Florist Secrets That Make Cheap Flowers Look Expensive

Supermarket flowers don't look cheap because of the flowers. They look cheap because of how most people arrange them. In this video I'll show you a few simple florist tricks that turns them into something that you'd actually be proud to put on the table. I was taught them a couple of years ago from a friend who works in the trade and they completely changed how I arrange flowers. Once you know them you never go back. I don't know about you but most of the flowers we buy come from the supermarket. Unless it's for a special occasion where we want to go the extra mile, we mostly buy them from the supermarket because they're cheap and they do a job to brighten up our home. The problem of course is that they can look, well, a bit cheap once they're in the vase. It is easily fixed though with a few simple ideas. Now the first trick is picking a colour palette and then sticking with it. This alone makes a huge difference. Grabbing a bunch of roses in lots of different bright colours might look cheerful in the shop but once they're home it rarely looks intentional or calm. It doesn't really scream home decor. Instead choose flowers that sit in the same colour family. It honestly doesn't matter which colours you go for as long as they all work together. I thought these white roses look beautiful but on their own they don't really look like much. They're fine but we can do much better. That's why I picked up these chrysanthemums to pair with them. I've kept everything soft, white with a bit of pastel purple and pink. Nothing is fighting for attention. Everything works together and that's half the battle when it comes to making flowers look expensive. I could just as easily have gone with red roses and built around them with softer shades of pink and white. The exact colours don't really matter. What matters is having a clear theme and then sticking to it. So we've got the flowers but if we just drop them straight into a vase like this it's never going to look its best. The thing that is missing is greenery. Foliage is what gives a bouquet that full premium look. The little bits of greenery already on the flower stems aren't enough. We'll need much more than that. For this I usually just head into the garden and have a quick forage. I'm looking for stems that give a big hit of green but also some interesting shapes. These broader leaves are great for filling space and hiding gaps while these longer stems add height and a bit of movement. Eucalyptus is absolutely perfect for this if you have it but you don't need anything fancy. Unfortunately I don't have eucalyptus in the garden. We've pretty much got everything we need now but we are missing two things. A decent vase and some sellotape. The sellotape will make sense in a second. The vase really matters. It needs to suit the amount of flowers you're working with. If you've got lots of stems then you need a vase with a bit of size so everything isn't crammed in. Nothing screams cheap more than a tiny vase packed with flowers. I tend to like clear vases because I can see where the stems are sitting but coloured or textured vases work just as well if that's more your thing. Now the sellotape. If you've ever dropped flowers into a vase and watched them flop about in all directions then you know how frustrating it is. You try to arrange them nicely but nothing stays where you put it. All you need to do is tape over the top of the vase and create a simple grid across the rim. That grid gives you structure. Each stem has its own place which makes arranging the flowers far easier and gives you a much more intentional shape. Now don't worry about seeing the sellotape. Once everything's in it kind of disappears. The next thing to think about is where the vase is actually going to live. This will really help you shape the arrangement. If the flowers are going on a side table or up against the wall then it's fine to give them a clear front and back. You can build everything to face forward and let the back be a bit simpler but if they're going on a table in the middle of the room like mine are then the arrangement needs to look good all around it. That just means spreading things out a little more evenly and thinking in the round rather than treating it like a flat display. Now we come to one of my absolute favourite hacks when it comes to arranging flowers. Reflexing. Oh no we're not talking yoga. Take a look at the roses I bought. They're lovely but they're not fully open yet and that can make an arrangement look a bit flat and tight. Reflexing is what brings everything to life. It opens the flowers out and instantly makes a bouquet look fuller and more expensive. So start by taking a rose and removing any outer petals that are damaged or a bit crispy. Then using your thumb and finger gently fold the outer petals back one by one. Take your time and work your way around the flower. If the petals feel a bit stiff then gently twirl the stem between your fingers. That helps the rose relax and open up so you can continue folding the petals back. As you get closer to the centre the petals will feel much firmer. Don't force them, leave the middle intact and let it open naturally over time. Reflexing does take a little patience but it's absolutely worth it. It's one of the easiest ways to make any bouquet look premium. After we finish reflexing one of the most important steps is to remove any leaves that will sit below the water line. Those leaves will only make the water go murky and shorten the life of your flowers. And before they go anywhere near the vase give every stem a fresh cut and do it at an angle. A straight cut can seal against the bottom of the vase which makes it harder for the flowers to drink. Fill your vase with fresh water and don't forget to add the plant food that came with them. Now we're ready to build our arrangement. The first place to start is the foliage. This is the scaffolding for everything else. Cut your greenery the longest and place it in first. And when you're building your arrangement don't worry too much about getting things wrong. You can always pull stems out and move them around or even restart completely. The foliage is the background to the flowers so I like to spread it evenly around the vase. This is where the sellotape grid really comes into its own. Next we add the focal points. In my case it's the roses that I've just lovingly reflexed. I want these to be the highest flowers but still sitting slightly lower than the foliage. Trim each rose slightly differently so they don't all land at the same height. Place them off centre and at different angles not straight up like soldiers. This gives movement and stops them competing with each other. If you've got an odd number then use that to your advantage. Odd numbers tend to look more natural. Now we add the volume, the filler. That's what my chrysanthemums are for. Cut these shorter than the roses and tuck them between the rose stems rather than pushing them right to the outside. They add fullness and support without stealing the spotlight. If they're spray chrysanthemums let them spread a bit rather than bunching them all into one lump. It's important at this point not to add too much. An overcrowded display almost always looks busy and overdone. Restraint looks a million dollars. Leaving small pockets of space between the flowers is what makes the arrangement feel deliberate rather than crammed. The breathing room is what gives you that premium look. Step back and check the outline. You're aiming for a gentle triangle or dome shape not a cylinder. If one flower is shouting then trim it slightly shorter. If there's a hole then try adding a bit more foliage rather than another flower. And if something is looking off then just keep adjusting until it feels right. There's no hard and fast rules here. Let your creativity take over and take your time. The final thing I want to add are these frilly flowers because they add even more texture and drama. So I've been fiddling with this display for a little while now and I think I'm nearly there. This is why this arrangement is working, at least in my eyes. The foliage adds greenery and much needed texture. The taller stems in particular bring a sense of drama and they support the centrepiece which is the flowers. The roses are the dominant blooms and because we've opened them up you really get to see their true beauty. The white and pastel chrysanthemums fill the space around the roses and keep the colour palette soft and harmonious. Most importantly not everything sits at the same high. Those different levels create interest and it instantly looks more premium. But there's also a practical benefit to this too. When flowers are packed tightly together they rub, bruise and fade faster. So leaving a bit of breathing room helps them last longer. Let me know how I got on in the comments. Would you be proud to display them in your home? Watch this video next where I show you a simple recipe for keeping your flowers fresh for days longer.