[test] Autumn Arrangements in Rich, Warm Tones

Deep dahlias, dried grasses and the last of the garden roses. Autumn is quietly our favourite season to arrange.

Where to begin

At the studio we come back to the same idea again and again: good flowers are mostly good habits. The stems do the hard work, but a little attention at the right moments lets them show off for as long as possible.

Start with the water. Cool, clean water in a scrupulously clean vase gives every stem the best possible chance. Strip any foliage that would sit below the waterline, because leaves left to soak are what turn water cloudy and shorten a bouquet’s life.

A few things we always do

• Recut every stem on an angle before it goes in water.
• Change the water fully every two days rather than topping it up.
• Keep the vase away from heat, draughts and ripening fruit.
• Remove any bloom that is past its best so the rest last longer.

Seasonal flowers, cut fresh and looked after simply, will always outlast something forced and flown halfway around the world.

Give the arrangement a considered spot, too. Out of direct sun, away from radiators and fruit bowls, and somewhere you will actually walk past and enjoy it. Flowers are happiest cool and noticed.

None of this needs to be fussy. A minute here and there is enough, and the reward is a bouquet that still looks generous a week or more after it arrives.