Five simple décor ideas with 20 stalks of roses

What do you do with a bunch of roses, other than placing them in a vase? For many of us, flower-arranging stops there simply because we have no idea or lack the confidence to do more with them.

Creating fabulous floral arrangements doesn’t have to be difficult, time-consuming or expensive, but you have to love flowers, says Eunice Teo, founder of Amtrol Flower Designing.

Teo, who is the first Southeast Asia-certified floral evaluator and judge of the American Institute of Floral Designers, says there are some décor ideas using flowers that ordinary folk can do at home.

With that in mind, Teo took time off to share five “everyone-can-do” floral arrangements using just 20 stalks of roses at the recent TheEdgeProperty.com Facebook Live showcase on July 22 and 23, held in conjunction with the Malaysia Virtual Property Expo 2017 organised by property portal TheEdgeProperty.com.

Below are Teo’s five simple yet lovely “rosy” arrangements. To get a clearer idea, you can find the full video here.

1. Spiral hand bouquet in clear glass vase

What you need:

- 20 stalks of roses, 20 stalks of leucadendrons, wire size no. 26, ribbon and short clear glass vase

Steps:

- De-thorn the roses. Hold the upper stem of the rose and place a leucadendron across it. Repeat the step for all 20 stalks of roses in anti-clockwise direction to get the spiral effect.

- Tie the bunch of roses with one wire no. 26 and place it in the glass vase filled with water. Tie the ribbon over the wire to finish.

2. The classic heart-shaped arrangement

What you need:

- 20 stalks of roses, some hypericum berry sprigs, bear grass sprigs, a plastic layer, a floral foam and a tall vase with wide open mouth

Steps:

- Put a layer of plastic at the bottom of the vase before placing the soaked foam into the vase. Place the foam at a slant with one side higher than the other.

- Insert sprigs of bear grass at the centre of the foam, and then insert one stalk of rose at a 45-degree angle downward in the opposite direction from the inserted bear grass.

- Divide the bear grass into two bunches — hold one bunch in each hand and tie them to the neck of the stalk of rose using wire no. 26, which will create a heart shape.

- Cut the rest of the flowers short to about two-flower stem length. Insert one by one from the middle to the sides until all the gaps are filled.

- Add in some hypericum berry sprigs to make the display more interesting.

3. Floating roses

What you need:

- 20 stalks of roses, bear grass, hypericum berries, floating candles and a large metallic plate

Steps:

- Roll the bear grass into two to three rings. Fill two-thirds of the plate with water and put in one or two floating candles.

- Cut three to four roses at the neck, then fold out all the petals one by one to make the flowers look like they are fully bloomed. Place the roses and the rolled bear grass floating on the water, and light up the candles.

4. Standing roses

What you need:

- 20 stalks of roses, some baby’s breath flowers, a floral foam and two small square vases

Steps:

- Soak the floral foam in water, then cut to fit the vases. The foam should be two inches lower than the vase so it is not visible.

- Bunch the baby’s breath flowers together and insert them into the foam to build the flowery base.

- Cut the bottom of the roses’ stems at a slant so they take up more water. Insert the stalks of roses one by one in a straight parallel formation.

- Repeat for the second vase, but cut the stalk a bit shorter so the two vases together can be more interesting when displayed.

5. Roses in a box

What you need:

- 20 stalks of roses, bear grass with a hypericum berry stitched through each, a floral foam and a mid-size square gift box

Steps:

- Fit the soaked foam evenly above a plastic layer to prevent water seeping through the gift box. The foam should be placed up to two-thirds of the box.

- Cut the roses short and insert the roses one by one into the box. The stems should be as high as the box, so only the flowers could be seen. Slot the bear grass, with a hypericum berry stitched on each, in between the flowers.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Aug 4, 2017. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.