This Spring, the garden is full of new varieties of tulips that have been planted last autumn.
What a pleasure it is to see these beauties grow (at last) after so much effort! I still remember the November mornings spent under the drizzle digging the earth, amending it and planting one by one all these bulbs according to a very specific color scheme. It’s true that the effort pays off, and those hours spent kneeling in the cold are quickly forgotten when I look at this tulip extravaganza! I try to plant new varieties of tulips every year, always having in mind color combinations that will allow me to make pretty bouquets to decorate the house or add a floral touch to my spring tables.
Thus, I’ve been dreaming about arranging a bouquet of tulips in warm tones since last autumn using pink, dark purple and orange hues… But it’s not only tulips we are talking about here: I also like to add filler flowers in my bouquets such as here where I’ve used geums and green foliage (from the garden too).
So let’s see how to arrange a tulip bouquet in warm colors.
FLOWERS
USED
FOR THIS BOUQUET
Tulips Apricot Parrot
Tulips Rasta Parrot
Tulips Parrot King
Tulips Parrot Negrita
Tulips Estella Rijnveld
Tulips Frozen Night
Geum Fiery Tempest
Garden foliage
Moss
STEP 1
For this bouquet, I’ve opted for a restoration basket (corbeille in French) that comes from the French manufacture Bourg Joly Malicorne, that I bought on the way back from a visit to my grandmother’s house in Brittany. Green is one of my favorite colors and this green shade is particularly beautiful. You can replace the basket with a beautiful big vintage soup bowl if you do not have such a basket at home.
To keep the flowers in place, I’ve used a chicken wire, a metal wire cutter, pruning shears and a large plastic bowl.
STEP 2
Even if this basket is very useful on a daily basis, it does not stand as a vase. That’s why I’ve used this large plastic bowl to pour water into it, and which (luckily) fits perfectly into the green basket.
Pour three-quarters of water into the bowl and, if you wish, you can use florist tape to keep it more stable. I didn’t need to use it here as it was not really necessary.
STEP 3
Take the chicken wire and cut it according to what you need. This type of wire is very useful for maintaining flowers and creating structured floral arrangements, especially if you have no flower frogs at home.
STEP 4
Remove the foliage from the tulips and cut the stems – but not too short, so that you can easily manage the height depending on where you are going to place the flowers. Keep in mind that it is better to cut the stems too long than too short! You can always adjust them later.
Place the tulips following the « principle of cardinal points » as I call it (North – South – West – East), making sure to follow their natural curve. For this type of bouquet I usually try to create a sort of triangle, and I place the flowers (and cut them) according to this structure. I like to place drooping flowers at each side for a natural effect. I first add the Apricot, King, Negrita, Estella and Rasta tulips and I then add (almost at the end) the beautiful Frozen Knight variety, which I love as its dark color brings contrast to the bouquet and its feathered edges bring an interesting texture to the bouquet.
STEP 5
Finish arranging the bouquet by filling it with Fiery Tempest geums and some soft green foliage cut from your garden shrubs.
To hide the plastic bowl, I’v used moss to cover the base of the bouquet and you can fix it with pins if you want (but it was not necessary here).
And voilà ! You have a beautiful tulip bouquet in warm tones to decorate your house with!
