How to Make Your Fresh Floral Arrangements Last Throughout the Entire Holiday Season

Fresh flowers are an ephemeral thing; their impermanence is part of their beauty. However, when looking for a decoration to last throughout the holiday season that transient beauty can be a bit of an inconvenience. You'd be lucky to get a week out of an average floral centerpiece or flower arrangement much less having it last the whole month between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. You could buy new flower arrangements every week for the month of December but you don't have to. You can keep your home decorated with stylish fresh arrangements throughout the holiday season with a minimum of fuss if you just follow a few guidelines.

The best way to incorporate fresh flowers into your holiday decorations without breaking the bank is to use them as accents and replace them as needed. You can begin with an attractive, watertight container and filling it with green floral foam for fresh flowers. Then you can arrange sturdy, long-lasting greenery to serve as the base for your design.

There are many seasonal foliage choices in the winter months. Good choices include magnolia leaves, salal, boxwood, pine boughs, cedar, and holly. Using several types can give your arrangement more texture and impact. Poor choices for this purpose include leather leaf fern and asparagus fern, both of which are frequently used in floral arrangements. If your florist will be making the arrangement you will want to specify that they not use any fern (often used as filler in holiday arrangements) or other short-lived greenery.

Once you have an arrangement of assorted winter greens, durable items such as pinecones, ornaments, ribbon, candles, and holiday balls can be used to give it a festive look. Popular colors for Hanukkah are white, blue, and silver. Popular colors for the Christmas season are red, white, purple, green, gold, and silver.

There are a variety of long-lasting flowers which come in popular holiday colors. In red, one may find carnations, amaryllis, ginger, Anthurium, and alstroemeria. Long-lasting white flowers include carnations, amaryllis, orchids, alstroemeria, lilies, and star of Bethlehem. For sturdy blue flowers you can use sea holly and statice. Your local florist can direct you to other long-lasting blooms in the colors you want. Use the flowers sparingly, treating them as accents rather than using them to make up the entire centerpiece.

Keep your arrangements away from drafts, heat vents, and excessive cold. Water your flowers daily using a preservative mixed according to the package directions. Your florist should be able to provide you with packets of preservative powder often referred to as flower food.

As the blooms fade you can replace them easily. If any foliage begins to wither, replace it as well. You can use the same type of flowers each time you replace them or you can switch things up a bit if you prefer.

By following these suggestions you can have fresh floral arrangements throughout the entire holiday season at a reasonable cost.