and not last as long.
• Make sure you remove all greenery that would fall below the water line. If it is left in tact, it will decay and kill your flowers early.