HOW TO | CREATE A DESIGNER ORCHID DISPLAY

Breathtaking in their exotic colors, or pristine white, an orchid arrangement brings beautiful style to any room in your home. Especially in summer, I love to have orchids on display here at our FrenchGardenHouse. Orchid arrangements can be quite costly when you buy them, but they are so easy to make yourself with store bought orchid plants, and your favorite container. I use one of our antique French pots or jardinieres for them, it just brings another layer of luxe to the arrangement. Ready to try your hand on creating a designer quality arrangement in one of your French antique containers? It's so easy, you will master this in no time! {I usually do this on our back patio, since the moss can make quite a mess.} HERE IS HOW TO CREATE A STUNNING ORCHID ARRANGEMENT FOR YOUR HOME: 1.GATHER YOUR MATERIALS.

• Your favorite French antique container, a jardiniere, bowl, or ironstone tureen works well.

• 2-3 orchids, depending on the size of your container. All one color looks best, select plants with buds that have not bloomed, ensuring a few months worth of enjoyment. I usually mix in a few green plants for a designer look...maidenhair ferns, or ivy look stunning.

• 1-2 bags of decorative moss, either natural moss or reindeer moss. {you can purchase either/or at craft stores or plant centers.}

• 1 plastic bag that you will use as a liner for your arrangement.

• Some gravel, or more plastic bags to use to anchor the plants.

2. LINE YOUR CONTAINER. Place a plastic liner in the bottom of your container. I usually end up using a plastic bag, for simplicity. I just check to make sure there are no holes in the bottom of the bag, and scrunch it down into the container. If you have gravel, place a layer of it directly on the bottom, inside the plastic bag. Because my containers are usually already quite heavy, I started using scrunched up plastic grocery store bags instead, but gravel works wonderfully well! 3. PLACE THE PLANTS INSIDE. Nestle your orchids on top of the layer of gravel, until they stand upright. If needed, add more gravel, or plastic bags squished into a ball until your plants are where you want them, fill the spaces on all sides with either gravel or the plastic bags to keep the plants standing straight. 4.COVER UP WITH MOSS. Add the moss, pack it around plants to really stabilize them, and then cover the top completely. You want the moss to be the only thing you see on the top of the pot. Not only does this keep the plants moister, it conceals the pots and plastic bag. 5. PLACE & ENJOY. Move your arrangement to a light filled place {but out of direct sun} and enjoy the beauty. Okay..NO! After I made this arrangement, I realized that the shape of the container was ALL. WRONG. for this spot. This really should be tip # 6...if it doesn't look as good like you thought it would, either move your arrangement to a better location, or swap out the container. That is what I decided to do, since I really wanted an arrangement next to our favorite antique angel. {if at first you don't succeed....you know the rest!} In no time I made an arrangement in one of our French antique tureens using all the same plants, and this time, it was a perfect fit for the place I had in mind. I water my orchids once a week, either by removing them out of the container and doing it in the sink, letting the plant drip dry before replacing in the tureen, or....and this works like a charm....by placing 2-3 ice cubes on the top of each plant. This allows the water to gently permeate the roots as the ice melts. Here are some perfect antique containers to use for luxurious orchid displays:

ANTIQUE FRENCH URN | IRONSTONE TUREEN | FRENCH JARDINIERE | ANTIQUE BELGIAN BOWL

For more about orchid care you can visit the American Orchid Society. Don't forget to leave a comment below {and visit Bakefromscratch.com, too!} to enter the give-away for this special issue of BAKE magazine...it's destined to become one of those you refer to for years to come! Let me know if you make an orchid arrangement at home! I love hearing about how you create beauty at home...