Erin Rosenow, founder of San Francisco’s Birch floral boutique and hot new Rosenow Floral Design, can turn an everyday bunch of flowers into a tabletop masterpiece. With Erin’s following 10 fantastic tips, you can too. —Erika Lenkert

1. Clean your flowers thoroughly after you buy them. Make sure that every stem that’s going to be submerged in water has no leaves in the water. This will make your water cleaner and your flowers a little more presentable.

2. Cut your flower ends and change your container water every day. It’s tedious, but it will really help make your flowers last longer and look healthier.

3. Buy flowers that are either all the same type or color. Your arrangement will come off looking organized and neat.

4. If you’re unable to change your water every day, use an opaque vase. That way you will not have to see the murky water that inevitably arrives by day three.

5. Pin-prick the throat of your tulips if you don’t want them to grow anymore. Tulips are the one type of flower that will keep growing even after they’ve been cut. This really won’t affect your arrangement on the first or maybe even the second day, but by day three your tulips might be a mess. Simply prick the throat of your tulip with a safety pin and it should cut back the growth in the days to come.

6. Buy a pair of pruners! I’m not saying go out and spend $50 on a new pair of Felcos—Target sells other brands that are dynamite and way better for your pocketbook. Think about it: Do you really want to ruin any more of your good kitchen scissors?

7. Don’t be intimidated—use your wide-mouthed bowls and containers. I know at first glance they look like they might take up $500 worth of flowers, but really all you need is a little tape. Floral bowl tape is great, but I have also used good old Scotch tape. Just create a grid across the top of the container, then tape all around the rim of the bowl so that your loose ends will not come undone. The flowers will fit perfectly into the openings of the grid. Presto, your grandmother’s old fruit compote has never looked so cute!

8. Order fresh-cut flowers from a florist instead of buying them at the grocery store. If you love arranging but don’t have the time to go and buy what you specifically want, order them from your local florist. That way you may end up playing with the most beautiful peonies instead of the supermarket daisies.

9. Start collecting vessels that match. I collect pink and white milk glass; I have a lot from my great-grandmother, and I have bought some at flea markets and on eBay. It makes my life easy when I need to throw a dinner party, since everything matches and I can use different vessels for the food too, not just flowers. Plus it’s really great for the environment.

10. Make your bouquet in your hand, not in your vase. Sometimes it’s quicker to gather everything in your hand, then drop it into your vase. This will always give you a nice round shape and a perfect posy.

See beautiful floral designs by Erin Rosenow.

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