Extend The Life Of Your Lilies With This Simple Trick

Removing The Pollen Can Be Dirty Business

Yes, removing the pollen in your lilies can be dirty business, but as the saying goes…somebody’s got to do it! By removing the pollen from your lilies you can actually extend the life of your lilies by an additional day or two. But, that’s not the only reason you should remove this powdery substance.

Whether you are working with day lilies, enchantment lilies, oriental lilies, asiatic lilies…they all have stamens that once they mature will turn to a powdery pollen that will stain anything they touch. Most times your florist will remove the pollen from the lilies, but sometimes your lilies will arrive with a closed bud and it will be up to you to remove these stamens of pollen once the lily has popped open.

Floral Design Can Be A Messy Business

WD-40 Is My Answer To Removing Glue & Paint

The beauty of choosing floral design as a career is that we get to make such beautiful works of art out of flowers and other botanicals. But behind the scenes, it’s a very messy job!

We work alot with wet foliages, pollen, mosses, sticks and all types of botanical products that are just by nature dirty during the process. And then, of course, you have to add in all of the variety of glues that we use, sealers, enhancers and paints to make our products prettier and to ensure they last as long as possible. At the end of the day the florist industry is a very messy business.

I often laugh because you’d think that a since a floral designer works with nothing but pretty flowers and exotic plants all day that their work environment would be so clean and perfect. And yet, when we go home our clothes and hands are sometimes dirtier than those of a mechanic!

Mossed Orbs Add Whimsy To Floral Arrangements

Yes, We Used Ping Pong Balls!

One of the reasons I love my job is that I get to create unique and beautiful things from some of the strangest items ever! And, this week was no different.

I was walking through the Sporting Goods department at a local store and noticed their ping pong balls. Now, most people would immediately think about playing a game of ping pong and the fun they would have competing to be the winner. But not me….no…..I immediately think about moss. Can you imagine….how did I come up with mossed orbs. As soon as I saw the ping pong balls all I could think about was how I could cover these balls with moss and use them in my flower arrangements. And then, I started thinking about how cool they would look covered in a variety of leaves…creating texture and depth.

Planting Dusty Miller For Floral Arrangements

Hues of Gray For Your Arrangements

If you are looking to make your floral arrangements look unique and have an interesting texture, you can always rely on using Dusty Miller plants to achieve that goal.

Known for it’s silvery-gray fern like foliage, Dusty Miller is also known as Silver Dust due to it’s silver hue foliage. I love working with this foliage in my floral arrangements because it’s color reflects well off of the other darker green foliages in arrangements.

Using Greening Pins On Green Sheet Moss

Learn How To Rust Greening Pins

I love to use green sheet moss to cover my floral foam when designing a floral arrangement. You can use green sheet moss to cover styrofoam when using permanent botanical arrangements or you can use it to cover your floral foam when you’re designing with fresh flowers.

Many times people will just take a green floral wire and cut it approximately 4 inches long and then bend it into the shape of a hair pin to create a pick that will hold the moss in place once you have put it on top of your foam. However, professional florists use greening pins. These pins are used to secure a variety of things in the floral industry, but I love to use them to hold my green sheet moss in place.

Using Sheet Moss In Flower Arrangements

Sheet Moss For Fresh or Permanent Botanicals

Using fresh green sheet moss is one of the “florists tricks” to concealing the foam in your container. Most of you have had some experience with the gray Spanish Moss, but this video shows you how to use Green Sheet Moss.

You can use the Green Sheet Moss for permanent botanical arrangements or for fresh floral arrangements. I do, however, recommend that if you are using it with fresh flowers to totally saturate the moss before covering your foam. If you add dry sheet moss on top of wet floral foam, the moss will act like a wick and absorb your water from your foam…taking water from your flowers!

Planting Forsythia For Flower Arrangements

Flowers From Your Yard

Forsythia bushes make a beautiful addition to your landscaping efforts. But, the real beauty of these bushes is that we can cut the forsythia branches and use them in our fresh cut flower arrangements. In the Winter you can cut the branches and use them to create Winter-scape arrangements. When Spring arrives you will have prolific yellow bell shaped blooms to use in your arrangements. And, then in the Summer, you will be able to use the branches as they have leafed out. They create beautiful branches of foliage for your DIY Flower Arrangements.

Why You Should Plant Forsythia Shrubs

Yellow Bells In Your Yard

One of the first shrubs to bloom here in Southern Tennessee is the Forsythia bush. You can’t miss them because after a long cold and damp winter of gray and brown….out of no where you will see the yellow blooms profusely popping out all over the land.

How To Decorate A Christmas Garland For Your Mantle

In this video I show you step-by-step how to decorate a permanent Christmas Garland and give it a lavish look to display on your mantle, over a doorway, hang it on a wall, or even use it as a centerpiece down the center of your dining room table.

If you would like to know how to make the base of the garland (the trick I used) Click Here To Watch That Video first…then come back to this video to finish up your Christmas Garland.

Also, if you’d like to watch me as I decorate an artificial Christmas Wreath, just Click Here To Watch That Video.

