Hello, Again…
It’s been over four years since I last posted on this blog…and even then, it seems like I lost my whole purpose for doing it in the first place! I guess Covid and so many other changes in my life and family took me on a wild ride down a path I didn’t expect, but here I am and this time with focus!
“It’s no trouble” is not a blog about always being perfect, but about looking to the future and planning, so that no matter what comes your way, you can always say, “it’s no trouble!” and mean it. Maybe it’s having a great homemade meal at the ready in the freezer so that when unexpected dinner guests arrive, you can throw a dinner together with ease. Maybe it’s having fresh vegetables and flowers growing in your garden so that you can always have something special to give to friends and neighbors or to put on your own table. Maybe it’s taking care of yourself, so that you feel good and always have an air of confidence about you, in every situation.
One thing that always makes my house feel a little more special is having fresh flowers around. Flower arranging is a timeless art that transforms nature’s beauty into stunning displays. Whether for a special occasion or everyday enjoyment, the skillful combination of colors, textures, and shapes can elevate any space.
I feel like my own flower arranging skills have slipped a little in recent years, so I decided to step up my game recently by picking up some grocery store bundles and making some sort of arrangement every week. Most grocery stores have a floral section and Trader Joe’s is a great place for finding a wide variety of greens, flowers and colors at reasonable prices. You can play with what you bought, and if it isn’t really what you were trying to achieve, it’s ok – you haven’t invested much money, and you can probably salvage a few flowers to make a small bouquet for the guest bath or location not too prominent.
Trying out a new floral design idea when you’re having guests over often creates more anxiety than having no flowers at all. But, if you have been practicing every week with different vase sizes and shapes, or marbles or frogs as your base and then playing with colors and textures and greens, you will have built a foundation for your arranging in the future. When possible, I like to have a color scheme in mind. It could be something I saw in a fabric swatch, or on a Pinterest board or a photo that inspired me. Try colors that don’t normally go together – you never know, with the right greens or other foundation foliage, the result might surprise you.
Creating an arrangement, when you are not under time pressure or scrutiny from your garden club friends, is so much fun. I love turning on some music and just playing around with what I’ve brought home or clipped from my own yard. It doesn’t matter if the final product is perfect, what matters is that you learned something (I hope) about what works and what doesn’t. You’ll become skilled at using all shapes and sizes of vases; making tall, statement arrangements for a large space and petite little arrangements that line the length of a table. The only limit is your imagination.
You’ll find what you like to work with and what you don’t care for. When the time comes to make a floral arrangement for something special – you’ll know just what to pick for just the right occasion. It should have your personality written all over it! After a few weeks of practicing for fun, you’ll become very adept at creating a great arrangement for whatever comes your way! It’ll be no trouble!