Flower arranging: spring bouquet

This hand-tied bouquet of vibrant flowers is made up of contrasting blues and oranges that enhance each other so that the blooms sing with intensity. If you use hyacinths and grape hyacinths from your garden, cut the stems as long as possible; if they are much shorter than the other stems, reduce the number of flowers and cut their stems shorter to make a posy. If grape hyacinths are hard to find, try using lilac freesia instead. This bouquet looks sensational in an orange or black glass vase as a table centrepiece, or it could make a gorgeous gift for a birthday or for Mother’s Day. It should last at least a week.

Flowers and foliage
● 15 blue hyacinths
● 15 double orange tulips
● 15 orange ranunculus
● 30 blue grape hyacinths
● 15 salal stems

Other materials
● florist's scissors
● raffia or garden string

How to arrange
Divide the different flower varieties into separate piles. Hold a hyacinth in your hand at the binding point. This bouquet is compact, so keep the binding point just higher than halfway up the stem. Add another flower at an angle, twisting the bunch around slightly in one direction in your hand as you do so.

Add a stem of salal and one of each of the flower varieties (add the grape hyacinths in groups of three for a better effect). Recess the tulips slightly, as they will continue to grow. Check that you are happy with the arrangement, then add more stems at the same angle to create a spiral stem effect. Keep turning the bunch around slightly in the same direction as you work.

Arrange the last layer of flowers a little lower around the edges to give a slightly domed look.

Tie the bunch at the binding point with a length of raffia or garden string and secure in a knot.

Cut the stems at an angle so they are roughly the same length and will all be able to sit in water. If you are giving the bouquet as a gift, stand it in fresh water until you need it, then wrap it in paper and tie it with a ribbon to present it.

Buy the book

This project is from 'Flower Arranging' by Mark Welford and Stephen Wicks (Dorling Kindersley, £20). Buy it for £16 from the Allaboutyou online bookshop