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This Amazon link is my affiliate link. When you purchase from clicking here…I receive a small commission from Amazon. You pay no more than normal. Although the commission is a small amount, I really appreciate you using my link!

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Make Your Christmas Garland Look Fresh and Real

This short video will give you a few tips that will help ensure that when you take your Christmas Garland or Christmas Wreath out of the box it can look fresh and real. Whether you have had the garland stored since last Christmas or if you just received it in a shipment from a retailer, you need to know these tips to make your garland look alive, fresh and real. These tips will make your garland look like it was installed by a professional florist and that’s what you always want to achieve when decorating.

How To Decorate An Artificial Christmas Wreath

Every year I get excited to see all of the glitter hit the store shelves. When you think you’ve seen it all (I’ve been doing floral arrangements for 30 years so I think that way sometimes), they come out with something new and exciting and just covered in glitter to make your next Christmas Decoration a Show Stopper!

Making your own Christmas Wreath can be so challenging, but it doesn’t need to be. Just follow some of the simple Christmas Decorating Tips I have in this short video and you will have your Christmas Wreath hanging on your front door or over your fireplace before the day is over.

If you missed my previous video that shows you how to fluff out your artificial wreath to make it look real, you can watch that video here: https://designsbyjerry.com/artificial-wreath-real/

Christmas and the Holiday Season is so much fun for designers and decorators. Don’t miss out on all of the fun, feel free to email me if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to get you up and running so your home is filled with Holiday Cheer this year!

Enjoy your Holidays…

DIY Flower Blog

Roll Tide: Why I’m An Alabama Football Fan

Alabama Crimson Tide

Roll Tide Roll

Roll Tide Roll

Today was a special day…the first game of the 2014/2015 University of Alabama Football Season! This is the day that so many die-hard Alabama Football Fans live for…the day they can don their Crimson Colors and just get crazy and have fun supporting their team that has won so many National Football Championships over the years.

This day starts a series of Alabama tribe-building events from cookouts, parties, pep rallies, displaying bumper stickers, flying flags, and the list goes on and on as to how the fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates their loyalty for the the University of Alabama and it’s Football Team lead by the infamous Head Coach Nick Saban. Now, I know you’re saying, “But Jerry, why does a football story belong here on a Flower Blog…” Right?

Adding Curly Willow To Your Arrangements

This very short video shows you how I use Curly Willow in my flower arrangements. And, more importantly, I show you how I grow Curly Willow trees to help defray the high costs of the item.

Getting Started: Part Two

How To Pick The Colors For Your Arrangement

In this really quick video I’ll show you the concept I use when I’m buying flowers to design an artificial flower arrangement. I show you the flowers and how I determine what the base color for the arrangement will be and then how I build a color pallet on that base color to give me a beautiful variety of colors for my arrangements.

If you’d like to watch me make the flower arrangement step-by-step then make sure you sign up in the Opt-In box to the right of this page. Just drop in your email address and I’ll be able to send you that video when it’s completed. Plus, you’ll receive other videos that is specifically labeled for “Members Only”.

Arranging A Silk Flower Arrangement: Getting Started

The Very First Steps

Floral Designing

Learn How To Design This Arrangement

Everyone is always asking, “How do you get started creating a flower arrangement?”

In this video I will show you how to prepare the styrofoam to anchor it into your container. Then, I will demonstrate how to camouflage the styrofoam with Spanish Moss. And then, I finish off giving you first hand tips how to create the form of the arrangement by using foliage.

It’s never hard to do when you can watch it first hand, and my goal in this video (and others to follow) is that you feel like you are literally standing over my shoulder observing my every move to create this formal artificial flower arrangement.

If you are planning a wedding, designing it for a special gift for someone (like I am ), or just treating yourself to something well deserved, this video will get you started with the very basics of creating your first Elegant Floral Arrangement.

Don’t forget to fill in your email address in the Opt-In Box to the right: this way you will get the final video that shows you even more details of creating the flower arrangement you see here.

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Florist Tip: Glue Gun or Glue Skillet

Many of my customers and subscribers ask me the question: “Which is better to use…a glue gun or an electric glue skillet.”

In today’s video, I’ll give you my opinion on that question.

If you would like to purchase a glue pan just like the one I’m using in this video, you can click on this Amazon Affiliate link (I do make a small commission if you purchase from my link). Also, I’ve added a link for the pan glue as well.

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Embellish Christmas Packages With Ornaments

As Christmas gets closer and closer, we’ve got the Christmas Tree up, the wreath is hanging on the door and the house is mostly decorated and adorned! Now, it’s time to get those Christmas gifts wrapped.

But, you can’t just “wrap” the presents…..you must create a work of art out of the presentation of the package. Adding a variety of ribbons and ornaments you can create a beautiful presentation for your holiday package. Watch the video and then be sure to share it with your friends.

Add Glitter To Artificial Leaves For Christmas Shimmer

I just made this quick video (under 5 minutes) to show you how I never throw away anything and why!

I will show you how I take some leftover leaves from an earlier project and sprayed glue on the leaves and then covered them in fine glitter. The leaves are so beautiful when we are finished. Now, take these leaves and add them to your gift packages. This will make your packages so beautiful and unique. You can also add these leaves to your Christmas Wreaths as well!

