You can make a flower arrangement

ANDERSON, Ind. — A flower arrangement can brighten up your home or serve as a thoughtful gift — and making one isn’t too tricky.

Beth Vansickle, Purdue Extension educator in Madison County, did a flower-arranging demonstration during a webinar.

“As you prepare to make a flower arrangement, the best thing to do is to divide the flowers out and sort them, kind of like taking an inventory,” she advised. “We can do anything from a cute desk arrangement to a centerpiece.”

Choose the color and types of flowers you’d like to use in the arrangement. The No. 1 priority is to use healthy flowers and greenery.

Next, gather tools you might use, such as a vase, floral scissors, paring knife, green or clear floral tape, wire, empty buckets and rose stem cleaner.

“Decide the shape of your arrangement,” Vansickle said. “Decide whether you want something more formal or a bud vase. Roses, sun flowers, daises and carnations are great for bud vases.”

Once you choose a vase, create a grid on the opening using tape. This will create holes to hold the flowers in place and keep them from falling over.

Fill your container with water and add floral preservatives to help the arrangement last longer. When designing your arrangement, start with greenery.

“Greenery helps hold the flowers where you want them,” Vansickle explained. “It will kind of be a bed to hug our flowers.”

Arrange flowers larger to smaller. You can add filler to any holes in the arrangement.

Use your imagination to create a bouquet that will brighten any room.