flower arranging 101

I learned how to arrange flowers the other night. There is actually a method to it as opposed to just putting a bunch of flowers in a vase. I won't be going into floral design anytime soon, but I wanted to write down what I learned before I forget.

1. Use special flower tape to make a grid across the opening of the vase. This will help keep the flowers standing straight up.
2. Fill the vase 3/4 full of water and add plant food to prevent bacteria from growing.
3.Use 2 different kinds of greenery. Make sure you clean off the stem so no leaves get in the water.The greenery should be shorter than any of your flowers.
4. Decide what color scheme you will go with. Monochromatic, complimentary, etc.
5. Use 2 vertical flowers to create height.
6. Choose one flower to be your focal point.
7. Fill in with other flowers. Use different types to create pops.
8. Add in more greenery if needed.
9. Finish off by adding a bow to tie everything together.