Add Fresh Evergreens To Your Artificial Wreath

Christmas Wreath Tips

Easy Tip To Make Your Wreath Look Real

Watch this video to see how I use an artificial wreath to be my form to create a fresh Christmas Wreath. I easily add fresh Magnolia leaves, Nandina leaves, Cedar and Pine to make a beautiful Christmas Wreath.

This wreath has all of the components of a "Real" Christmas wreath…..the look, the feel and smell of the fresh Evergreens, but much less work because we used the artificial wreath as the base to hold all of our Christmas Greens.

Make Your Artificial Wreath Look Real

Well…It's Christmas. What can I say…it just IS!!!!!

And, it time to get those wreaths hung on your doors to greet your guests! In this short video I'll show you how to fluff your artificial evergreen wreaths and make them look real…in about 2 minutes flat. Check it out…

Seasonal Floral Buying Tips

How To Video: Make A Fall Wreath

Fall wreath

In this video I give you a sneak peak at how to make yourself a fall wreath. I take a grapevine wreath and embellish it with wild honeysuckle vine to give the wreath dimension and character and then I add a small tin birdhouse.

Watch the video as I add an orange plaid bow and green cabbage roses. The trick to my wreaths looking so natural, wild and woodsy is how I add in grasses and foliages. Always use a variety of foliages as well as grasses. Use different colors and sizes…just as you would see in nature to give you a very realistic look in your wreath.

Designing Flowers With Deco Beads

DIY Flowers with Deco Beads

If you are looking for an unusual way to design flowers you may want to watch this video series.

In this video series I am introducing you to Deco Beads…small polymers that absorb water many times it weight. The polymers are a great way to accent a floral arrangement or even use them alone as a decorative centerpiece. And, I show you how to do both in this DIY Flowers video series on designing flowers with Deco Beads.

Jerry’s Georgia Shopping Trip

Georgia Shopping Trip

Finding new places to shop is always fun! Right ladies???

On this trip to Georgia, I made a great find for all of you DIY Flower Fans. Tucked away in the mountains of Georgia I found this wholesale house that was a true gem. It's a TRUE wholesale house. This is the place all florist dream of finding because not only do they have a massive variety of products that we can bring home to our customers, they also have the best prices, which means we get to pass on those great prices to our customers! So, this is a happy day.

How To Harvest Wild Honeysuckle For Wreaths

wild honeysuckle vine for wreaths

Wild Honeysuckle is one of the greatest finds I have made on my farm in Southern Tennessee…..at least as far as having something to add to my wreaths and garlands is concerned. Folklore says that people used to use the leaves from honeysuckle vines to remove freckles and a bouquet of the flowers was used to relieve asthma. And, there used to be the day when I considered wild honeysuckle vines a pesty vine…..because it would take over my shrubs in my yard. But, now that I have discovered how to use it in my floral arrangements, especially my wreaths, this is vine is just a delight to find growing!

The trick to making a wreath look “wild and woodsy” is to make sure you have plenty of wild honeysuckle vines to add to your grapevine wreath or your birch branch wreaths. Now, there are plenty of vines that are available to use, but I have found the honeysuckle vines are the absolute best to bring on a different texture to your already natural looking grapevine wreath.

Subscribers Get Free Stuff…

DIY Flowers: Designs By Jerry

I thought that headline would get your attention!

This last week I had the pleasure of attending a marketing conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference was a NAMS (Niche Affiliate Marketing System) event where marketers from all over the US gathered to share ideas about how they build relationships with their website subscribers to create a team of Raving Fans.

I'm ready to make YOU a Raving Fan of Jerry!!!

Designs By Jerry Dot Com is dedicated to teach you how to design floral arrangements and wreaths. Also, I'll throw in some tips on how to use flowers to decorate and some other nifty design tips along the way.

DIY Flowers: How To Make A Living Wreath

DIY Flowers: How To Make A Living Wreath

Learning how to make a living wreath can look pretty daunting, but if you follow the steps in this video, I will literally walk you step-by-step on how to design a living wreath using live plants.

People are always asking me will I teach them DIY Flower designs and I decided that this is one really unique design that you can do without any "real" floral design experience, but still end up with an amazing looking product and then you'll have your own DIY Wreath Making experience.

How To Add Wild Honeysuckle Vines To Your Living Wreath

Add Honeysuckle Vines To Wreaths

I'm sure you've been wondering how I make my wreaths look so unique, natural and "woodsy".

In this video I will show you step-by-step my secret to creating a very unique wreath. So here's my secret: purchase a grapevine wreath at any local craft store and then find some wild honeysuckle vines growing up trees and on fences out in the country. Cut the wild honeysuckle vine and add that in to your grapevine wreath. This gives you that special added touch of the natural look that so many wreaths are missing.

How To Distress Clay Pots

In this video I show you step-by-step how to distress clay pots using two different painting methods. You can use either of these methods or combine them to get a beautiful clay pot that looks like it's been laying around in the fields for years.

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