Floral Arrangements Brighten Up Any Home

With the ground on the East End relatively thawed, seedlings have begun to push through the soil and offer incremental peeks of what lies ahead: spring flowers.

And for those who can’t wait, or who want to bring the beauty of the bouquet indoors, two area florists are ramping up for the beginning of what promises to be another busy season in the Hamptons.

Claire Bean, of Claire Bean Floral and Event Design, services all areas of the Hamptons. During a recent interview at her shop in Westhampton, she said that she strives to approach the world of flowers with an open-minded attitude. Her foray into floral design 15 years ago was more or less a matter of happenstance and occurred, she said, only because she didn’t over think things but simply followed her passion and what made her happy: beautiful flowers.

“I had been downsized from my job at that time and I was pregnant with my first son,” she said. “So I went out and took a basic class on floral arrangement. I always loved flowers and I thought, ‘hey, what a better way to spend my free time right now?’”

The class was a catalyst for Ms. Bean, she reported, adding that she discovered that her love of natural beauty was one that could be easily transferred into an entrepreneurial effort. Over the years, she has accumulated a wealth of knowledge, sometimes, she laughed, through a healthy dose of trial and error.

Though Ms. Bean caters to clients in need of arrangements for weddings, gatherings and celebrations both large and

small, she said she also understands the concerns and needs of the casual flower-purchaser who may simply be looking to add a pop of color and beauty in the home.

“You know, you have to have fun with flowers. You have to approach your own arrangements with a painter’s eye. You can’t be afraid to handle them or play around with different ideas. After all, they’re just flowers,” she laughed.

As Ms. Bean prepared a sampling of potential arrangements—bicolored tulips, peonies, daffodils, roses and more—for a client’s June wedding, she offered insight into how anyone can design arrangements that would make even the most learned arranger flush with excitement. Though her business is operated by appointment only, she suggested that East End residents frequent their local florist more often than purchasing at grocery stores. But, she admitted, one can still find a bevy of botanical beauties at the grocery too.

For supplies, Ms. Bean suggested places such as Michael’s Arts and Crafts in Riverhead for florist tape and oasis blocks (sponge-like blocks which will hold water and stems in place) or Marshalls/HomeGoods or T.J. Maxx—stores are located in Bridgehampton, Shirley and Riverhead—for unique, inexpensive vases and urns.

For quick arrangements at home, Ms. Bean said whipping together decorative tabletop pieces is easy. With a small square vase, she suggests laying out florist tape in a grid pattern about a half inch or so apart, then, cut flowers to fit within the vase and simply drop in the flowers.

“It doesn’t matter how you drop them in, just play around with the placement and with different kinds of flowers if you like to alter the texture,” she said. “And finding vases is easy. Antique stores, and we have plenty of them out here, are also great places to find vases and such,” she added. “You just have to use your imagination.”

Imagination is something Robin Preiato, owner of Thorn Bird Floral Boutique in Water Mill, said she understands well. A longtime East End resident, she opened her own business four years ago for some of the same reasons Ms. Bean entered the florist world.

“Like any job, [being a florist] has its share of stresses too, but really, I get to work with beautiful product all day and more than that, I can help anyone, within any budget, make their celebration memorable,” Ms. Preiato said. “I get to be so expressive and I get to be creative all day, what’s not to like?”

Ms. Preiato said most flower shipments arrive daily from points abroad, namely South America and Holland—two areas which provide the majority of fresh flowers to most distributors in New York and the surrounding area.

“As the season ramps up, I’ll always have a wide selection of flowers to choose from. I barely ever have to call ahead to my supplier and ask for something specific, I get a really diverse, beautiful selection,” she said.

During a recent interview at the shop, a customer arrived for a bouquet. Though the customer did not have any specific idea what she wanted, she offered a few general ideas—color was key—and Ms. Preiato spent about 10 minutes putting together a bouquet that offered more than three varieties of flowers, varying textures and colors accompanied by delicate additions, including baby’s breath.

“It’s all about what you’re into,” she said. “Wrapped bouquets are a little different, but if you want to do something simple, I have a couple of ideas for that too!”

Her ideas included using bud and flute vases.

For bud vases, suitable for a single flower, Ms. Preiato simply cut a purple anemone, added a bit of water to the vase, and placed the flower. For a contemporary effect, she suggested using several bud vases of varying heights and shapes and placing them together in a single space.

Flute vases, low-lying rectangular vases that sometimes have eight holes just high enough for the flower itself to sit, work well with heavily textured flowers such as dionysus, she said. This particular flower, paired with large, blooming cymbidium orchids sits well in this type of flute, she noted.

Ultimately, for at-home floral arranging enthusiasts, both professionals agree, it’s about remaining open minded and maintaining a willingness to venture forth into territories unknown.

Put simply, Ms. Bean said that flowers add color, joy and beauty to a home.

“A house full of flowers will lighten up the look of your home and your mood, without a doubt,” she said.