Quick and easy rose arrangements

Six ideas that’ll take the fuss out of creating a fabulous flower arrangement

THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE

Give your flower arrangements a surprising twist by adding fruit to the mix. Play up the orchard theme by choosing a rustic crate or basket as a vase; just remember to place a water-tight vessel inside it. Here, we spiked crunchy apples on florists’ wire and inserted them between pink roses secured in water-soaked florists’ oasis to create a gorgeous centrepiece for a garden lunch. It’s a good idea to keep your centrepieces low so that they won’t obstruct your guests’ view of each other across the table.

COUNTRY LIFE

Swap a conventional vase for a pretty jug or watering can to create a simple arrangement with oodles of country charm. Keep it casual and cheery by using roses in a mix of different colours.

SMALL WONDER

Tightly pack short-stemmed roses into a small ceramic vase or antique teacup to create a compact arrangement that’ll look lovely on a tea tray or anywhere where space is tight, like on a bed or bath side table. To stop the flowers from falling to the sides of your chosen vessel and leaving an empty gap in the middle, use strips of florist tape to create a grid across the top; trim your roses to a uniform length and then simply pop them into the holes in the grid.

HIDDEN AGENDA

An opaque vase is a good choice for large arrangements that use lots of roses as their stems can look messy en masse. It’s also a must when you’ll be using water-soaked florists’ oasis to hold them in place, as we’ve done here.

BUDDING ENTHUSIASM

Bud vases will show off short-stemmed roses to perfection. For a mod look, snip the blooms to a uniform length so that the flower heads rest on the lip of each vase, then group them together rather than lining them up in a single row. Don’t have a collection of matching vases? Use tealight candleholders, espresso mugs or egg cups.

LESS IS MORE

Make a single bunch of roses go further by arranging them in different vases of varying heights and grouping them together to create a striking feature. Choose vases with narrow openings as you’ll need to use fewer flowers. To add impact, stick to a single colour theme.

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