Design With Roses This Valentines Day And Make Money
By Carrie Leland

Working with Roses is very easy and Profitable.

When selecting your roses you can help determine their freshness by a few things. If you see moldy petals or withered petals there is a good chance that the rose is older or has experienced a problem during shipping due to temperature and storage. A good way to check (which I never get complaints for, so far) is to gently squeeze the head of the rose. If you do this too hard you can damage it. You are just checking for some firmness. If the rose feels mushy your best bet is to try another bunch. However if you do get home and realize that some of your roses have this problem you may be able to rehydrate them and alleviate the problem.

The first step when you get home is to clean and hydrate your roses. You will first remove any leaves that are damaged or that will be below the level of water you will add to your vase. The next step is to remove the thorns. You can simply take your thumb and push them sideways to dislodge them or you can use a knife and holding the rose firmly about 3 inches down go in a downward motion nicking off each thorn. (Be careful not to create much movement of the stem as this could cause the head to snap off) You can also use thorn strippers, which is what most florist use. I am not sure if they have these at Wal-Mart or other local craft stores. If you would like to find these and have trouble locating them you can email me and I will look into it further. With these you hold the rose as you did with a knife and somewhat gently go down the stem. The main thing to avoid with these is nicking the stem itself, which too much pressure will do. Now, you will want to cut the Roses and place them in water so they can hydrate while you are getting ready for the design part. You can find floral scissors and knives at your local craft stores. There is a few trains of thought on this in the floral industry. Some articles say scissors will damage the vessels that take water up the stem and although I personally like a knife because it is faster for me I have also worked with florist that exclusively use scissors with no problems. You will want to cut at least a half inch off at the bottom at a 45 degree angle then place in water right away. If you place the flowers on the counter until they are all done and then place in water your efforts will be wasted as the end will be sealing itself up again and will not be able to take in as much water.

The next step is to prepare your container. You can often find glass vases at yard sales, thrift stores and the dollar stores. The main thing is to consider the height and the opening at the top. If you are only going to use 12 roses you don't want a hugh opening 3" to 4" and about 12" tall should be great. The most important thing is to make sure the container is clean as bacteria is deadly to flowers. A bleach solution is great for this. Okay, on to the most important part.

The Foundation For Your Arrangement.

If you've ever wondered why you can't make those arrangements like your local florist or why it was beautiful when you made it and now it's not it is because of the foundations that you designed with. As a retail florist this is our first priority due to the rigors of handling and delivery. If you build a solid foundation your arrangement will stay in place and make it much easier for you to create the design that you want.

There are several ways to achieve this. You can purchase clear or green oasis tape. (The waterproof tape, not corsage tape) This is available at Wal-Mart and Craft stores. Simply create a grid at the top of your vase. You will have about 3 rows going one way and then cross over with 3 in the opposite direction so it looks like a tic-tac-toe board. Then simply go around the lip of the vase one time and overlap the ends of the piece of tape to secure the whole thing. Just keep in mind that you do not want this to be seen so don't go more than a 1/4 inch or so on the sides or this will create more "mechanics" for you to cover with your greenery.

Of course you can forgo the tape altogether as most florist do, it just requires more greenery. Either way, the steps to greening (adding the leaves) to your vase are similar. If you can purchase a bunch of Baker Fern from a local florist that is great and shouldn't cost much. If you cannot however, you can use fresh greens from your yard or if you have to purchase some inexpensive silk greenery.

You will start by placing the greens in a circle tilting out of the vase to create the bottom layer of greens and covering up your tape somewhat. Each piece will overlap the other somewhat (and remember to remove any foliage that will be below the water line) You will continue to do this until basically you are at the center of the vase with the greens pointing up. (P.S you are basically weaving a basket, make sure you are not just lying each leaf on top of the other as this will take a ton of greens) If you are using greens from your yard, try to find ones with long stems and nice dense leaves that will not wilt. Once you have the greens in your vase you will be able to tell if you need more for support after you add your flowers in. If they do not stay where you want them just try adding more greens.

If you would like to use a filler flower such as baby's breath now is the time to add this in. Depending on the stem you may want to remove lower limbs of flowers as they will just bunch up if the are at the mouth of the vase and not create the desired look. Also, especially with Baby's Breath look for any bent or broken stems and remove them with your scissors, they may look ok right this minute but they will dye off quickley and will be harder to remove later. Remember the overall look you are achieving is Fresh.

Now for the Roses. You will get better at this part with practice, it mainly is a matter of determining where to cut the stem to achieve the desired height for where you want to place the rose. You can put the stem alongside the vase and see where you need to cut it then place it in the vase and if it is not short enough simply take it out and try again. If you cut it too short you can place it back in your water and use it for one of your shorter stems. The main thing here is that to cut less is better, you can always fix that.

We'll start with the center rose. This will be the tallest. Have your vase on your table or kitchen counter so that you can hold the rose up close to it and see where you want to cut. You want this rose about 10" to 12" above the vase. You will need to cut about 1/2 more to have a little leeway in the vase. So for example your center rose is 12" You will cut it to 11 1/2 " and have a 1/2 " clearance between the bottom of the stem and the bottom of the vase. Again, remember if you can not get it to stand up straight in the center of the vase add some greens or accent flowers. Now, for the other 11 roses. Each rose will be shorter than the roses in the tier above it by 1/2 in or an inch. The method I learned incorporates a bow in the front. If you do not need a bow for your arrangement you can simply shift the bottom roses to fill in this space.

The second and 3rd rose will go on each side of the center rose about 1 1/2" apart and about 3/4" shorter. Also remember to place the stems in at an angle. Instead of pointing to the bottom of the vase they will be pointing towards the stem of the center rose. They are basically pointing up but are starting to create that all around bouquet effect by doing this. The 4th and 5th rose will go beside each of these roses, also shorter, distanced and pointing toward the center stem.

Now for the front. One rose about the same height as the 2nd & 3rd rose will go in at an angle from the front pointing toward the stem of the first rose and you will fill in the front on each side of this rose but lower with the next 2 roses. When you view this you should not have any large areas of greenery. If you do simply reposition until it is to your liking. Also, when you add the bow in it will pull the front together. The general guidline for the front is like a diamond with the bow being the bottom point. Repeat the process for the other side with the last 4 roses.

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