Did you know you can use your hydrangea blooms in gorgeous DIY arrangements that are sure to bring a wow factor to your space. Below we’ve gathered our cut flower preparation and arrangement inspiration videos into one spot to make it even easier to create the perfect floral arrangement.
Let’s dig into a few key tips for long-lasting flower arrangements from the garden: cleanliness, time of day, water, how to cut the flowers, and food.
Before you head to the garden to cut anything, focus on clean. This means your pruners should be clean, along with the bucket you’re putting cuts into. While this won’t be the vase you arrange in, the cleaner your tools are at the beginning, the longer your plants will last.
The best time of day to cut flowers and greenery from your garden is when its cooler outside. Stick to early morning or later in the evening to ensure lower temperatures.
Fill your bucket with lukewarm water to help the cut flowers absorb the moisture better once placed inside.
Typically, you’ll want to look for the flowers that are just budded and starting to open to add to their longevity in the vase. If the flower is already in bloom, its lifespan in the vase is going to be pretty darn quick.
The one big exception to this rule is the hydrangea. For hydrangeas, you want to be sure they’re in full color with no white showing, unless it’s a white-blooming hydrangea, and they’re starting to get a little bit crunchy on the stem. This helps them stay fresh the longest in the vase.
As you cut these stems, use your hand to remove all the foliage up to the water line of the bucket. If the leaves end up in the water, that will increase the opportunity for bacteria to get in the water and quickly make the arrangement go bad. Once you’ve got the cuts in your clean bucket, they should adjust to room temperature for a short bit, and then move them to a cooler area of the house.
To further extend the arrangement’s life use a clean vase and feed your arrangement with flower food if you have it. If not, that’s ok! But you don’t need to worry about adding dish soap, bleach, vodka, pennies, or anything else. If the vase is clean and no leaves are dipping into the water, that’s enough to give you a long-lasting bloom!
Once you’ve got your blooms all prepped, it’s time to have some fun! The arrangement in the video is made using The Original Reblooming Hydrangea, but the techniques can be applied using any Endless Summer® hydrangea.
Need even more inspiration? Watch this video on arrangement tips that covers four different designs to try. These arrangements are sure to get your creative juices flowing!
For even more tips and tricks, be sure to follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter. Shop the Endless Summer® collection online during our shipping season or utilize our Find a Retailer tool to locate Endless Summer® hydrangeas near you.
