Why You Need to Buy Yourself Flowers Immediately!

Cutting my stems on an angle just like Katie taught me!

Need an excuse for buying yourself some flowers this week? Research shows that having fresh flowers in the house is a total happiness booster—and, well, who the heck doesn’t need a happiness boost right about now?! A Harvard study found that having fresh flowers in your home decreases anxiety (yes, please!); the study participants felt less negative and experienced an increase in feelings of compassion and kindness for others (I’ll take that!). Also, get this: people reported feeling happier and having more enthusiasm and energy at work when they had flowers at home. The study was done pre-pandemic so I can only imagine now that our work and home life have completelyblurred that the benefits of flowers must be off the charts! Anyway, next time you hesitate to throw them in your cart remember this!

When I was researching the life skills for my book, I learned a ton about floral arranging from Katie Hartman, the founder of Floral Crush Studio, a busy event floral company in Los Angeles (her clients include HBO, E!, Rolex, Netflix, Kate Hudson, NBC and Facebook—check out her gorge insta). I have so much more confidence when it comes to arranging and so much less guilt because I’m not tossing just-bought flowers I couldn’t keep alive. P.S., I mostly buy mine at Trader Joe’s (so affordable!) and use Katie’s tips below for turning them into little masterpieces. Cue the happiness!!!

1. Choose your vase. (Keep the size and shape in mind when selecting floral size and quantities).

2. Have a general vision before you start placing the stems—will it be tight and compact? Tall and more free-flowing? Where is it going?

3. Find a clear work space with enough room to spread the flowers, clippers and vase. Bring a garbage can over so you can brush scraps into it (or just cut stems over the can).

4. Fill the vase 3/4 of the way to the top with fresh, cool water.

5. Unwrap your flowers from the packaging and toss anything dead or wilting. (You can also toss that little packet of chemicals.)

6. Clean the stems by removing any leaves with your hands or clippers (submerged leaves will breed bacteria faster and decay the flowers).

7. Hold the flower next to the vase (with the bottom of the stem on the counter) to see where you want to cut it (this will depend on the type of arrangement you’re going for; the shorter you cut them, the more tightly they’ll sit).

8. Cut the stems at an angle so there’s more surface area for the flower to drink as much water as possible (if you got them from the grocery store they probably haven’t been cut in a while).

9. If using greens, place them in the vase first, criss-crossing the stems to create a grid that you’ll rest your focal blooms on (if you’re doing all the same flower, just start by criss crossing a few of them).

10. Place the flowers in groups of threes—some should arch out while others get tucked in close to the vase. (If it’s not a 360-degree arrangement, meaning the vase will be against a wall, put the prettiest blooms front and center.)

11. Fill in holes with any smaller accent flowers you have left.

12. Step back and determine if you need to add or reposition any blooms.

13. Change the water daily and give stems a fresh cut every other day to prolong the life of the arrangement.

THE EXPLANATION: Having the right vase for the job makes the process easier and more enjoyable but it will also showcase the flowers properly—peonies, for example, should be look great in a wide vase so they can splay out and show off how big they get. If you have high ceilings you want a tall vase and flowers with some height; if you want an arrangement in your bedroom go with something small to fit your bedside table (just be sure you like the scent of the flowers). A single variety is good for a modern look and you can do pave, which is easy and instantly gives color to a room. Just cut stems short so the blooms sit right at the top of the vase and pack them in tight. If you want more movement, cut stems different lengths and place some close to the vase and some high to draw the eye up and out. You can also do a mix of focal flowers and accent blooms with greenery (can’t find any at the market? clip some greenery pine or cedar sprigs from your backyard). “Focal flowers” are the larger more beautiful heads you’ve spent the most money on so you really want to let them shine. You do want some white space—it makes the flowers stand out more—but eyeball it and make sure any negative space looks like it’s on purpose. And never cut stems too short at first in case you need to switch things up!

BONUS: When choosing flowers, make sure the petals are firm, not limp or soft. You can never go wrong with lilacs in the spring, peonies in early summer, dahlias in early fall or amaryllis in the winter. Calla lilies are also good for the house as they’re elegant and last a long time and hydrangeas are a pretty way to fill space in a big arrangement. When in doubt, monochromatic color is always chic.